Carnival of Illusion

Carnival of Illusion is back at The Renaissance Hotel - Downtown Phoenix on Saturday, December 19, for an evening of close-up magic. It's a small-room show, performed just inches away from the audience across four exclusive rows, so you'll see everything as it happens rather than watching from the back of a theater.

The show is an old-world, vaudeville-inspired experience with a hint of 1900s Parisian humor. It's clean and family-friendly, and it doesn't rely on smoke, mirrors or large-scale Vegas pyrotechnics. The production earned an 'Excellence in Magic' award in Colon, Michigan.

Behind the show are magicians Roland and Susan, known as Sarlot & Eyed, who combine magic and dance. They met in 2002, and Roland became house magician at the Miraval resort in 2005. Their 30-seat boutique theater opened in 2009, and by 2016 it was the longest-running Arizona theater show in history; by 2020 the show had surpassed its 1,000th performance. In 2023 the brand expanded with Carnival of Illusion THEATER, which brings world-class guest magicians to the stage.

Tickets are $55 to $110, and the dress code is business casual. Well-behaved children aged 8 and older are welcome.