As spring turns to summer, and the days get longer and warmer (and even warmer still), Knott’s Berry Farm can always be counted on to cool its guests down with a spectacular ice skating show in the Charles M. Schulz Theater. Until this year. This year, Knott’s has decided to ditch the chilly ice and bring in sleight-of-hand, prestidigitation, and vaudeville dancing girls. Does the new show measure up? Is it a worthy addition to the new summer lineup?
You bet it is.
Set in an old vaudevillian theater (amazing set design, there, Knott’s–kudos!), magician Greg Wilson (son of famed magician Mark Wilson) makes an appropriately wondrous entrance, and enlists the Peanuts gang to help Snoopy earn his magical top hat and become a real magician (spoiler alert: he does). In between the magic tricks and comedy bits with the Peanuts, we are treated to some wonderful chorus line dancing from some very enthusiastic hoofers.
The show takes about 30 minutes, so you might need to think twice before you bring very young toddlers if they can’t sit still for that long, but all other ages should get a kick out of this revue.
Greg Wilson obviously loves being a magician and loves entertaining people. He is high-energy, personable, and a great choice for what is, essentially, a kid’s show. His effects are varied, from large industrial illusions, like a lady that suddenly appears inside an empty cage, to smaller more intimate illusions, like the linking rings. He draws you in with his enthusiasm and keeps your attention with some skillful manipulation.
The dance portions are integrated well and provide even more visual flair and fun. The costumes are delightful, going from formal wear to sparkly flapper, all conveying a 1920s esthetic that I thought would be jarring when juxtaposed against the modern Peanuts gang, but it all flows smoothly. The humor of Schulz’s classic comic strip shines through in the short pre-recorded bits between Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and the rest that are sprinkled in throughout the excitement.
At one point, Wilson even comes out into the audience to get some assistance with an illusion, and reveals a previously-made prediction that matches perfectly with something a random passerby outside the theater has chosen on the spur-of-the-moment. It’s a great trick that might not fool older, sophisticated adults, but the kids in the audience loved it.
Taking a break from standing in the hot sun at a theme park is always a good idea, and the new Snoopy’s Magnificent Magical Revue is a fun way to do just that, as long as you don’t mind being dazzled, mystified, and thoroughly entertained. Uncle Mike sez this is one of the highlights of any trip to the farm. Go see it!
