David Parr

There are three magical packages to choose from:
Cabaret-style show. This works best for a corporate or private event where there is a platform or stage and an audience seated in front of it. David can do up to a forty-five minute show, featuring magic he has performed around the world, including at the Magic Castle in Hollywood!
European-style close-up magic. This is perfect for parties with lots of people and activity. In an area away from the main flow of the party, David sets up his table, a few chairs and a standing banner, transforming it into his pop-up parlor of mystery! Groups of guests gather around and David performs a fifteen-minute set of magic, then sends them on their way, amazed and happy, and a new group takes their place. He does this continuously for the duration of his time at the event (usually two to three hours). All that’s needed is an area that is relatively quiet and well lit, so guests can see the magic and interact with David, and he takes care of the rest!
Strolling close-up magic. This approach works at quiet events where there is no band or deejay, the overall lighting is good, and David is required for a short time, such as a cocktail hour before dinner. David mingles with guests, mystifying small groups of people here and there throughout the party. He does this continuously for the duration of his time at the event (usually one hour).
Contact David to discuss which performance package will be best for your event, and he will help make it magical and memorable for everyone who attends!
Note: David does not specialize in children’s shows.

Magic fans recognize David Parr from his appearance on the hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us on the CW network. In an episode titled "Does This Trick Ring a Bell?" (Season 4, Episode 5), David's magic skills were put to the ultimate test in front of the cameras, a live audience of hundreds, millions of TV viewers, and two very savvy Las Vegas magicians. (Spoiler alert...) He totally fooled Penn & Teller and took home the coveted Fool Us trophy, which is now on display in the Chicago Magic Lounge.
The Chicago Magic Lounge is the Windy City’s #1 nightlife attraction. David is the sole artist in residence at the Chicago Magic Lounge, where can be seen every Wednesday night in his show David Parr’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a guided tour of his collection of magical artifacts and strange stories. The Cabinet of Curiosities is on the Chicago Reader’s shortlist of highly recommended shows.
Before opening his Cabinet of Curiosities, David created and costarred in Chicago’s longest-running magic show, The Magic Cabaret, which was chosen by the Travel Channel as one of the top nine magic shows in the nation! (Because top-ten lists are so passé.) David is a frequent performer at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. Around Halloween, he can often be found haunting atmospheric locations with original shows such as Haunting History, a guided tour of the shadowy territory where history meets myth and folklore, and Visions of Poe, an interactive journey into the tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe.
In the secretive world of magicians, David is the author of some very well-regarded books about the art of magic, and his writings have appeared in publications in the US, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and Sweden.
"Parr explores the outskirts of the human imagination: folklore and fairy tales, poltergeists and psychic powers. A celebration of the weird and wonderful in everyday life." — Capital Times