It was February of last year when legendary magician David Minkin began performing a resident show at The Biltmore Hotel.
Minkin built a secret Victorian parlor inside The Corinthian Room, including a stage set that spans 20 ft by 8 ft with meticulous detail to complement the history of LA’s most alluring historic hotel.
The sconces were sourced from Italy, the performance table is a Napoleon piece from the 1800s, and with 60 feet of Austrian-topped curtains, the entire room is transformed to another era.
Minkin has a deep personal love for The Biltmore and its marvelous history. “I laugh every time I walk through the main hallway and look up at the incredible murals on the ceilings”, he says. “My high school prom was at The Biltmore, and now I have a resident show there. It gives me goosebumps that never fade.”
David Minkin – photo by Laura Grier
When people have asked Minkin how long he plans to perform shows at the Biltmore. He jokingly replies, “I’ll be doing it until they take me out with a toe tag. It’s such an honor.”
The show itself features all of the most impactful magic Minkin has created over his 27 years as a magician. He allows his magic to find its own voice to express something authentic to his own life or something universal that we all experience.
Minkin’s 90-minute show involves things other than cards or coins or more cliché magic objects.
One piece features original magic done with a lightbulb. When the idea first hit him, Minkin thought he’d be performing it as early as the next day. But it took him eight years to put it in the show.
For awhile, Minkin couldn’t figure out what to say and how to present this brief moment of magic in a way that was meaningful. Over the years, the magic lightbulb evolved over countless attempts at scripting.
David Minkin – photo by Laura Grier
“In the end, it went sort of meta in the sense that it became all about perseverance. And then I tied it back to Thomas Edison and the thousands of filaments he went through before discovering one that was truly viable”, he says.
Once the narrative was in place, it was easy for Minkin to find music to express it and then lighting to complement the music, and so on. And thus a 30-second trick grew to become a four-minute theatrical piece that hits hard emotionally.
Demand for his shows has only increased over the last few months, and they are selling out more quickly.
Minkin thinks the thing that sets him apart is not just the quality of the magic being performed but also the authentic narrative that surrounds it all.
David Minkin – photo by Laura Grier
Many leave his shows with a renewed sense of wonder and a feeling that what the witnessed was real magic. Without a doubt, Minkin’s mind-boggling performances evoke a sense of curiosity, awe, and mysticism.
Here is where to get tickets to David Minkin at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
International Champion of Close-Up Magic, David Minkin’s show is now in its eighteenth year, making it the longest-running one-man magic show in Los Angeles. From American Idol to the Magic Castle, and now the iconic Biltmore Hotel in the Historic Core, Minkin takes the stage again in front of a live audience on December 22nd and brings in the new year with magic and mystery on December 31st.
