Penn Jillette has been hamstrung in Penn & Teller’s residency at the Rio.
The taller, verbose member of the legendary headlining duo was forced to cancel a couple of shows after performing hamstring-lifts with a personal trainer. Or we should say, hamstring-lifts with weights, under the direction of a personal trainer.
Jillette suffered a minor back injury July 9. He is still in recovery mode.
“I had a little tweak in my back,” Jillette recounted to co-host and The Magicians Rooms headliner Matt Donnelly during the July 15 episode of the wicked-fun “Penn’s Sunday School” podcast.
Jillette said when he felt that tweak, he thought, “Who cares?” But the injury was not going away.
“That night I did not sleep,” Jillette continued. “I couldn’t stand up straight. It was terrible.”
Medically speaking, the showman said he was suffering from muscle spasms in his “left buttock.”
Jillette said he went to coffee with Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette, his oldest kid, the day after the injury. “Mox was holding my hand, helping me, like I’m a 71-year-old — oh wait! I am!”
Jillette muscled through the July 10 show at the Rio, but had to cancel the July 15 performance at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in California, and also July 16 at the Rio. He is back on stage as scheduled, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, a nearby stool at the ready for his long monologues.
Jillette has now experienced two odd injuries this year that have limited his stage time. In January, he broke his left ankle in a fall down the stairs of his Las Vegas home while doing laundry. That mishap knocked the P&T show off the stage for a month.
Medically speaking, Jillette is currently experiencing “a left buttock problem” in the form of muscle spasms.
By pure coincidence, Jillette received an email from Donny Osmond (who had surgery to repair a torn gluteus maximus in 2013): “If you ever have back problems, I know a Korean doctor in L.A.”
“Did he know something was wrong with your back?” Donnelly asked.
“No!” Jillette said. “This was two days before.”
Jillette and the 68-year-old Osmond have shared details of their various ailments. Jillette told Osmond that his ankle was still bad, and the Harrah’s Showroom headliner answered, “Why don’t you get a new ankle at Walmart?”
“I said, ‘Donny, I don’t shop at Walmart. I’m a star,’” Jillette said. “I always like to make Donny laugh, and referring to myself as a star always puts him in stitches.”
Not a ‘magic’ show
Beyond the medical reports, more from the Penn & Teller camp:
— The guys appeared in an unbilled cameo in the Thursday premiere of “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” on HBO Max. The series is the spin-off of “The Big Bang Theory.”
In the just-released episode, the duo performs a post-apocalyptic magic show alongside a “Penn & Teller Will Perform For Food” sign in an alternate-reality scene. Teller previously played Amy’s father, Larry Fowler (married to Kathy Bates), on “The Big Bang Theory.”
— Jillette is appearing with Flamingo headliner Piff the Magic Dragon in “Piff & Pops Magic Shoppe” at the Magic Castle in L.A. from Aug. 10-12. This is a nine-show run, three performances per night, leading to the duo’s September headlining tour of the U.K. The series is Jillette’s first extended tour without Teller in the duo’s 50-year history.
— “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” is due to return for its 12th season on The CW this fall. The filming schedule at Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio is the last two weeks of October.
— During “Sunday School,” Jillette made a reference I’d not heard about the Penn & Teller stage show. The duo has never referred to their show as a “magic show” during their two Broadway runs and even early off-Broadway appearances.
“Magic is the ‘M’ word,” Jillette said. “In the press, we’d say, ‘We do stuff that you can’t figure out,’ and we described a magic show without saying it.”
As he explained, “The reason is, if you say ‘magic show,’ divorced fathers come and leave their children off and you know, go off and (have relations with) their secretaries.” Never heard of that, either. But it means, among other things, P&T don’t claim to have “the greatest magic show” in Las Vegas history.
— Penn is working on his latest book, “Penn & Teller’s 52 Years of Failure,” a chronicle of failed bits and acts over the past 50-plus years. Apparently Moxie thinks the title is “damaging.”
— As previously reported, P&T have extended for three years at the Rio. The news of this broke when Donnelly mentioned the “Fool Us” extension in May during “The Magicians’ Podcast.” The show is hosted by Richard Young, targeted for a U.K. audience, and available only through subscription. But this extension, and also the Rio’s, were unexpectedly picked up and reported in Las Vegas (hello). The results of how this all went down is a great segment in “Sunday School,” and thus ends the plug.
Cool Hang Alert
It’s crooning and country styles at El Cortez. Las Vegas showman Michael Nugent plays The Parlour Bar from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday. Across the casino at the Showbar, Zach Ryan & The Boys headline 8 p.m.-12 a.m. No cover at this legendary downtown Las Vegas hotel-casino.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
Who: Penn & Teller.
Where: Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater.
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
Tickets: Starting at $102.68 (fees included).
Information: Pennandteller.com.
**
“Piff & Pop’s Magic Shoppe – UK Tour 2026.”
September 2026
Sept 10, Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
Sept. 11, Cardiff New Theatre
Sept. 13, Brighton Theatre Royal
Tuesday 15 Sept. 2026 – London Indigo at The O2
Wednesday 16 Sept. 2026 – Birmingham Alexandra Theatre
Thursday 17 Sept. 2026 – Manchester Opera House
Saturday 19 Sept. 2026 – York Opera House
Sunday 20 Sept. 2026 – Newcastle Tyne Theatre
Monday 21 Sept. 2026 – Glasgow Pavilion Theatre