“It is a knockout, a big fat magical hit and one of the funniest shows the town has seen in years” - New York Daily News

In 2009, New York Daily News wrote:
If people ever doubted the big surprises come in small packages, all they need to do is take a trip down the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City to check out the compact “Carnival of Wonders.” It is a knockout, a big fat magical hit and one of the funniest shows the town has seen in years. Bring Grandpa, Grandma, your aunts, your uncles and even an enemy or two. And don’t forget the kids. Hobson’s occasional double-entendres are not offensive and will probably fly over their heads. Anyway, they hear much more while surfing TV.

Natalie Reyes, 10, of Hamilton, N.J., for example, hardly blinked during the show, which she took in with her mother, Arlene. She laughed often and loud. I’m not a fan of magic shows. But this is very different. Master magicians Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh are a lot of fun to watch as they weave their thread of a story over the 90-minute run, recalling the dazzle and excitement of how it was when the carnival came to town each summer.

From the fun house to the tunnel of love and even the house of horrors (wise guy that he is, Hobson claims the last two are really one in the same), the show takes a trip down the memory lane of your mind. Sure, there are bits you’ve seen before. Leigh disappears from a closet suspended in air. She also escapes a host of fiery torches thrust through a steel box after being locked inside. But Kalin and Leigh have several unique tricks up their sleeves that will surprise you, particularly a levitation that induces genuine awe.

Moreover, the two do their act with class. They make you feel like a friend they haven’t seen in years because a great of their magic is their charm. Leigh is not just one of Kalin’s pretty props. She is an integral part of the tricks he performs. And when was the last time you took in a magic show and saw dancing as cleverly choreographed as this, particularly by the two boys. They perform leaps that might draw Baryshnikov’s approval. (One also does a mean turn as Igor during a hilarious Dracula setup.)

But this is Hobson’s show, and he steals it as cleanly as a slick bank robber. A combination of Red Skelton, Paul Lynde and Daffy Duck rolled into one, Hobson is an outrageous punster who’ll have you roaring ith laughter while insulting you to death. Wearing an emerald-colored top hat that would make the Mad Hatter green with envy, the innuendos flash across the stage like a rainbow. He calls himself Mr. Twinkles, wear outrageously tight leotards, laughs a lot (like Lynde) and grabs a hunky twenty something for a drive in a swan car through the Tunnel of Love. But Kalin makes it a point to say that the comic is the father of the three kids.

Hobson is not half-bad at performing simple magic bits, either. But he probably wishes he had a woman like Luba from Russia in the audience every night. It took awhile for him to convince her to come up on stage–”I don’t speak much English! Please! No!”– but when she finaly did, the scene turned into a hysterically funny bit involving an egg and a cloth bag. Don’t ask. If Luba was a plant ho was in on the act, it still was one of the night’s best tricks. Still, after all of the siliness has died down and youv’e wiped the tears from your eyes after laughing so much, the show’s best moment is also the quietest. Alone on stage with a box of billiard balls, Kalin recalls the time he performed his very first trick. He was only 9 and his audience was his mother.

“I tried very hard to make them disappear and I did okay, but I dropped a few balls along the way,” says Kalin. “I told her I was sorry and would do better next time. My mother looked at me and smiled. ‘It was a masterpiece,’ she said.” SO is the “Carnival of Wonders.”

In 2001, MAGIC Magazine wrote:

“If you’re looking for a traditional magic show, my advice is stay away from the Flamingo Hilton in Reno. Kalin & Jinger’s Carnival of Wonders is less about magicians’ hardware and more about three extraordinary people who have created a truly fantastic theatrical environment. Each is responsible for a third of the magical festivities; each performers contribution is irreplaceable. It’s a tightly woven tapestry of drama and theatrics, thrills and laughter, all bound together by a shroud of mystery that ultimately produces an unforgettable evening”.

“Step right up…to the most sense-confounding extravaganza known to man! Because on this very stage, we’ve gathered up all the mysterious wonders of the world, tied them up with a neat little ribbon into a veritable carnival of illusion!”

Photos

‘

History

In the late 90s, Kalin and Jinger began creating their own productions and helped redefine the traditional concepts of a magic show. Before Your Very Eyes, Carnival of Wonders, and Illusionarium, garnered accolades throughout the entertainment industry and set records at showrooms across the United States.

Carnival of Wonders, for example, packed all the fun of a traveling carnival into an evening of entertainment, hinting at dark mysteries and deeper wonders that surround us in our everyday life. Working with comedy magician Jeff Hobson, these performances were more than critical successes, they were experiments in magic that allowed Kalin and Jinger to explore different presentations and utilize their combined skills. It was a surprising vision for a magic show, incorporating dance and character to create an emotional bond with the audience.

Venues:

• Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas 2011
• Trump Plaza, Atlantic City summer 2009
• Reno Hilton, Reno 2001-2002
• Flamingo Hilton, Reno 1998-2000
• Trump’s Castle, Atlantic City 1997