ChiIL Live Shows on our radar
Chicago Magic Lounge announces next show in Artist-in-Residence series
Kayla Drescher: Magic in Heels
Wednesdays at 7:00pm
January 5 – March 30, 2022
Kayla D by Dana Lynn Photo
Additional Holiday Week and New Year’s Eve performances of
The Signature Show scheduled
December 26-31, 2021
Here at ChiIL Live Shows, Chicago Magic Lounge has long been a favorite of ours. Tickets make a great clutter busting idea for holiday gifting. Add a bit of professional magic to this magical season, creating lasting memories with friends and family.
Nick Diffatte
We were most recently out at Chicago Magic Lounge to catch Nick Diffatte: Offbeat, now through December 22, 2021 and highly recommend it. His comedic timing is impeccable, and his magic is a unique blend of comedy and mind melting illusions. Offbeat is an entertaining night out, heavy on audience participation, and far from the same old same old magicians have been doing for decades. Treat yourself!
Chicago Magic Lounge, Chicago’s home for close-up magic, continues its Artist-In-Residence series with Kayla Drescher: Magic in Heels, Wednesdays at 7:00pm, January 5 – March 30, 2022. Kayla Drescher: Magic in Heels is a wild ride of magic, laughter, and interactive fun, all done in heels because “magic in pajamas” was already taken. Tickets for all Chicago Magic Lounge shows are available at the box office, (312) 366-4500 or online at
chicagomagiclounge.com.
Kayla D by Dana Lynn Photo
Kayla Drescher, based in Los Angeles, brings her interactive show to the Chicago Magic Lounge. She’s performed for clients like Microsoft, IBM, Wells Fargo, and many more. Kayla has been seen on Penn & Teller’s “Fool Us,” Access Hollywood, and NBC’s “Today Show,” where she was given the title “The Next Great Magician” by David Copperfield. Most recently, she could be seen touring the world with the Champions of Magic. Kayla hosts a popular magic podcast, Shezam, focused on diversity and inclusion within the magic and allied arts communities.
Kayla Drescher: Magic in Heels will be presented on Wednesdays at 7:00pm, January 5 – March 30, 2022. Tickets are priced $45 (Main Floor) and $50 (Front Row). Tickets go on sale November 15, 2021.
Special Holiday and New Year’s Eve Performances at Chicago Magic Lounge
Chicago Magic Lounge will add performances of its most popular show, The Signature Show, this holiday season. Tickets for holiday week performances are currently on sale.
Luis Carreon (Headliner)
The Signature Show: Holiday Schedule
December 26-30 at 7pm and December 30 at 10pm
Tickets: $50-$55 (Standard); $65-$75 (Premium, includes 654 Club admission)
Additional Performance on December 31 at 7pm
Tickets: Front Row $95, Main Floor Cabaret and Main Floor Banquette $85, Standard Main Floor $70, Standard Mezzanine $65
Justin Purcell (654 Club)
The Signature Show: New Year’s Eve Celebration
December 31st at 10 pm
Tickets: Front Row $110, Main Floor Cabaret and Main Floor Banquette $95, Standard Main Floor $80, Standard Mezzanine $75
Ryan Plunkett (Featured Act)
Make your New Year’s Eve extraordinary with a night of magic! The evening starts with close-up magic performed right at your cabaret table by our talented house magicians. In between visits, you will have time to socialize with your party and order from our full-service bar and kitchen. Table magic is followed by a 60-minute stage show featuring CML favorites, Luis Carreon (Headliner), Ryan Plunkett (Featured Act) and Justin Purcell (654 Club). All tickets include a commemorative champagne flute and a champagne toast as we welcome the arrival of 2022.
The Signature Show was conceived in 2015 as an homage to the historic, Chicago magic bar scene. Experience close-up magic right at your table during the cocktail hour, followed by an hour of stage magic featuring masters of their craft performing feats of prestidigitation and sleight of hand. Guests who purchase Premium tickets (Front Row, Main Floor Cabaret, Main Floor Banquette) are invited to an exclusive performance of close-up magic directly after the main stage show in our 43-seat close-up gallery, The 654 Club.
Also Happening at Chicago Magic Lounge
Music & Magic
Mondays at 7:00pm
Tickets: General Admission $25
The Showcase
Tuesdays at 7:00pm
Tickets: Standard: $35; Front Row: $40
Artist-in-Residence Series
Wednesdays at 7:00pm
Nick Diffatte: Offbeat, now through December 22, 2021 (except November 24, 2021)
Tickets: Standard: $40; Front Row: $45
Nick Diffatte: Offbeat is an evening of dry humor, quick wit, and incredible skill, combining a lifetime of experience in magic and the variety arts into an interactive comedy experience.
Nick Diffatte has taken the scene by storm and is quickly becoming one of the most talked about and in demand comedy variety acts working today. His unique approach has been called a “breath of fresh air” and has led to appearances at the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, The Late Late Show on CBS, has won multiple awards, and landed him in comedy clubs across the country. Nick takes the format of a standard “Magic Show” and turns it completely on its head and has audiences laughing uncontrollably from beginning to end.
Kayla Drescher: Magic in Heels, January 5 – March 30, 2022
Tickets: Standard: $45; Front Row: $50
Ever wonder what the life of a magician is like? Join Kayla Drescher on this wild ride of magic, laughter, and interactive fun. And it’s all done in heels…because “magic in pajamas” was already taken.
Kayla Drescher, based in Los Angeles, brings her interactive show to the Chicago Magic Lounge. She’s performed for clients like Microsoft, IBM, Wells Fargo, and many more. You may have seen her on Penn & Teller’s “Fool Us,” Access Hollywood, or NBC’s “Today Show,” where she was given the title “The Next Great Magician” by David Copperfield. Most recently, Kayla could be seen touring the world with the Champions of Magic. Kayla hosts a popular magic podcast, Shezam, focused on diversity and inclusion within the magic and allied arts communities.
The Signature Show
Thursdays-Sundays at 7:00pm, Fridays and Sundays at 10pm
Tickets: Front Row $80, Premium Main Floor (main floor banquette and main floor cabaret), Standard (rail and elevated banquette) $60, Mezzanine $50
The Signature Show was conceived in 2015 as an homage to the historic, Chicago magic bar scene. Experience close-up magic right at your table during the cocktail hour, followed by an hour of stage magic featuring masters of their craft performing feats of prestidigitation and sleight of hand. Guests who purchase Premium tickets (Front Row, Main Floor Cabaret, Main Floor Banquette) are invited to an exclusive performance of close-up magic directly after the main stage show in our 43-seat close-up gallery, The 654 Club.
Tickets for all Chicago Magic Lounge performances are available at the box office, (312) 366-4500 or online at chicagomagiclounge.com. Chicago Magic Lounge is a 21+ venue. Ages 16+ allowed to ticketed shows with a legal guardian. For the health and safety of our staff, guests and community, you must be fully vaccinated to enter the premises. Ticket holders may be required to present proof of vaccination status.
For a complete schedule of performances and more information about Chicago Magic Lounge, as well as resident and guest performers, Chicago Magic College classes, the Chicago Magic Round Table, and more, please visit chicagomagiclounge.com.
About Chicago Magic Lounge
Chicago Magic Lounge reinvents the classic "magic bar" that once dotted Chicago's nightlife landscape, bringing cocktails and card tricks back together again. Shows include magic performance at the bar, on the stage and in true Chicago-style Magic form, at the tables of the guests, providing the classic "Close-Up" tradition Chicago-style Magic is known for. Chicago Magic Lounge is also the home of the Chicagoland magic community, showcasing over 30 local professionals, and serving as a networking hub for working magicians from all over the world.
The newly constructed theater at 5050 N. Clark St., designed by Morris Architects Planners, has ushered in a new wave of entertainment, bringing back “Chicago-style Magic” under the leadership of Donald C Clark, Jr. and Joseph (Joey) Cranford. Converted from a 1930s-era, commercial laundry building, the Chicago Magic Lounge is a 7,200 square-foot, Art Deco, state-of-the-art theater and lounge complete with secret doors, elegant performance areas and a magic bar – all dedicated to the art of sleight of hand, prestidigitation and Chicago's contribution to the magical arts. From magicians to mind readers, Chicago Magic Lounge provides guests the unique, one-of-a-kind experience of seeing wonders up-close and personal in a venue unlike anything else offered throughout the country.
