A new kind of magic is finding its way to Moab with the hope of wowing the young and old from both near and far.
World-renowned magician David DaVinci and his family are bound for Moab next week, with an act DaVinci believes will resonate with the local community. DaVinci will be performing an hour-long magic show at Canyonlands by Night and Day, 1861 N. U.S. Highway 191, at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 6, through Wednesday, June 8.
DaVinci, who is also known as Dave Womach, has been performing professional magic since he was 15 years old. He spent time traveling with the Ringling Brothers Circus, headlining different international cruise lines and taking his act across more than 25 countries with his wife, 3-year-old daughter, dancers, parrots, doves and a tiger.
DaVinci first sought out Moab in April 2008 as a wild and vast landscape to free-fly nine parrots and a toco toucan. DaVinci said he developed the expanding program as a thank-you to the working birds.
“It’s important to give animals a chance to be animals,” he said. “It’s an ultimate trust and appreciation.”
Since then, DaVinci has earned his Skydiving A license for his own freedom of flight, and looks forward to jumping with Skydive Moab.
“I’ll be skydiving during the day and performing magic at night,” DaVinci said. “We love the lifestyle in Moab!”
DaVinci says that he has refined and downsized his act to mystify large audiences without the flashy theatrics of dancers, tigers and lights.
“I’ve discovered over time that people really react most to magic that happens right in front of their face or in their hands,” DaVinci said. “I developed a show that still can cater to a large audience, but is something they can experience in an intimate way.”
DaVinci will call up two volunteers from the audience and project close-up live footage of mystifying and comical sleight of hand. While DaVinci says he is not Disney, he keeps his act family-friendly.
DaVinci performed his first magic show in the fifth grade. He kept developing sleight-of-hand skills, and 10 years later, he began working as Red Robin’s official magician.
Since then, his performances have developed into large-scale operations. DaVinci holds two world records, including “Most Escapes from a Straightjacket” and has won several prestigious awards in the world of professional magic.
In July 2014, DaVinci was doing weekly trips on a Norwegian cruise line from Boston to Bermuda.
“They asked me if I had any extra material to fill in for someone else in a pinch,” he said. “As a kid, I had done close-up magic, so I did a 45-minute show with just a deck of cards and a projector. That show changed my perspective on what is possible for this kind of show.”
DaVinci says he now realizes that the basic sleight-of-hand skills were actually some of the most powerful.
DaVinci and his family hope to find a regular audience in Moab for magic performances. They plan to move onto the land they recently purchased north of Monticello and raise their daughter in Moab.
Showgoers can purchase tickets online at www.moabmagicshow.com for $25 to $35 each. To get 20 percent off, enter the promotional code “MOAB20.”
Canyonlands by Night, which offers boat tours of the Colorado River, will be offering concessions such as drinks, popcorn and ice cream during the show, as well as a dinner option. Tickets for DaVinci’s shows may be purchased from the company by calling 435-259-5261.
Canyonlands by Night co-owner Rachel Paxman said that she is thrilled to be hosting a performer like DaVinci.
“It’s a very special opportunity to see someone of his caliber in a small town like Moab,” she said.
David DaVinci comes to Canyonlands by Night on June 6-8
I’ll be skydiving during the day and performing magic at night … We love the lifestyle in Moab!
To learn more about DaVinci, go to http://www.davewomach.com/#!thrillusionist/cu66.
What: David DaVinci presents “Close UP Magic”
When: Monday, June 6, through Wednesday, June 8, at 6 p.m.
Where: Canyonlands by Night and Day, 1861 N. U.S. Highway 191
Cost: $24.95 to $34.95 each; to get 20 percent off, go to www.moabmagicshow.com and enter the promotional code “MOAB20”
