Magic Castle Recovery Week – Night 1

(This is a follow-on from yesterday's post here)

Since there is so much public interest right now in what's happening at the Magic Castle, I'm going to break the normal one-post-per-week cycle and give some daily updates.

Last night was quiet, but there were hot dogs. "Monday Night Football" has been a tradition at the Castle for a while now, which last night moved its big screen and hot dog buffet into the Inner Circle Ballroom to watch the Bears vs. Eagles game. That hyperlink there was just my way of pretending to know anything at all about American football. I don't. But, like everyone else I was glad for the extra people the game brought into the venue, boosting an otherwise very light crowd.

Brian (the manager on duty) was essentially sheparding one group of about 25 people through the venue, from the Peller Theatre (Show #1) to The Parlour (Show #2) to The Palace of Mystery (Show #3) and back to the bar afterwards. After that, apart from one more small show in the Peller, that was it. People were still hanging around enjoying the holy-crap-we-survived-the-fire ambiance until about 11pm, but there weren't enough people to run any more shows.

The small crowds are understandable, since apparently people A) didn't even know the Castle was open again this quickly, or B) thought it would be so packed with people excited about the re-opening that they stayed away. Ironic, yes.

I was a little edgy, partly because I was in a room (the Peller Theatre) that I hadn't worked before, but mainly due to the pressure of being the only close-up guy in a very significant week for the Castle. However, as is often the case at unusual occasions, the small crowds were absolutely lovely. Everyone I spoke to in the two shows I performed was wonderfully enthusiastic and appreciative.

So, although it was a quiet night the Castle was still alive and kicking. Apparently reservations have been picking up for tonight, and there is every chance of a decent crowd showing up. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll miss the hot dogs though.

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