DARREN ROMEO - THE MAGIC IS
REAL!
9-19-06:
Is seeing believing--or is it the other way around? Now, I am an
older woman. I've long outgrown my beliefs in the Tooth Fairy, the
Easter Bunny, and, sadly, Santa Claus. I've become rather
disillusioned with this world. There is too much "bad" and not
enough "good". As for magic--That's a laugh! That, too, vanished
with my childhood.
But then, I attended a Darren Romeo show. From the very beginning I
was hooked on his voice with the opening "Dreamscape". Then as he
was performing one of his first illusions (putting a "box" of sorts
together with clear sides) he sang "Dream Lover". (I'll have to say
that's probably my favorite song that he does.) After completing the
box, he covers it for just a moment. When he removes the
cover--Voila!--a beautiful girl has appeared inside.
Okay. Now I had been
watching the whole thing intently. How did she get in there? I
know--I know, it's a trick. But maybe there's a part of me that
truly misses the wonder and magic from my childhood and I go to feed
that belief. I know, as a rational adult, that what I'm "seeing" is
not real, but I enjoy seeing something my mind is not believing.
After attending several of Darren's shows, I think I've actually got
several of the illusions figured out. (AH-HA! So THAT'S how he does
it!) But, instead of becoming further jaded with the idea of
'magic', I am astounded with the precision timing it takes to
execute such illusions. The teamwork of his assistants, the
diversions, the costumes, and even his wonderful singing are all
perfectly coordinated to ensure that the audience "sees" what they
are meant to see.
My family and I were privileged to attend the final show of the
season on September 4th which was particularly enjoyable. The last
show, Darren explained, was traditionally turned over to his
assistants. It was their turn to be the "stars". This specific show
was the best yet! We, along with everyone else, laughed almost the
entire time.
It was obvious that even Darren didn't know what to expect from
moment to moment. He got tickled several times and would laugh
through his illusions which were still pulled off perfectly in spite
of the unrehearsed jokes and gags. It was wonderfully hilarious,
spell-binding, surprising, and refreshing. It was "magic" in itself.
You could tell the mood was going to be different from the onset
when the lovely Kristy, who usually appears as the 'Dream Lover',
hopped out onstage apparently having been tied up. When Darren
removed the cover, another beautiful assistant was in the box.
On both sides of the stage are big projection screens which enable
the audience to see what Darren is doing all the time. On this
night, there were several messages flashing on the screens telling
us that "(Darren)...has billboards!"
In still another segment, Darren will do impressions which will have
you smiling, if not outright laughing. He
does, in his own unique style, imitations of several well-known
artists such as Eddie Murphy (from The Klumps), James Brown, Elton
John, Tom Jones, Diana Ross, Prince, and a Back Street Boy. This
time, though, appearing on the screens was not Darren, but a small
boy who did an excellent job imitating Darren's imitations. Very
cute! (That young man may just have a future as an entertainer, as
well!)
We later found out that he is the son of one of Darren's assisting
ladies.
One of the gags was Darren's "Mom" showing up complete with a badly
moulting boa! (Here, I have to note that several weeks ago, we'd
attended another Darren Romeo show and met a lady who'd introduced
herself as Darren's Mom. That lady was very classy and it was
apparent where Darren has derived his youthful good looks. She was
very friendly and remarked that she had enjoyed our enthusiasm
during the show. As a matter of fact, her handsome escort questioned
whether or not we were "plants" in the audience. Laughing, we
assured them we weren't, but we just really enjoyed Darren's
performance and showed it! But, I digress....)
This "Mom" who was attending the last show didn't look a thing like
the other Mom. "She" could hardly contain herself with falsetto
cries like, "That's my boy!'' "That's my baby!" It was particularly
hilarious when "she" charged up on stage during the portion where
Darren was getting "sawed" in half. To get "her" off the stage, one
of the assistants, Mike, chased "her" in between Darrens divided
halves and had to half-carry and half wrestle "her" off of the stage
and back to "her" seat. We were lucky and happened to be seated
directly behind "her".
During another segment of the show, Darren is reminiscing on "The
Fantasticks" and a white piano will materialize behind a sheet. On
this night, not only did the white piano appear, but also
materializing out of thin air was Angel, another able assistant,
crouched atop the piano.
 One
of my favorite parts of the show isn't so much illusion or magic as
it is just pure awe-inspiring entertainment. "Gethsemane" is an
attention-holding number that depicts a very human side to Jesus and
His view on His impending agony and subsequent death. The gold and
red 'Roman soldiers' contribute a dramatic accent to this
performance. Even though Darren levitates himself in this scene,
it's his voice and the song itself that make it a truly mesmerizing
portion of the show.
Darren interacts with the audience frequently and this last show was
no different in that respect. I enjoy watching him chat with some of
the children in the crowd. When he questions them on what they want
to be when they grow up, some of the answers are funny and some are
very surprising.
Another favorite portion of the show is Darren 'confiding' to the
audience about love and getting jilted. At this point, he will
select a lucky lady from the crowd, take her up onstage, and while
reciting an appropriate poem will fashion a rose from a piece of
paper. Somehow, he will take a candle, turn the paper rose to ash,
and produce a beautiful long-stemmed red rose which he presents to
the chosen lady. Then he very sweetly escorts her back to her seat.
Darren Romeo is a first-class performer and has a top-notch crew
working with him. He is an extremely charming young man who is
infinitely considerate toward his audience and fans. You can meet
him and his leading lady, Kristy after the show. They take
particular care in seeing that anyone who waits in line gets the
chance to purchase a momento, have a picture taken with him and/or
Kristy and gets an autograph, if requested. I appreciate the
personal attention.
If you missed Darren this year, you've deprived yourself of some
fantastic entertainment. But, it's not too early to start making
plans for next season. Darren Romeo will return to Welk Resort
Theater in March, 2007.
If you are a jaded adult, like me, you need to make plans to see
Darren's show when he returns. His performance will make you feel
like a kid again and enable you to believe. And that's REAL MAGIC!
-Editor
Kathy
Bennett
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