The Zabrecky Hour - Magic Show

Sat. November 7th – 7:30 PM – LARGE THEATER

THE ZABRECKY HOUR Magic Show

A Comedy, Magic & Variety Show Like No Other with Rob Zabrecky

"Zabrecky - the name means 'Abracadabra,' sideways" - LA Weekly

Prepare to step into a world where the boundaries of magic, comedy, and performance art blur beyond recognition. Rob Zabrecky’s The Zabrecky Hour is an astonishing, one-man tour de force that brings audiences face-to-face with a unique brand of storytelling, offbeat humor, and mind-bending illusions. It’s less a show and more an experience — one that feels like it’s been lifted straight from the strangest corners of your imagination.

If David Lynch turned his attention to the art of illusion, The Zabrecky Hour might just be the result: a fusion of the bizarre, the beautiful, and the unsettling. Onstage, Zabrecky is a figure both distant and magnetic, pulling you into his off-kilter universe with equal parts warmth and coldness. His magic isn’t just for magic lovers — it’s for those who don’t even realize they’re fans of magic.

Zabrecky’s absurd, often chilling persona plays like a character out of a lost 1950s sci-fi/horror B-movie. He's an alien from a bygone era, attempting — and often failing — to relate to the world around him. His charm lies in this dissonance, this tension between the familiar and the utterly unfamiliar. The result? A show that’s at once unnerving and irresistibly engaging.

Zabrecky’s magic breaks the mold in ways that will have you questioning your very perception of reality. Each moment unfolds with a subtle complexity that pushes the limits of your expectations. His performances are at times unpredictable, and darkly humorous. And when you least expect it, the show morphs into a strange reverie, an altered state where magic is more about emotional resonance than mere illusion. With The Zabrecky Hour, you're not just watching magic — you're being transformed by it.

A six-time award-winning act at the Magic Castle, Zabrecky’s reputation for unflinchingly original performances has earned him accolades worldwide. Critics have taken note — including the Chicago Tribune, which declared in 2022: "Zabrecky is very funny, assuming you like your humor cynical and caustic, akin to a horror show of a bygone age. His improvisational genius, mixed with a penchant for pushing boundaries, makes every moment a dangerous gamble."

The show’s eclectic mix — a dose of comedy, a sprinkle of song & dance, a touch of parapsychology, and a dash of audience interaction — all serves to create an unpredictable, one-of-a-kind atmosphere. This is magic for the adventurous soul, a performance that dances between darkness and whimsy with effortless ease.

Zabrecky’s dry wit and deadpan delivery add to the allure. Think Steven Wright’s absurdist humor meets Robert Bloch's eerie storytelling, laced with the offbeat awkwardness of Emo Phillips and the suspense of Hitchcock. His dry, quirky punchlines deliver the goods, pushing everything just far enough into the absurd to keep you hooked. After an appearance on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, even Penn Jillette remarked, “We were trying to think if there’s ever been a mentalist doing a mentalist act that was sincerely funny and sincerely good. You may be the first ever.”

In The Zabrecky Hour, nothing is predictable — except for one thing: You’ll never forget it.

Running Time: Approximately 60/70 Minutes

Tickets: $25 advance / $30 at the door

Doors open at 7 PM, show begins at 7:30 PM at The 418 Project, 155 South River Street, downtown Santa Cruz at the Dragons Gate.