3 years ago
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Jen Kramer has ever played the cards dealt to her — and the cards she deals to you. Las Vegas’ lone pistillate nonmigratory headlining magician made a woody with the Westgate much than 3 years ago. Her manus has been a winner.
Kramer takes up the 3 p.m. slot astatine Westgate Cabaret, wherever she opened successful May 2018. She’s unsocial arsenic a trailblazer among pistillate magicians, and besides arsenic a Yale postgraduate who headlines astatine the edifice wherever Elvis erstwhile starred.
We caught up with the 29-year-old Kramer this week, arsenic she had conscionable passed her 400th amusement astatine the Cabaret. Highlights of our chat:
Johnny Kats: What bash you retrieve astir your opening amusement astatine Westgate?
Jen Kramer: It was amazing, immoderate of my friends and household came retired to astonishment me. My uncle Steve, who bought maine my archetypal magic book, was there, and it was truly peculiar for him to beryllium a portion of it. It was a longtime imagination of mine, since I was a kid, to execute successful Las Vegas.
How person you made it done the COVID shutdown and coming backmost to the stage?
It made maine recognize however overmuch I missed it, missed my household astatine Westgate and performing. But it pushed maine to marque immoderate originative changes, to travel backmost and reimagine what the caller mean would beryllium like.
What was 1 of those originative changes?
We utilized to person a unpaid travel onstage during the “Game Show” routine, who would instrumentality a jumbo prize paper and physically prime it. But present we person a mode to person idiosyncratic successful the assemblage beryllium the prima of the regular from their seat, and marque a morganatic publication to the show. That’s thing that I thought of during the pandemic, and I’ll support it successful the show.
What was your large Yale?
Theater studies, and that’s lone due to the fact that witchcraft and wizardry was not an enactment (laughs). I ever archer people, “I went to Yale due to the fact that Hogwarts wouldn’t instrumentality me.”
I instrumentality it you’re a large Harry Potter fan?
Yes. I performed astatine galore “Harry Potter” book-release events astatine Barnes & Noble successful Manhasset, New York, which is conscionable a fewer minutes from my location municipality of Great Neck. In fact, my archetypal accordant gig erstwhile I was 14 years aged was astatine that Barnes & Noble. I cold-called the section bookstore and asked if I could bash a amusement there, arsenic a volunteer. I got a clasp of the manager, who I hadn’t met, and she was unfastened to gathering with me. She fto maine effort it out. It was truly fun, and I performed each different week for a mates of years, connected the signifier successful the storytelling section.
You cold-called the manager of Barnes & Noble for a gig?
(Laughs) I retrieve I had my archetypal compartment phone, and I was connected luncheon interruption from school, and I walked retired to a gazebo to beryllium capable to marque the call. Yes, I did that.
How did you marque it to Las Vegas?
While I was successful assemblage I had an internship with (Vegas headliner) Nathan Burton, astatine the Flamingo, for 2 summers. I was figuring retired however to marque this happening I emotion truthful overmuch into a full-time career. I called respective Las Vegas hotels, disconnected the Strip, and said, “If you privation idiosyncratic who tin bash a convenient, family-friendly, day magic amusement for radical who don’t privation to spell each the mode to to the Strip, I tin bash it.” This was from my dorm country successful New Haven, Connecticut.
Who was archetypal consenting to prosecute you?
There were a batch of “no’s,” judge me. But finally, I got a “yes” from Wyndham Grand Resort. Then I got a play amusement astatine Grand Desert Resort, and a period aboriginal I was astatine the Marriott Grand Chateau, and a period oregon 2 aboriginal I added the Cancun Resort. I was piecing unneurotic a docket of these shows and moving connected a exemplary for what I could contiguous to different hotels.
Then Westgate recovered you?
Yes. I performed a 30-minute amusement for the employees astatine Westgate Cabaret, and it went truly well. That had a batch to bash with wherefore they brought maine in.
I cognize you are asked each the clip astir being a pistillate magician, a tract wherever men person dominated. How is it for you present that you person performed for a play of years successful Las Vegas?
There are galore fantastic women doing fantastic enactment successful magic, and that is exciting. I emotion erstwhile young girls attack maine successful meet-and-greets, saying, “That was truly cool.” I emotion the excitement. I joined the Young Magicians Assembly No. 69 erstwhile I was property 12 done property 18. There were ever 15 to 20 boys, but lone 1 miss consistently successful the group. That was maine (laughs). But I’ve been checking successful with them, and present determination are respective successful the group. That is indicative of wherever the civilization is now, and I americium arrogant of that.
John Katsilometes’ file runs regular successful the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast tin beryllium recovered astatine reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him astatine jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats connected Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 connected Instagram.
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