Rick
Thomas brings bag of tricks to Long Beach
By Toby Lewis
On-line Forty-Niner
The
magician and illusionist, Rick Thomas, will
bring his Las Vegas show to the Carpenter
Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday.
 Thomas,
who is a native of Long Beach, will be performing
his award-winning show of illusions featuring
beautiful dancers, exciting choreography,
exotic birds and royal white and orange
Bengal tigers.
“He puts a full size tiger on stage and
shrinks it to the size of a small dog,”
said Michele Roberge, general manager of
the performing arts center.
Thomas is also known for an illusion he
calls “osmosis,” where a young woman appears
to crawl into the body of Thomas and reappear
through his chest as he walks on stage.
“Expect everything you ever imagined a magician
can do,” Thomas said about his show.
After many years of performing on tour,
cruise ships and over seas, Thomas found
a permanent home for his show in Las Vegas,
which is now in its sixth year of production.
“It is the most popular daytime show in
Las Vegas,” Roberge said.
Thomas grew up in Long Beach and is a graduate
of Long Beach City College. He is returning
to perform in Long Beach for the first time
in 15 years.
“It’s great to come back and do something
at home,” Thomas said.
Thomas started performing when he was 7
years old and by age 13, he was earning
$5 per show. By the time he was 18, he was
performing regularly at the Disneyland Hotel.
Since then he has gone on two world tours,
performed in over 30 countries and recently
returned from performing in Japan.
Tickets for performances on Friday at 8
p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. are $20 for
the general public, $15 for children, seniors
and students with a Cal State Long Beach
identification card.
Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets
at the group price of $12.
To purchase tickets call (562) 985-7000
or visit www.
CarpenterArts.org.
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