New TV show features all magic, all the time

There's no fighting for space on this magic show, just a matter of who gets to perform which trick.

At least 70 magicians will get face time on "Masters of Illusion," a weekly series starting Monday on MyNetworkTV (KVMY-TV, Channel 21 locally).

"It was like a magic convention. There were people I haven't seen in 15 years," Flamingo Las Vegas headliner Nathan Burton says of the trip to Los Angeles for one of the five days of filming 13 episodes in front of a studio audience.

The series will promote most of the Las Vegas magicians, with the debut episode featuring V Theater matinee headliners Scarlett and Jeff McBride, who recently closed at Palace Station.

Future episodes will include resident headliners Amazing Johnathan and Mac King, and several magicians who live here but perform more out of town or as a featured act: Jason Byrne, Brett Daniels, Dan Sperry, Jeff McBride, Rick Thomas and Fielding West.

While there was room for plenty of magicians, those without original illusions had to coordinate who does what. "With that much material, you start duplicating," Burton notes.

The series is produced by Gay Blackstone, who helmed the recent World Magic Awards for the same network (that special, featuring Amazing Johnathan, repeats today).

Magicians may find it ironic that the new show somewhat owes its existence to healthy viewership of "Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed," which airs on the same network but comes from a different producer. "Magic's been doing real well for us," says network spokesman Brian Rubin. "Secrets" viewers "liked seeing magic on TV," even as they saw how the tricks are done. ...

They always say, "It's an honor just to be nominated." But it's particularly true for Venetian headliner Wayne Brady, and not just because he's up against Al Green at the Grammy Awards. A citation for his singing also helps brand Brady as a legitimate singer and helps convey that his Venetian show isn't all just the improv comedy seen on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

Brady will find out Feb. 8 whether he wins Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his remake of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" on his album "A Long Time Coming." But with so many categories, his will probably be on TV only as one of those "Winners announced earlier" text crawls. ...

Rarely do court documents read like the "All Music Guide." But attorneys for Kool and The Gang offer a detailed history of the group in a District Court filing disputing how former member Skip Martin was billed for a New Year's Eve date at The Venetian.

The current Kool and The Gang is active on the casino circuit, and recently played the Las Vegas Hilton. So the group is touchy about Martin's billing as a "former lead singer," denying that he was (though not the fact that he was a member at two points in time).

Earlier this week, Venetian officials said they still planned to have Martin perform as scheduled, with no changes to the advertising or billing. ...

From time to time, people ask if there is still any place to hear standards or see old-school lounge acts, thanks to the beat-down by dueling-piano clowns and ultralounges with hefty drink prices but no live music.

Brian Evans, who first sang at the Desert Inn 10 years ago, says he's working a place where people might not think to look because of its lack of casino action: Trump International Hotel & Towers. While there is no gaming, there is a lounge. And Evans sings the standards there on Fridays and Saturdays.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.