Carnival of Illusion, Phoenix AZ

Guest magician John Shryock was fabulous. Although his show hasn't changed much, it is still a super fun time, and John is an enigmatic performer. His last piece of the show, (that he does with his kids), is a great show stopper.

What an experience! We went as a family to go see the show. I don’t recall the guest magicians name (or his beautiful wife assistant) but they were amazing! Super entertaining and engaging! The venue at the Mesa Art Center was very intimate and every seat was the best seat in the house! Will definitely be back!

My wife and I saw John Shryock and Mari Lynn at the Mesa Arts Center 2/25/23. Everyone at Carnival of Illusion is friendly and energetic! From the moment you arrive, when you are personally greeted and taken to your seats, to your exit when they thank you and hand out chocolates, you are made to feel special and appreciated. And everything in between is truly magical! John is hilarious and highly skilled. His fast-paced show and flawless presentation will leave you amazed. The tricks ranged from small close-up magic to large stage illusions. He is assisted by his wife Mari Lynn, and her beautiful dancing adds to the spectacle! I highly recommend both Carnival of Illusion and John and Mari Lynn to anyone looking for a fun, classy date night.

Just a wonderful experience for me and my husband. The magic was wonderful and it was heartwarming to see how he incorporated children in the audience into the act. Well worth the cost.

My 12 year old daughter and I had a lot of fun! Rowan and Susan were incredibly sweet to her as she was so nervous to be a volunteer. It's all she talked about on the way home. Thank you Roland and Susan! We had a blast!

Fabulous show in Tucson. Truly amazing. Would definitely recommend seeing this performance!

We enjoyed a delightful evening of magic and fun from the moment we were greeted at the door to when we departed the theater! You will be refreshingly entertained and totally amazed by the passion of these two brilliant performers who seem to genuinely love sharing their joy and happiness with others! It is an absolute pleasure to watch and participate in this wonderful show!

I enjoyed the show and found it entertaining. Overall the show was fun. Some of the tricks were obvious while I have no idea how they did the others. I deducted 1 star for the audio issues mentioned in other reviews. It feels a bit like amateur hour when the audio isn't working correctly. Susan's mic worked maybe half the time or wasn't turned up enough. This was distracting to the point that it made it somewhat less enjoyable. I would still recommend the show. I would not go again because I felt like I saw all the tricks they had.

A great evening of fun and illusion. If you are looking for a night of excitement, this is it. I highly recommend.

I have been waiting years to see this show! My husband and I finally got to see the show at the Wrigley Mansion Aug 27. It was fabulous. Front row seats and I couldn’t figure out anything. Lots of audience interaction and very funny. We got to meet Roland and Susan after the show. Very nice and personable. So glad we went!
Thanks again for a fun night!
Jan and Jerry Peterman

Cute show but not what I expected. This is no Vegas or big venue show, this is a mom an pop show with no frills or thrills. The audio quality was poor and it was difficult to hear the performers several time during the show. We had to fill in the blanks to understand what is going on. I would compare this show to a kids magic show. Besides that the performers are attentive and even greet you at the end of the show. This was my first time seeing them and again they did announce this was their first show in a long time. I hope they make improvement in their production and showmanship in the future. I did not take any pictures inside or video do to their rules.

Edit: Staff spoke with me about my feedback and are aware of the concerns mentioned and it sounds as though improvements will be made to the performance to restore it to the glory of it's previous reviews

Not worth the money, these tricks were very small scale and all very simple, the show itself lacked magic, it was sadly boring and lack luster, while seating is not much raised so high chance your view may be obstructed and the seats themselves are bar stools, our night consisted of waiting for the show to get better and wow but it never happened seating was very disorganized, one lady was reseated 3 times and the show started late

I have been wanting to see Carnival of Illusion since I moved to Tucson in 2017 and it continuously popped up under multiple lists of unique things to do in the city. I finally bought tickets for myself and my boyfriend this past December and we were so excited to see them this past Saturday. Not only do they perform in a gorgeous building in a beautiful part of downtown, they are mesmerizing with their ability to hold a crowd's attention with their humor and their skill. It's amazing to me how "tricks" that have intrigued audiences for decades continues to do so. I found myself holding my breath during several of them and talking about them after the show. This is a duo (trio if you count their sweet pup) that transports you away from reality for an hour and a half. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening!

Coming from someone who doesn't really care for magic shows, this is a really cool magic show. The audience sits directly on the stage, and interact quite a bit with the performers. The performers schtick is well done and fits well with the motif they are going for.

Check it out!

My wife and I attended their 5: 30 show last night as an early evening Valentine's Day gift to ourselves. We were greeted promptly when we arrived and when the theater opened we were shown to our seats up front row seats 11 & 12. The set's presentation was lavish and beautiful. A myriad of details hung before us, each making us wonder how and when they would be incorporated into the show.

The show started on time and the magic show began. But calling it simply a magic show doesn't do it enough justice. Yes there were displays of close up magic, some tried chestnuts, many new to me; but there were two other components at play last night.

There was the pure showmanship of the pair, a few times they compared themselves to PT Barnum, but I think that does them a disservice. There's was an act of both magic and theater, a work of art well honed through their 800+ shows, but never appearing tired.

Thirdly there was the charismatic way that the two of them worked with each other, supported each other's individual displays, and the ease with which they worked the crowd to involve them in the very acts of the show.

The whole thing came together to become something far greater than the sum of each of their parts. I can not urge you hard enough to go see them. It is truly a worthy experience, especially for any who are fans of magic, vaudeville, carnivals, and a genuinely solid entertaining show.

Me and my husband went to the 7: 30pm show last night, it was up close and personal which I loved! Susan was so funny, her and Roland have an amazing gift. Thanks for a great night of entertainment

It was alright. They haven’t changed up their routine in 10 years - it’s the same lame tricks as the last time we went, yet somehow it still seemed unrehearsed. Not worth the $45 dollars. The man kept shouting out “no videos please” during the performance when no one was taking a video. The best part was when they brought their dog out on stage to be honest. They need to revamp their routine.

Very entertaining- funny and mysterious! I took a 12 yr old and he was thoroughly impressed as well. I asked him what is his favorite part and he said, "ALL OF IT. " Definitely something different and fun to do.

It was such an amazing experience! I would definitely go again. Thank you Roland and Susan for a beautiful and MAGICAL night:)