THE NEW BAD BOYS OF MAGIC TAKE THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

LOS ANGELES, June 7, 2017 — Chicago sketch comedy meets Hollywood stage trickery in The New Bad Boys of Magic, premiering at the Hollywood Fringe Festival on June 9. It stars Daniel Donohue and Eric Siegel as two former teenage magic prodigies-turned-bitter-rivals, desperately trying to reignite…the magic.

Eric, now a homeless drunk, crashes Dan’s pathetic, family-friendly act. Two perfect foils, they stumble backwards into one impossible feat after another in vaudevillian synchronicity. As tensions rise, they come face-to-face with their own illusions—is life really worth living without each other?

Daniel and Eric studied at Chicago’s Second City, iO, and Annoyance theaters, where they learned the power of heartfelt, relationship-based comedy. Their work has been featured in the TBS Just for Laughs Festival, the Funny or Die homepage, SketchFest NYC, PAX Prime, and Tosh.0.

“Every ‘comedy magician’ is the same middle-aged guy with the same jokes with the same tricks,” said Dan. “That’s why we had to play characters—we don’t want to be that guy!”

“I spent years teaching improv in Chicago before moving out to Los Angeles. To me, there’s no better magic trick than convincing actors that an eight-week, $400 class will get them on Saturday Night Live,” added Eric.

Oh, and it’s actually a top-notch magic show too. As magicians, Daniel and Eric are newly minted members of the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle. They have performed at charity dinners, weddings, variety shows, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and the Harry Houdini Estate.

“I know it’s hard to believe that two barrel-chested, sexually confident, twenty-something magicians have managed to stay single in LA,” said Dan, “but we’ve been married to our craft for a combined four decades.”

“We’re losers, Dan. The people closest to us know it best,” added Eric.

Always happy to chime in about their inadequacies is actress Brigid Marshall, who plays Eric’s ex-wife and Dan’s current assistant in the show. Yes, it’s a love-triangle of frustration.

Brigid is an LA-based, Chicago-bred, actor and writer. She has appeared in sketches and videos on Conan, Jimmy Kimmel during the 68th Primetime Emmys, BuzzFeed, Funny or Die, and in a slew of commercials. She has produced, written and performed content for Huffington Post Comedy, Bustle, and the iO Comedy Network. Currently, she is producing and starring her short film “Over and Out” with AK Productions in Los Angeles. Additional credits include the Upstairs Gallery, the Playground Theatre, the Annoyance, and Second City.

Produced by Greg Karber, The New Bad Boys of Magic debuted as a ten-minute opening for the Sunday Night Mystery Show, where they won the 2017 Mystery Award for Best Opening Act. Greg explained, “Now that it’s a full-length show, the magic is bigger, the jokes dirtier, and the uncomfortable silences more palpable.”

Greg Karber is a writer, director, producer, and game developer. He has been written about in the New Yorker and the Washington Post, and has appeared on CNN, Fox Business, and Inside Edition. He is currently directing his first feature film, a horror-comedy-musical called Killer Party.

To really bring The New Bad Boys of Magic to life, Daniel, Eric, and Greg needed a little theatrical magic. The director, Jonathan Hymen, also hails from Chicago, where he was the Artistic Director of La Costa Theatre. At La Costa, he directed and produced many highly regarded productions. One of those, Riley Thomas’ Stuck, was recently turned into a major motion picture starring Amy Madigan, Ashanti, and Giancarlo Esposito.

In addition to live theater, Jonathan was the co-producer and co-founder of The Amazing Chicago Magic Show, which starred many magicians you have seen on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Wizard Wars, The Today Show, and other network programs. Since moving to LA, Jonathan has shifted his focus to film & TV. He was recently the Coordinator of Character Effects and Crowds for DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls. Currently, he is the Coordinator of Shorts Development for Cartoon Network. Jonathan is very excited to be returning to his theater-directing and magic roots with The New Bad Boys of Magic.

The New Bad Boys of Magic plays three performances at the Hollywood Fringe Festival: June 9 at 9pm, June 17 at 3:30pm, and June 24 at 10pm. All performances are at the Flight Theatre at the Complex, 6472 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90038. Tickets are $10 and can only be purchased online, at www.hff17.com/4501, or by phone by calling (323) 455-4585.