See a lot of magic and you realize there are only so many tricks in the world; great illusionists sell their personalities as much as their skills at prestidigitation. And of all the magicians I’ve seen of late in Chicago’s growing collection of illusions emporia, none is more of a pleasure to be around than Siegfried Tieber. High energy and eccentric with rubber features and a toothy grin, he looks and talks like an Ecuadorian Borat.
Tieber, who is in his late 30s and is performing separate shows in English and Spanish, is the special guest for the next couple of weeks at Dennis Watkins’ intimate “Magic Parlour,” otherwise known as the cocktail-friendly basement of Petterino’s restaurant, next to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago’s Loop. His appearance is part of Destinos, the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. (Tieber grew up and started his career in Ecuador but now is based in Los Angeles, where he is known and much respected by fellow magicians.)
Tieber has a highly skilled act that is part card trickery and part mentalism. His feats of memory blew me away; in essence, he has memorized an entire small library of books (as in most every word and that includes a dictionary). He then parlays that skill in a variety of different and entertaining ways. He’s also adept at memorizing the position of each and every card in a deck, again a skill that can be manifested in a variety of tricks.
In terms of the word work, it’s worth noting that, at the English language show I saw, Teiber was not performing in his native tongue. All the more impressive, for sure. If you saw the Australian magician Harry Milas at the Steppenwolf Theatre last spring, you also saw this incredible skill in action. Milas told his audience he uses a so-called “memory palace,” mentally putting cards in different rooms within his high school. In his post-show, close-up experience, Tieber said he doesn’t use that technique, but rather associates different words (or playing cards) with vivid symbols. If you’re interested in beefing up your memory, here’s something for which you could aim. (Good luck getting to this level!)
But, aside from a level of erudition that includes quoting George Bernard Shaw and palpable personal humility, the other aspect of Tieber’s warm-centered show that so delighted me was his audience interaction; in each and every case, he empowered his volunteer in one small way or another, handing out a real lottery ticket and a $2 bill (to me, as it happened; Tieber did not know me) or helping them solve a Rubik’s cube, which thrilled one of my fellow audience members to bits. He is great with kids, who clearly like his goofy persona, charming with nervous couples on dates and just an all-around lovely, vulnerable fellow with a great act. If you can afford it, I’d spring for the post-show, close-up room; it’s supposed to be another 20 minutes of magic but it actually lasted 45 minutes on Saturday because Tieber’s audience was peppering him with so many questions between the truly amazing card tricks.
Nobody wanted to say goodbye to him. When was the last time you could say that about a magician?
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “The Magic Parlour presents Siegfried Tieber” (4 stars)
When: Through Oct. 20
Where: The Magic Parlour, 50 W. Randolph St.
Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (post-show “Encore Room” experience is optional and an additional $25)
Tickets: $70 at 312-443-3800 and www.themagicparlourchicago.com
