From the outside of the theatre, the Steve Wyrick show is intriguing. Painted saw blades hang around the gift shop area. Triq, an on-site bar with intimate seating, encourages people to cozy up for a drink or two before the show.

I understand now why they want people to drink. Steve Wyrick, an illusionist touting “real magic” at the Planet Hollywood Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, definitely leaves a little something to be desired. The inside of the theatre is a bit of a snooze — small, black, nothing but blues music and radio ads to keep people entertained. At other Las Vegas shows that I’ve been to — Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group come to mind — the audience buzzes with anticipation as early entertainment sets the stage for this Las Vegas magic show. Not so much at the Steve Wyrick show. Looking around the audience before the show I felt like I was sitting in with Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum. People were clearly bored.

We’d already been here once, and after a half hour the show was canceled due to technical difficulties. As we closed in on the twenty-minutes-past start time at our second take, I feared we were in for another canceled show … but no, it was just setting the stage for disappointment.

Here’s the thing. There is an overarching theme of how Steve’s family influenced his magic interspersed with “tricks” like him disappearing on a motorcycle and walking through an airplane blade, which had little relevance to his theme. But mostly he just talked … and made fun of people in the audience (is it any coincidence that over half the people he chose from the audience didn’t even speak English?) … and counted on his stage crew to make magic happen … and let his dancers entertain the audience.

To his credit, Steve did do a pretty cool card trick, linked together three wedding rings and sent a kid home with a goldfish. But for an hour-and-a-half show tucked in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, I expected a lot more.

Showing nightly at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at Planet Hollywood. Dark on Fridays.

Disclaimer: My tickets for this show were free for giving blood in the Las Vegas Valley.

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NOTE: As of 2010, the Steve Wyrick show is no longer in production. Check out Penn & Teller instead.