A Sold-Out Zoom Magic Show. A Secret Backdoor Way To ‘Attend.’

After selling out the entire 24-week run of The Present at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, the interactive magic show has one last gift for those longing to see it—the final performance will be open to everyone.

Early in the pandemic, illusionist Helder Guimarães figured out a way to captivate audiences via Zoom by sending a “mystery box” in advance, so attendees could experience the magic from home. The trick worked. The production booked its 25 nightly spots for every date, even after extending the run three times.

For the finale on Saturday, October 17, The Geffen is offering $25 view-only tickets for live Zoomers around the world, with a $15 upgrade option to purchase a pared-down version of the original mystery box. For $10 more, you’ll be entered into a lottery to join 24 other households interacting directly with Helder that night. All donations for the finale go directly to COVID-19 emergency relief funds for The Actors Fund and the Arts Administrators of Color Network. Finale tickets go on sale next Wednesday, September 2, at 10:00 a.m. PDT.

The Present is told through the lens of Guimarães’ personal story of being quarantined as a kid after a car accident. The 70-minute sleight-of-hand performance begins with the magician explaining how his love of close-up magic dates to that period of recuperation, and to the abiding influence of his grandfather.

The ta-da moment arrives ahead of the performance, by way of a cardboard box sealed and bound with twine and sent through the U.S. mail. It contains an unopened deck of Bicycle playing cards, a number that identifies you during the show, and several other small items. Upon Guimarães’s instruction, attendees open the box and participate along with him the way you would if he summoned you to his close-up magic table in a Victorian-era parlor somewhere.

Guimarães is a World-Champion of Magic, two-time Parlor Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts and Ascanio Prize winner. Hid TED Talk on the magical search for a coincidence has been viewed more than two million times.

Part of the show’s appeal is the way it makes the monotony of quarantine disappear. Guimarães is an engaging host and presence, and at times makes you forget you’re not sitting in a packed theater (sigh, remember those?).

The Present is directed by Hollywood producer Frank Marshall (Jason Bourne, The Sixth Sense).

The pivot to Zoom is part of a successful strategy for Geffen, which recently re-dubbed itself Geffen Stayhouse. The theater releases original content each Wednesday from various Geffen alumns and theater artists. Viewers can also watch full-length productions of past Geffen Playhouse shows, via BroadwayHD.com, including Long Day’s Journey Into Night with Alfred Molina and Jane Kaczmarek; Thom Pain, featuring Rainn Wilson (The Office), and The Lion, Benjamin Scheuer’s poignant one-man musical about love and loss.

The Enigmatist, described as an “immersive experience of puzzles, cryptology and illusions” by New York Times crossword puzzle creator David Kwong, has delayed its premiere at the Geffen because of Covid. Dates have yet to be announced.