Damian Costa continues to “fight the good fight,” to use his term, at The Magicians Room at the Linq Promenade.
That fight means whittling the venue’s schedule as shows file out.
Former Tropicana Theater headliner David Goldrake is closing his show Aug. 23. Matt Donnelly, an accomplished improv comic, podcaster, comedy writer and — more recently — headlining magician, is not booked after Aug. 26.
Both performers have said they would rather close their shows than agree to new cost-cutting terms with Costa’s Pompey Entertainment, which runs the venue.
A show that is still playing but at a reduced schedule, “Late Night Magic,” has dropped two productions at the venue and now plays 10:30 p.m. Sundays and Mondays. Proven host and accomplished card manipulator Doug “Lefty” Leferovich leads a stellar lineup of The Shocker, Bizzaro Galore and Hollie England.
Goldrake is the rare headliner to perform a residency in a Strip theater and in a small-cap venue with rotating acts. He also occasionally joined the “Late Night Magic” cast as a guest star.
The outgoing showman said the opportunity to stay on the Strip didn’t make sense financially.
“We started conversations, and the proposed changes that they gave for what we have going were not really in the best interest either of my team, myself, my production or the show in general,” Goldrake said in a phone chat Tuesday afternoon. “I just decided that we would not continue our, you know, collaboration. I’m grateful that we had great audiences. We had a great platform to to perform a smaller, more intimate show, as opposed to what I had at the Tropicana.”
Costa said Goldrake’s show was “fantastic” and he would be welcome back anytime. The show was simply undercut by a lack of ticket demand.
Goldrake arrived in Las Vegas about a decade ago. He headlined the since-imploded Trop from June 2017 to September 2018. A star out of Luxembourg, he plans to take his show on the road while reviewing options in Las Vegas. But returning to the stage in a proven international magic mecca is not his top priority.
“I do love Vegas, I enjoy being on the Strip, but it’s not something that I’m really clinging to,” the magician with a 25-year stage career said. “I was actually in Paris, Feb. 24 of last year, when Damian reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we have this new venue. Do you want to be a part of it?’ I said, ‘If it’s interesting, I want to.’”
Goldrake said he had “great audiences,” but selling the show was a challenge. “No one really sells out unless you’re at the Sphere or at Allegiant Stadium,” he said.
Donnelly said he also detected that anticipated pedestrian traffic would not fill the room for his 4:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday performances (Monday’s show was canceled for lack of sales). He said he realized driving in when there was, literally, no traffic entering the Linq Promenade that his show would be in trouble.
Donnelly also noted that much of his crowd on a recent 109-degree day was “definitely” there for the air conditioning.
The “Mind Noodler” showman began working on magic in earnest a decade ago and is not finished growing his act. He is still shopping his show around the city.
Donnelly says his decision to close at the venue was completely financial. He had already turned down the terms he was offered to remain in the showroom.
“There is absolutely no ill will,” he said Tuesday. “I get what’s happening.”
Amid these departures, The Conjurors, the British tandem of Matthew Pomeroy and Natasha Lamb, paused their “Secret Wonders” production after notching show No. 400 this month. The ever-congenial tandem will perform in the London production of “Now You See Me Live.” A Las Vegas version opens at the MGM Grand Theater, formerly the David Copperfield Theater, in October.
The Conjurors are expected back at The Magicians Room in September.
On the management team in the family business, Costa’s son, Dayton Costa, is leaving after taking a position as Folds of Honor’s director of services in Nevada. The nonprofit organization provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled U.S. service members.
The younger Costa had headed up much of the operational duties at The Magicians Room and the nearby Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, also a Pompey Entertainment venue.
The Magicians Room remains a busy venue despite the departures and schedule reductions. Farrell Dillon, an original headliner in the showroom, performs his daily 4:30 p.m. shows. The “20 Minds 20 Minutes” close-up show in the hideaway parlor is a catchy attraction.
The Spanish magician Mago Enrique De Leon opens Aug. 8. And crane arcade fans can chuck out Lucky Rabbit on the ground level of the two-story house of entertainment.
Costa opened The Magicians Room in October, fulfilling a dream of presenting a magic-only fortress. He is relentlessly optimistic about the project’s long-term viability.
“We are welcoming new acts as the schedule permits,” he said. “We are making a good impact with our up-close magic. We’re still working hard to provide good, value entertainment and are getting ready for the fall.”
Cool Hang Alert
Off the Strip at The Composers Room at Historic Commercial Center (also a Pompey Entertainment haunt), the “Cotton Club Revue Scatz n Hornz” plays at 7 p.m. Saturday. Renee Davis Walters has developed a trip through time to the legendary Harlem club. Music from Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr. is featured. So is a comedy set honoring Moms Mabley, with a live band and the Cotton Club Dancers. Tickets start at $23.18 and parking is free. Go to thecomposersroom.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.