By GABRIELLE SHIOZAWA
Moapa Valley Progress
Although it is rare in Moapa Valley, magic is common in Las Vegas. And magician Adam London brought plenty of it with him last week when he visited the Moapa Valley Library for a performance.
London, who performs daily in the “Adam London’s Laughternoon” show at the D in Las Vegas, has been featured on Comedy Central, NBC, and Fox. He has been performing magic tricks since he was eight years old.
In London’s Overton performance, the audience in the packed room was immediately hooked by the first act, which was turning a bottle of ketchup into a tomato.
“In business, they call these ‘power ties,’” the magician explained as he gestured to his rubber duck-printed tie. The commonplace toys are a trademark of London’s, and he uses them throughout his shows. His ‘power tie’ featured magical powers rather than their usual purpose in the business world. London revealed this when he pulled a rubber duck straight out of the cloth!
London threw this duck to Isaac, a young audience member, and told him to be ready when he called for him.
Next, 11-year-old Ruger was selected out of the audience to help London perform card tricks. After asking Ruger to choose a playing card and write his name on it, the magician led the boy through a series of other tricks using sleight of hand. Finally he deftly revealed that the card upon which Ruger had written his name was hidden in London’s wallet.
Adam London called parent attendee Rachel Garcia to the stage and took her wedding ring, promptly making it disappear. Later, she found the ring hidden inside of a sealed bag of M&Ms!
“Have you ever seen a magician cut a person in half?” asked London of a young volunteer, Chandler. “I’d cut you in half, but I’ll do it on a smaller scale, instead.”
London put Chandler’s dollar bill into an envelope and cut it in half, in the same style of a magician sawing a person in half, before pulling the bill out in one piece. He then showed the audience members how to perform the trick for their friends.
“Just don’t actually cut their dollar bill,” London joked, “because [your friend] will no longer have a dollar bill, and you will no longer have a friend.”
For “The Card Trick of Mystery,” Adam London threw a rubber-banded deck of cards to four adults and had them each select and memorize a random card before passing it on. He then “read their minds” and revealed which card they had each chosen.
Continuing his performance of mentalism, Adam asked 10-year-old Jenna to choose a card before revealing, using a jumbo-sized deck of cards, that he had already selected that same card. He asked her to pick another card, and she chose the six of spades. The finale to this trick, however, would have to wait until the end of the show.
London asked Jenna to select one cracker out of a box of animal crackers before reading her mind and sketching the animal she had chosen. The neck on the giraffe he drew stretched out before the audience’s eyes, and London tore out the page to show that it was really only ink on paper, and with no attachments behind to make the trick work.
After a physics trick using a glass of water and a wet sheet of paper, London asked Isaac for the rubber duck he had thrown him.
“Rubber ducks are like fortune cookies these days,” London said as he slit open the duck. He pulled out a folded playing card, which he revealed to be Jenna’s six of Spades!
Adam London used silly expressions, jests at members of the audience, and an abundance of puns and jokes to create a friendly, humorous atmosphere. Parents and children alike were kept entertained and laughing throughout the show.
“I thought it was entertaining for a wide variety of ages,” commented parent Aubrey Doty.
Her son Rome commented, “It was good! I liked it.”
Next week, the library will continue its Summer Reading Program with a visit from local firefighters and policemen for their “Everyday Heroes” activity.
