Delightful magic and comedy at Welk Theatre

An entertaining comedy and magic show is now currently highlighted at the Welk Resort. Two talented performers, “Anthony the Magic” and Scott “Mr. Punchline” Wood, delight audiences on selected Wednesday evenings.

Since the current stage play is the “King and I,” the set is ornately decorated in a style straight out of old Siam. Ornately carved facades are back-lit with soft red lighting. The effect is mysterious and sets a wonderful stage for the magic show.

Anthony Hernandez, or “Anthony the Magic,” doesn’t bill himself as an illusionist but that is what he is. He performs illusions with live doves and has members of the audience pet the doves, probably to assure the rest of the audience that they are live. He makes shoes disappear and reappear and gets himself out of a straightjacket in no time at all.

Anthony the Magic leaves the audience aghast when he saws his lovely assistant, Dawn, in half during one of the illusions. The magic is performed with two volunteers from the audience on stage (probably as witnesses), who are holding her neck and leg restraints.

Anthony delights in showing the audience the transformation of a napkin to a snowflake – a trick that was taught to him as a child by his grandfather. He tears bits off of a white napkin until, opened up, the snowflake is revealed. “True beauty is on the inside,” Anthony’s grandfather had told him when he performed the trick. Anthony then related the same truth to the audience.

As a child, Anthony was further inspired by watching David Copperfield on television, saying to himself, “I want to do that!” As a toddler he attempted to pull things out of his grandfather’s hat. “Magic bit me before I found it,” he said.

He learned a great deal, including his “linking rings” trick, from illusionist Ralph Adams. Anthony has now been performing for 20 years but has been working with his assistant, Dawn Morgan, for about four years. “She has taken me to a new level,” he said. Anthony and Dawn recently performed at the prestigious 100-year-old Magic Castle in Hollywood.

Anthony’s is a show with heart. A one-minute video of people who have been great influences in his life flash across the screen, his grandfather and Copperfield among them. He works hard at his craft. “I don’t want to be a typical magician,” he said. “Bringing adults into magic gives them the wonder.”

Scott Wood, billed as “Mr. Punchline,” is a comedian with a gift for one-liners but also has a large repertoire of voice imitations, including a hilarious Sylvester Stallone.

He said a comedian needs to constantly generate new material because jokes “have a short shelf life.” Since he acts “in the moment” the show will never be exactly the same. “Comedy is truth, but it is exaggerated truth,” Wood noted.

How does he come up with his material? “I look around and the stuff writes itself,” he said. Scott has that rare talent of seeing jokes and comedy in everyday life. He is able to fire off one-liners about current situations before most people have even assessed a situation. “We [comedians] see stuff weird and talk about it.”

His influences have been Bill Cosby, Red Skelton and Rodney Dangerfield, to name a few. When Wood was in the third grade he told people he was going to be a comedian. In later years he studied books, tapes and professional comedians. Finally in 1989 his dream of becoming a full-time comedian was realized. “You have to believe in yourself,” Wood noted.

He has appeared on stages around the world and has been featured in films and on television. Wood mentioned that he has worked steadily for almost 20 years because he “keeps it clean.” The audience won’t find profanity in any of his material.

During the summer the show times will double, so be sure to check http://www.welkresort.com for a current schedule. The tickets are reasonably priced and the Welk Resort Comedy and Magic Show is a great way to spend a summer’s evening.