Acts from The Magic Castle, America’s Got Talent, FISM and Britain’s Got Talent
PRESTO! at The Magic Parlor is a spectacle of magic featuring five internationally-renowned acts that have graced the stages of Broadway, London’s West End, America’s Got Talent and more. Guests will be transported to an amazing world in this tapestry of illusion, showmanship, and outright hilarity. Inspired by early 20th century magic performances and the beauty of vintage, traveling European dance halls, PRESTO! delivers an experience unlike anything previously seen in North America.
PRESTO! will run from May 19 through Aug. 28, with 10 shows per week at Destin Commons. Under the velvet dome of The Magic Parlor, audiences will witness some of magic’s greatest minds perform their innovative, legendary acts, full of hilarious magic, stunning mentalism, and mind-blowing illusion.
PRESTO! at The Magic Parlor is produced by The Show Company. Conceived by Terrence Williams, the show’s executive producer. The producing and creative team includes Nick Caruso, Mike Reynolds, and director Brett Loudermilk.
The show will be hosted by David Williamson, who has been featured on ABC’s Champions of Magic, CBS’ Magician’s Favorite Magicians, and NBC’s World’s Greatest Magic III. David has also been featured on CW’s Masters of Illusion and as a guest-performer on America’s Got Talent. Williamson has created illusions for and performed in several commercials, all while developing TV shows for Walt Disney Productions and consulting for illusionists David Copperfield’s and David Blaine’s television specials.
Chris Cox is the only mind reader in history to have starred on Broadway, the Sydney Opera House and in London’s West End. Having performed for millions worldwide, he is the star of Chris Cox’s Mind-Boggling Magic (CBBC) and the award-winning Killer Magic (BBC Three) in the United Kingdom. Cox has starred in some of the world’s largest magic shows including world tours of The Illusionists, Impossible and Wonderville. Chris has created magic and theatrical creative experiences for DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Harry Potter & the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2.
Yu Hojin has been a visionary force in turning the world of magic into the world of artistic performance. Hojin has won prizes in international magic competitions in the U.S., Taiwan, Italy, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. After winning the most prestigious prize at FISM (the world championships of magic), he rose to international stardom as one of the first magicians to perform in the concert hall at the historic Sydney Opera House, as well as the first Asian magician to perform on Broadway. In 2014, Hojin was awarded Magician of the Year from the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Yu Hojin is currently competing on this year’s season of America’s Got Talent on NBC.
The Great Kaplan is a modern-day vaudevillian master who has made numerous headliner appearances at the world-renowned Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, and whose original work has been featured on the prestigious French television show Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde. Kaplan has won countless awards both in the U.S. and internationally, including the Peoples’ Choice Award from the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Ken Dodd Comedy Award by the Blackpool Magic Convention in 2018, and the Mandrake d’Or award in France.
Pablo Canovas is an internationally-known, dynamic magician who has established a reputation as a prodigy. Pablo has continued to be recognized for his extraordinary skills, winning the title of “Heir of Illusion” at the L’Heritier de l’Illusion magic festival in Paris in 2021.
To complement the magic, The Show Company will feature variety artists Karl Herlinger and Michael Rayner. Herlinger is a Los Angeles-based ventriloquist and actor known for his irreverent and outside-the-box approach to ventriloquism. His one-man show Vent won Best New Show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Meanwhile, Rayner creates surprising and energetic performances for clients, including Disney, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Busch Gardens and Universal Studios Hollywood. He has also appeared on 30 Seconds to Fame, America’s Got Talent, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with James Corden and Sesame Street.
To house PRESTO!, The Show Company has imported a beautiful antique theater from Belgium, which will appear almost overnight at Destin Commons in early May. Opulent palaces of red velvet and gold brocade, stained glass and deep mahogany, these European cabaret tents, known as spiegeltents (or mirror tents), were constructed in the 1910s by renowned craftsman Willem Klessens. These warm, intimate circular theaters have hosted dances, cabarets and celebrations throughout Europe for almost a century. There are currently about 35 of these structures in existence, largely still seen throughout Europe. PRESTO!’s spiegeltent, dubbed The Magic Parlor, is owned by the Meder family in Belgium, which continues to lovingly restore and provide these glorious venues to the world, overseeing their construction on-site personally.
Guests to The Magic Parlor will be transported to what feels like another time, where the venue itself is one of the co-stars of the performance, standing more than 30 feet tall and with a diameter of almost 100 feet.
PRESTO! at The Magic Parlor will include 10 shows per week, six days a week. The show is dark on Tuesdays. Tickets start at $69.95 and $49.95 for children under 12, with special rates available for military and seniors. Group rates are available for parties of 12 or more. Reservations can be made by visiting prestodestin.com.
