by kevin perry
Let’s face it: the world is f***ed with a side of spicy lube. But what are we gonna do about it? In the face of impending doom, some of us crumble, some of us RAGE, and some of us heckle the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Michael Carbonaro is one hell of a heckler.
The immensely accomplished comedian/magician mocks Armageddon, conjures the impossible, and does it all with gay gusto.
“First of all, we’ve been turning trauma into fabulousness for generations,” Carbonaro says, “so let’s give credit where it’s due. But I really do think queer people understand transformation in a very specific way. Reinvention, performance, imagination, deciding who you are instead of accepting the version somebody else had planned for you — that’s the magic. Also, lighting. We understand lighting.”
Illuminating! His fantastical philosophies exist on a parallel plane of existence, piercing our earthly realm every so often just to mess with our minds … in a whimsical way.
“I basically use magic to tamper with people’s confidence in reality,” Carbonaro says. “I’ve never been very interested in the ‘Behold my mysterious powers’ school of magic. I’d rather get everybody comfortable, make them laugh, and THEN quietly ruin their understanding of how the universe works.”
This anarchic yet playful perspective has fueled the performer’s robust career for decades. Appearing in everything from Another Gay Movie to All My Children to 30 Rock, Carbonaro is a fierce force of nature. We ask about one particular stint on an enduring cornerstone of televised iconography: Law & Order: SVU. “I mean, I gotta say it’s weird to think I was paid to say ‘Eat me, bitch’ to Mariska Hargitay.”
Dun Dun, indeed.
All of his showbiz shenanigans led to the illusionist’s breakthrough reality series in which he used close-up magic to prank bystanders caught on hidden camera. “The Carbonaro Effect was about taking one unsuspecting person down the rabbit hole at a time,” he says. It launched the joyful jester into superstardom as well as seriously warped and hilarious adventures.
Now he is taking his triumphant trickery on the road, up a notch, and in your face! “Live touring, I get to scale the operation. The whole theater gets dragged in together. It’s interactive, playful, funny and full of those moments where people turn to whoever they came with and say, ‘No. Absolutely not. That did not just happen.’”
“And the nice thing about doing it live is that you can’t blame TV editing anymore. I remove that emotional support system immediately. I called this tour WONDERBOY because underneath all of it, is this idea of getting back to that childhood feeling when your imagination felt like a superpower.”
Creativity entertains us, tickles us, thrills us and it can even save us. “It is extremely difficult to maintain your righteous fury while you’re laughing and pissing your pants,” Carbonaro argues, graphically.
“Laughter reminds you very quickly that the stranger sitting next to you is another human being. A room full of people can disagree about virtually everything and still laugh at the same thing, gasp at the same thing, and have the same moment of ‘What the hell just happened?’”
“I don’t think a magic show is going to heal civilization. That seems like an unreasonable amount of pressure to put on me. But getting a few hundred people into the same room to laugh and feel wonder together? That counts for something.”
Oh, that is everything. Count us in.
“Laughter reminds you very quickly that the stranger sitting next to you is another human being. A room full of people can disagree about virtually everything and still laugh at the same thing, gasp at the same thing, and have the same moment of ‘What the hell just happened?’”
Carbonaro sees these divided times like a lovely assistant who has been sawed in half. He can stitch her up and have the audience in stitches while he’s at it … and he’s inviting YOU to join the mirthful mayhem.
“Come see me at Sycuan on Saturday, November 21. It’s 21+, which means it’s basically the same as my family show, but I’m naked the whole time. Teasing. Just at the end.”
Damn, now *there’s* a reason to watch the end. Get it? End = butt. OK, OK — we’ll leave the jokes to the professional. Carbonaro’s WONDERBOY will wow you and wiggle your funny bone jauntily.
Check him out at Sycuan Casino Resort in El Cajon this month. Magic: Accomplished.
Tickets and more info at sycuan.com