Open Your Eyes

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More About

• David Hirata
• Stefan Fisher
• Kim Silverman
• Pandora Experiment
• Magic and Illusions

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When we were kids, it was way easier to be hoodwinked into addressing our wish lists to Santa and seeing stars around shopping malls, but the holiday magic kind of dissipates when you're old enough to understand capitalism and abhor crowds. All the same, you can ease up a bit on the Grinchiness and maybe get a last shot of holiday enchantment from illusionist/actor David Hirata's Magic Holiday. Along with a few of his buddies -- Christian Cagigal of The Pandora Experiment, juggler Stefan Fisher, and conjuring accomplice Kim Silverman -- Hirata attempts to recapture that raw childlike wonder that made Christmas cool when we were little. The quartet's ruses are equal parts sleight of hand and suspension of disbelief. Cagigal's mind-over-matter parlor tricks tickle the imagination, while Fisher's clever turns with water balloons and spinning plates appeal to our more palpable entertainment needs. Silverman and Hirata give the disappearing act a little twist with an inscrutable teleportation thingamabob, and also create some nifty optical illusions with light, using the concept of dreams as an anchoring leitmotif. The show's aura of mystery makes it the perfect escape, and it's just the kind of sorcery that could open your mind a wee bit to the possibility of seasonal wonder.
Dec. 9-30, 1 p.m., 2007