The Magic Castle

On Tuesday night I had the opportunity to go to the Magic Castle! This was my second time visiting the castle; and it's not the cheapest night out. The Magic Castle is a private magic club in Hollywood; housed in a Victorian style mansion. In order to attend you have to have an invitation from a member of the club, pay for valet parking and a cover charge at the door, and on top of that you must meet their strict dress code guidelines or they will turn you away. Magic is serious business! My friends Mike, Blaine, Tess and I had been given an invitation from a magician member last month at a circus meet up, and were excited for the opportunity, though Tess ended up not being able to attend.

Our final group consisted of 6 people; Blaine, a catcher in the flying trapeze world and aerial performer, his girlfriend Leia who is also an aerialist, my business partner Mike and his date (her name is escaping me right now), and myself with my friend/date Chris (not in the circus world at all). We arrived early and entered the castle for our dinner reservations, whispering a magic word to an owl on the bookshelf to reveal the secret door. Once everyone had met each other's dates we sat down in the lounge to listen to invisible Irma (a ghost) play the piano. If you ever get a chance to visit with Irma be sure to ask her what the scariest song she knows is - it cracked us up!

When our time to dine arrived we headed upstairs to the restaurant. Everyone visiting the castle is required to make dinner reservations and order an entree, and they start around $35/plate. With the main course, a few appetizers, and desserts to share, and gratuity included, our bill for 6 people was just over $400! We did know what we were getting into and splurged a little anyway - we were already there, why not enjoy the experience?

Wandering the castle after dinner was the best part of the night. Because we went during the week the castle wasn't very crowded and we could easily get in to see various performances. We saw shows in three different rooms, such as the Parlor of Prestidigitation (say that 5 times fast!), and the Close-Up Gallery, a tiny room that seated about 25 people, where the usher had me sit at the front table next to the performing magician! Because of my viewpoint I could figure out some of the illusions that were being done, but there were many I could not! A few other magicians performed in little alcoves along the hallway as well, and a couple of them even offered us their business cards with an invitation for us to come to the castle again in the future.

It was a fun night filled with good food and entertainment, and it was even more satisfying to have everyone in our group just enjoy each other's company, even though walking into the evening some people didn't know each other well, or at all. The conversation between everyone never once felt awkward or forced; a perk of growing up I guess?

Chris, me, Blaine, and Leia outside of the castle at the end of the night (photos aren't allowed inside); Mike and his date left later.