- OTHER MEDIA
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- The Edge June 8, 2009 (Marvin Candle)
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- Admittedly, the word ’magician’ is loaded; it brings to mind
Gob Bluth from Arrested Development, or guys in top hats doing tricks (sorry,
illusions) at children’s parties. Of course, a stereotype and a real
performance are two different things, and what Christian Cagigal does in
his hour long show, Now and at The Hour, shatters those common illusions
of magicians.
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- The intimate Exit Stage Left is an excellent space for the type of
show Cagigal brought to his hometown of San Francisco (after an out of
town tryout in New York). His illusions are exquisitely done right in full
view of the audience; while the skeptic certainly knows there has to be
some kind of trick to everything, most of the time what he does is simply
indistinguishable from magic.
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- It becomes clear with hints and snips of his life, this show is not
only about magic; there is an amazing amount of heart laced throughout.
Cagigal frequently talks about how he became a magician, how his father,
a disabled Vietnam veteran, pushed him towards the mysterious; and on his
bad days, pushed him into isolation - leaving young Cagigal alone with
his cards. This frames the evening, along with the idea of a cyclical timeline,
"all this has happened before." His illusions all have something
to do with time, and his honest discussions about his young life betray
a man who does want to revisit those days. It is a truly special experience.
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- Additionally, Cagigal’s image is not of the uberconfident wizard,
either. The person who enters at the start of the show, bringing in his
supplies - including a pretty nice carpet - gives the impression of one
who is slightly bumbling, subtle, and incredibly well meaning. This is
both a blessing and a curse; his subtle and sometimes soft spoken nature
doesn’t seem to command at times, but at others catches the crowd
off guard with confidence. It isn’t completely successful, but is
a minor problem in an otherwise excellent evening
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