Review: The Naked Magicians at Washington Center for the Performing Arts
Originally published on The JOLT News on April 7, 2026
The Naked Magicians use the following slogan in their event advertising: “Good magicians don't need sleeves, and great magicians don’t need pants!” I can now attest, it’s true!
Bringing their Las Vegas showmanship to Olympia, The Naked Magicians put on an unforgettable show that had everything audiences were looking for: clever jokes, magic tricks and that certain something.
One of the things I love about the Washington Center for the Performing Arts is that it's always choosing to bring out of the box entertainment to us and take chances. An R-rated comedy show was a bold choice, but it was one that paid off as evidenced by a packed house.
We are fortunate to live in a town where audiences are daring and willing to be adventurous right alongside artists.
I invite you to strip your subconscious of any preconceived notions you might have about a show like this, and enjoy this review of The Naked Magicians.
The review
Thinking about this line to the tune of The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World,” "there were card tricks and innuendos aplenty, stripping and sex jokes galore. You want thingamabobs? They’ve got plenty.” The song could probably go on, but I will spare you.
The Naked Magicians were hilarious all around with clever magic tricks that were both intelligent and silly, and embraced pop culture in surprising ways. Normally, I would ask what tricks were up their sleeves, but as we established, there were no sleeves. It’s magic to me!
The way the Naked Magicians approached everything was very intentional and maintained a perfect balance between humor and respect. If there was one "moral" I could take away from this show, it is that "consent is sexy" and the idea of consent is not just “politically correct” but is “always correct.”
I recognize that shows like “Magic Mike” and “Chippendales” have been around for a long time, yet accommodating the female gaze like this still feels a little rare to me.
Dipping my toes into gender politics for a second, the male gaze has generally always been accommodated, accepted and celebrated in society, and so it was refreshing to see the tables turn.
While all the above remains true, I must applaud the Naked Magicians for creating a program with something for everybody — hetero men and women, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ and Trans communities.
One of my favorite parts of this show was watching everyone of all different political, religious, sexual and ethnic backgrounds come together to laugh and bounce around a large balloon penis in the center.
Human nature proved to be hilarious as some people got really into the game while others (like myself) hid so that they didn’t end up with the balloon penis and the prompt that followed after the music stopped. Again, it caused collective laughter and I loved it!
I attended this show with my mom, Dee Benton (who you can see turned me into a rabbit in a picture accompanying this article). She is one of my best friends and was the perfect person to experience this girls night out with.
On our way home, my mom reminded me of how my Grandma always wanted to take us to a show like this. Passing away before she could enjoy this right of passage with us, attending this show felt like a fun way to honor her.
Leaning more modestly myself, I can’t say I would attend a show like this again, but fulfilling this right of passage was a blast and left me with memories and jokes that will last a lifetime.
Personal note
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you might have recently learned that I won a couple contests recently.
I was delightfully shocked when I won a basket at the Washington Center because I had literally only bought one ticket for the drawing. My mindset purchasing a ticket leaned more toward making a donation and doing my part to help the Center thrive.
Winning the Stack 571 Golden Egg contest was a total surprise too because entering the contest was something I did simply because “Why not?”
I love moments like these when serendipity shows up and knocks you off your feet!
Opportunities like these arise every now and then where we can help our favorite local establishments through participating in their campaigns or entering their contests. These tend to be very fun, and I will always encourage you to go for it!
Even if you don’t win the fun prize at the end, you will still walk away a winner because you did your part in sustaining the community.