It’s No Illusion: A Magic Act That’s Kid-Friendly : Magicopolis in Santa Monica avoids nightclub glitz while aiming for a style both cutting-edge and clean.

Twenty years ago, Steve Spill was a magician-bartender at a popular Aspen, Colo., hangout that catered to the likes of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and maverick journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

“We did magic to sell the drinks,” Spill says of his days at the now defunct Jolly Jester. “But that was the ‘70s. Nowadays, I don’t think that’s such a great thing.”

Indeed, the now retired illusionist is using magic to reach a far different audience today. As the creator and director of the new Magicopolis theater in Santa Monica, Spill’s goal is to attract people of all ages with shows that are clean, fun and, well, magical.

Yes, there is a bar at the 4th Street venue with the large windows and urban ambience. But it’s a coffee bar offering a variety of nonalcoholic beverages and snack items. Catch one of Magicopolis’ weekend matinee performances and you just might run into a flock of kids celebrating a birthday. Spill offers several birthday party plans where pizza, drinks and a cake are provided, along with the theater’s regular serving of magic. Kids partaking of a party plan are also given a free magic lesson and a bag of tricks.

“I want to attract kids, their friends, their parents and grandparents,” says Spill, 44. “It’s more of a family experience as opposed to a nightclub or a Las Vegas-y kind of a thing. At the same time I want it to be a cutting-edge experience. We’re still going for a high level of excellence.”

The Los Angeles area has two other major magic venues. The Magic Castle in Hollywood is an invitation-only club for magicians that’s been in existence for four decades. Meals are served and no children are allowed except at the Sunday morning brunch shows. Wizardz, at Universal CityWalk in Universal City, is an all-ages dinner theater that seats 280 patrons and presents magic on stage, as well as in the audience via illusionists who drift from table to table.

Magicopolis conjures up a strictly theatrical atmosphere. Main stage performances take place on the weekends at Magicopolis’ 150-seat Abracadabra Theater. The current weekend production is titled “Joker’s Wild.” It features veteran illusionist Bob Sheets and a young, high-energy duo called the Gamesters.

The pairing of these two disparate acts reflects Spill’s desire to present both traditional and more colorfully modern magic. Sheets’ performance is heavy with old-school card, rope and balls-and-cups tricks. Conversely, the zoot-suited Gamesters come across like refugees from a manic cartoon. The pair uses a bevy of homemade props in a series of pantomimed skits set to blaring swing music.

Both of these acts fulfill Spill’s desire for quality magicians who are also charismatic entertainers.

“The type of thing the Gamesters do has an across-the-board appeal, but it’s particularly strong with kids,” he explains. “The type of sleight-of-hand material that Bob does [is stronger with adults]. But in terms of charisma and humor, everyone from kids to grandparents love him.”

Audiences Get a Peek at Tricks of the Trade

Spill currently is developing a magic show that will contain a continuous story line. Every six weeks or so a new chapter will be unveiled, though he says audiences will be able to follow each segment even if they haven’t seen other shows in the series. Spill hopes that this soap opera-like concept will help establish regular customers.

Magicopolis also contains an intimate space for sleight-of-hand magic. The 34-seat Hocus Pocus Room allows curious viewers an up-close opportunity to figure out some of the tricks of this mystical trade. “Quicker Than the Eye,” a 90-minute show featuring three magicians, is offered Tuesday-Thursday nights. In addition, patrons can often catch a magician crafting a few sleight-of-hand tricks before performances at the coffee bar.

TV Specials Putting Magicians in Spotlight

Spill feels that the current climate is ideal for a family-friendly magic theater like Magicopolis. In recent years there’s been a proliferation of magic-oriented TV specials. Illusionists as diverse as the splashy David Copperfield and the unpretentiously mesmerizing David Blaine have presented their own network specials. Spill says there are now 10 magic-related shows playing in Las Vegas.

“I think the TV specials have made a big difference in magic’s popularity,” Spill says. “In that sense they’re like infomercials. But it’s still a form of entertainment that has a greater emotional appeal and is more impressive when you see it in person.”

Magic seems to be in Spill’s blood. His father practiced the craft semiprofessionally and was a manager of the Magic Castle in the 1960s. Spill himself began practicing magic at the tender age of 5.

“I grew up as a Magic Castle brat,” Spill recalls. “Kids aren’t allowed in there, so I used to sneak in to see all the magicians. Some of the older magicians there like Dai Vernon were great historical figures and founding fathers of what we would call modern magic today. In the late ‘60s there wasn’t a place for these guys to work, so they used to hang out at the Magic Castle and do magic for each other. They inspired a handful of younger people like me.”

Now Spill aspires to have a similar influence on young people, not only in Los Angeles but eventually in other cities across the country. One of his goals is to launch Magicopolis theaters in other major markets.

Magicopolis Relies on Word of Mouth

For now, the ambitious Spill has put his expansion dreams on the back burner until he is confident that his first Magicopolis is firmly established. After finding the site in Santa Monica (formerly occupied by a video/record store) in early 1997, he spent the next year and a half recruiting investors and getting the theater built to his specifications.

Spill is particularly proud of the way the Abracadabra Theater and Hocus Pocus Room were designed.

“We put in an extra 10 inches of height in each row so that every seat in the house is perfect,” he comments. “It has a very steep rake. So even if you’re 3 feet tall you can see all the performers on-stage from head to toe.” Because of construction cost overruns, Spill has yet to advertise for Magicopolis.

“We’re pretty much relying on word of mouth,” Spill reveals. “So it’s really gratifying to see that it’s working and that people do love it. There are people who have come back to the same show multiple times and they always bring somebody new with them.”

BE THERE

Magicopolis, 1418 4th St., Santa Monica; (310) 451-2241. “Joker’s Wild” appears indefinitely in the Abracadabra Theater. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2, 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m. $20 for evening performance; $15 for matinees. “Quicker Than the Eye” appears in the Hocus Pocus Room indefinitely. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. $20.