Magic and Illusion at the Fairmont DC
Jordan Wright
October 8, 2026
Theatre of Magic (Photo provided by Fever)
A few weekends ago, I found myself at a magic show at DC’s elegant Fairmont Hotel. Now I can’t claim to know one single thing about magic shows, but I thought this would prove a good introduction. Before the show began, there were themed cocktails for the adults, and the reception area held six or seven magicians doing live tricks with guests. As guests entered the intimate Kennedy Ballroom to be seated, I was led to a small, round, candle-lit table in front of the stage.
While waiting for the one-man show to begin, I chatted up an attractive 40-something couple at the table beside mine. They were eager to talk about their love of magic shows, describing for me two of the strictly magic-centric venues in Chicago – especially one such venue housed at the back of an actual laundromat and which, once you have surrendered disbelief to the unusual directions, is set up as a real nightclub.
Theatre of Magic (Photo provided by Fever)
My entire knowledge of magic shows is based on occasional viewings of TV specials by Penn & Teller, David Blaine and of course, David Copperfield, all of whom have been wildly successful drawing huge audiences to their extravaganzas. And speaking of Teller, he recently wrote the magic part of a production along with actor/magician Nate Dendy who was the architect for the magic in the huge hit The Tempest at Round House. Dendy also played Ariel in the play. Dendy later returned to Round House for Nothing Up My Sleeve, a solo hit show.
Over the years, I have seen and loved illusions incorporated into theatre – such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – a huge Broadway success; also, anything by Cirque de Soleil; and even a recent show at Signature Theatre that used illusion quite effectively in Pippin. I have since learned there is another side to magic shows and that’s the smaller more intimate shows that include audience participation, and that is how they are presented in this ongoing series at the Fairmont Washington.
Magician Francis Menotti performing some preshow magic tricks for audience members (Photo/Jordan Wright).
Presented by FEVER, the world’s leading tech platform for culture and live entertainment, and the Theatre of Magic, the Saturday afternoon’s show starred Francis Menotti, who performed a riveting combination of sleight-of-hand, mentalism, restoration and prediction tricks with the assistance of randomly selected audience members. Though I was seated less than six feet from the stage, I still wasn’t close enough to suss out how he performed these mesmerizing feats. And I’m even a bit embarrassed to report my fascinated oohs, aahs and gasps were noted and mentioned during his act by Menotti himself. I just couldn’t keep my jaw from dropping!
If you want to attend one of these super fun and fascinating, off-the-grid, intimate magic shows, they are centered around our upcoming holidays. The dates are October 10, 24, 30 and 31; November 14 and 28, and December 23, 24 and 27. The hotel invites ticketed guests to take advantage of 20% off pre- or post-theatre dining in the hotel’s lobby or Loggia Lounge.
Theatre of Magic at the Fairmont Washington, DC at 2401 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. For tickets and information visit www.FeverUp.com.