Of course there’s no such thing as magic. Not in the supernatural sense, anyway. Not in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” sense, where Mickey Mouse dons his master’s glowing cap and casts a spell on a broom, making it tote buckets of water for him. What we choose to call magic comes down to a strategic partnership between physics, psychology, dexterity, and hope.
But soon enough his show is invaded by an apparition: the memory of a competitive diver—called, yes, the Diver—who became the Magician’s lover after the two met cute over a card trick. The Magician’s immediate reaction to this intrusion is a little hokey in Halena Kays’s otherwise deft staging (“I’m sorry, I was somewhere else . . . , ” accompanied by appropriately woozy gestures), yet it leads to a vivid recounting of a romance rendered difficult by the Magician’s fear of abandonment, his habitual preoccupation with appearances, and an intense need to limit variables that’s understandable in his line of work but toxic to affairs of the heart.
Through 11/20: Wed 7:30 PM, Thu 2 and 7:30 PM, Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 2 PM Goodman Theatre 170 N. Dearborn 312-443-3800goodmantheatre.org $15-$50
