THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

That Old Black Magic 2013 (Closed)

Jacquetta Szathmari Debuts One-Woman Show “That Old Black Magic”
at 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival

Historically Aware and Politically Incorrect Comedy of 1950s Almost Segregated Las Vegas

HOLLYWOOD, June 10, 2012 – Critically acclaimed comedian and playwright Jacquetta Szathmari debuts her one-woman show “That Old Black Magic” at the Open Fist Theatre Company in Los Angeles from June 15 to June 24 during the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Written and performed by the New York-based comic, the performance will feature Szathmari in two roles: the hapless illusionist The Amazing Daisy, and awkward burlesquer Sweet Bojanski Brown, two equally untalented African-American women struggling to become rising stars at the Moulin Rouge, Las Vegas’ first integrated casino.

Set in 1955, That Old Black Magic is a story of two heroines who develop a deep bond over their similar and seemingly impossible dreams. Brown performs for the audience with the grace of a wounded elephant, and Daisy is about as magical as a box of Lucky Charms. Will the two women blossom into the stars they believe themselves to be, or will they forever remain as amateur performers with delusions of grandeur?

That Old Black Magic is a comedic showcase of dodgy illusions and historically accurate, but politically insensitive burlesque. With show stopping numbers chronicling the freeing of the slaves and bumbling sleight-of-hand “magic,” That Old Black Magic transcends racial stereotypes to present a comical story about unremarkable people doing remarkable things. At once, the piece explores the world of a segregated America, but is more about two peculiar souls trying to achieve success against the odds and their relative lack of talent.

About Jacquetta Szathmari
Jacquetta Szathmari’s sharp tongued comedy has been called “crackingly smart, funny, philosophical, and often politically incorrect” by the LA Weekly. Her one woman show “That’s Funny. You Didn’t Sound Black on the Phone” was a Backstage Critic’s Pick and a 2010 Hollywood Fringe Festival Best Comedy Nominee. Her writing has been featured in the New York Times Best Seller “How to Be Black” by Baratunde Thurston as well as “Don’t Bring Home a White Boy” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Karen Hunter. Szathmari has hosted and performed in comedy clubs all over NYC including the New York Comedy Club, the PIT, and UCB. She currently produces the monthly all female variety show “Balls Out Comedy” at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City.

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Travis DeLingua
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