Review: Magician Justin Willman does more than dazzle while taping Netflix special in St. Paul

Harry Houdini is one of history’s most celebrated magicians, but he wasn’t known for delivering laughs. He didn’t have to.

Back in his day, it was enough to mystify audiences. Not anymore. Today’s stage wizards are expected to blow minds and tickle funny bones.

Few deliver on both fronts as well as Justin Willman, who is at St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theater to tape his next special for Netflix, the streaming service that has significantly raised his profile.

Even those who know him well from his prank series, “Magic for Humans,” or his appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” would have been dazzled Thursday by his new bag of tricks, many of which rely on mental acrobatics and audience participation.

During his roughly 90 minutes on stage, the St. Louis native predicted the name of a stranger’s first crush, got his Rubik’s Cube to match the same pattern of an audience member’s cube and managed to pop a volunteer’s cell phone into a thin-necked bottle. I don’t know if his ability to pinpoint the exact location of any zip code in the country is a trick or just a feat of memorization. Either way, it was impressive.

Willman relies on showmanship as much as sleight of hand. He’s a quick wit, adeptly improvising after he discovers an audience member grinds tree stumps for a living.

For savvy adults, there were jokes about NFTs, the movie “Se7en” and the original recipe for Coca-Cola. For kids, there was an elaborate routine in which pre-teens were so wrapped up in winning stuffed animals, they barely noticed they were pawns in a brilliant visual stunt.

While a lot of his peers play the part of cocky show-off (think Criss Angel and David Blaine), Willman leans on self deprecation. He opened the show by apologizing to magic haters who were only in attendance because their loved ones dragged them along.

“Magicians don’t normally get this kind of respect,” he said after being greeted by warm applause. “We’re the chiropractors of the entertainment industry.”

His approach is aided by his resemblance to Paul Rudd and the deadpan reactions of Jack Benny, a nice combo for anyone aiming to charm an audience. He even managed to be get as many “awwws” as “ooohs” with a balloon trick dedicated to his late mom, a bit made all the more moving by his father being in the audience.

Willman’s current tour started at the Fitzgerald — and you can see why he came back to the venue for the high-profile taping. It’s got a stage that can handle an elaborate set piece, but the space is also intimate enough that spectators don’t have to rely on video screens to watch him turn a dollar bill into a C-note.

The setting was also the ideal playground for opener Michael Rayner who spun a burger on a parasol with such velocity that pickles flew out. He also promised $20 to anyone who could hand him a shoe that he couldn’t balance on his nose for seven seconds. Rayner ended up losing $40, but he won the audience’s hearts.

Rayner and Willman return to the Fitz for a second taping at 7 p.m. Friday. For tickets, visit first-avenue.com.