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Is David Copperfield Still the Best Magician in Vegas?

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On January 30, 2022, I wrote my first article for VegasShow.biz, “Making Magic on the Strip.” I talked about a failed attempt (due to a canceled show) at taking my son Enzo, who turned seven that month, to see David Copperfield earlier in January and how we were able to turn things around to still have a pretty ‘magical’ Saturday night in Vegas. I had always promised him that we would eventually see “Live The Impossible” by David Copperfield, and a few months later, I came through on that promise.

Taking Enzo to see David Copperfield was special for me because it felt like I was coming full circle. When I was 9 or 10 years old, my Mom took me to see Copperfield perform at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. It was my first magic show, and I still remember him ending the show by disappearing from the stage, then reappearing in the middle of the audience on his loud motorcycle. As this new show my son and I were seeing began, he did something similar with the same type of motorcycle. I couldn’t help but smile because it felt like we were picking up where we had left off over 30 years ago.

Enzo and I doing a Father-Son review of David Copperfield’s Las Vegas show: Live The Impossible.

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The David Copperfield Theater at MGM Grand

My impression of the David Copperfield Theater was that it was a nice mix of classic theater charm with more modern industrial props and decor. It’s a relatively theater, which I’m guessing can hold at least 1,500 people.

We were seated near the back, but after only about 10 minutes, an usher came over to tell everyone in our section that we were being moved closer to the stage. This was a weeknight show, so it wasn’t a huge surprise that it wasn’t sold out. They do two shows most nights, after all.

Enzo and I followed the group down to the lower seating level. We were at the back of the line, so they told us to follow along when they got to us. They ended up seating us in the third row! This was so kind of them and so much better than our original seating. We really appreciated them putting us so close.

Enzo and Michael Pellegrini at the David Copperfield Theater in Las Vegas.
Enzo and I took this selfie immediately after getting moved up to the third row.

Live The Impossible by David Copperfield

The show was about 70 minutes long and featured several large-scale magic tricks. You’re not going to see card tricks or sleight of hand at a David Copperfield show. For better or worse, this is the type of show that requires a very large staff. There are many heavy-duty props being used throughout the show, and large objects (like cars) are liable to appear out of nowhere.

One thing that caught me by surprise with the show was how heavily it was based on Copperfield’s relationship with his father. Considering that this was a special outing for my son and me, all the father-son content in the show made it feel that much more special for the two of us. Admittedly, some parts of the story felt a little odd, like the special hand symbol he and his father used to show their love, which he then has the whole crowd follow along with. I’d love to get a photo of the audience standing there with their hands up doing some strange symbol. It feels a wee bit cultish…

Frank the Dinosaur

One of the main promotional materials, and characters in the show, is a tyrannosaurus rex with a gold tooth named Frank. The character in the show is based on a toy dinosaur Copperfield loved as a kid. Frank gets weaved in and out of the story throughout the show, and Enzo loved it.

There were several parts of the show that kids of all ages would love, although they must be at least 5 to attend. In addition to Frank the Dinosaur, Enzo also really loved everything going on with the spaceship. I don’t want to give too much away about the show, but a character and his spaceship become focal points, and they really had my son captivated. There’s no question this is a very family-friendly Las Vegas magic show.

Audience Participation During David Copperfield’s Show

In my opinion, audience partition is a requirement for a good Vegas show. It adds that unexpected element because you never know what someone is going to do or say, but it’s often hilarious watching the performer play off of them.

Most Las Vegas magic shows are going to incorporate audience participation to some degree, but David Copperfield takes it to another level. I haven’t seen any other magicians bringing this many audience members up on stage. They’re not just standing there either; many of these people become actively involved in the magic tricks. As previously mentioned, these are large-scale magic tricks, so having a bunch of audience members seemingly involved makes the whole thing that much more exciting and grand.

Summary of Live The Impossible by David Copperfield

This is the type of show you want to go to with your family, and you’re going there to see big magic tricks. Although there is a comedy portion of the show, I felt that was the weakest part of Copperfield’s performance. One thing that I really loved about the show was how they incorporated modern technology, email in this case, into one of their magic tricks. Without giving too much away, they did a cool thing with an email that I still have saved in my inbox.

Enzo Pellegrini at the David Copperfield Theater.
This was Enzo’s reaction right as the show ended.

Having seen several Las Vegas magic shows this year, the biggest thing that stands out to me about Live The Impossible is how many people are involved in the production. Obviously, David Copperfield is the star of the show, but the size of his stage, security, and seating staff are incredible! For comparison, none of the other magic shows we’ve seen have anywhere nearly as many people working for the show.

The outcome of having so many people working on the show is that it feels like much more of a production. When examining the term ‘magic show,’ I can’t help but categorize Live The Impossible more towards the show side than the magic side. It’s undoubtedly still a magic show, but the level of production makes it hard to compare with a solo magician act.

Enzo and Michael Pellegrini outside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Enzo and I doing our recap immediately after the show.

After the show, Enzo and I made our way outside to film our recap. He really enjoyed the alien, spaceship, and Frank the dinosaur. I thought the show was very entertaining and a fun way to have a memorable night out with my son. I would highly recommend this show for families with children ages five and up, but it would also be a fun date-night show to go to with my wife.

There’s a reason Oprah Winfrey calls David Copperfield “the greatest illusionist of our time.” The man is an incredible entertainer who has dedicated his life to the art of magic. He’s constantly working on reinventing his magic and coming up with new tricks, yet his love for the history of magic, exhibited by his incredible self-curated magic museum, is also unrivaled. In short, if you get the chance to see David Copperfield perform, you should go! In both cases that I have seen him, it’s become a great memory for me and a special experience with someone I love.

Michael Pellegrini is the owner of Vegas Showbiz, LLC. He and his wife Jessica enjoy blogging and vlogging about Las Vegas. Their 3 kids, Ava, Elise, and Enzo frequently make appearances in his content as well. You can follow Michael at sleek.bio/VegasShowbiz

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