Blade Maxwell Theater of Magic

I went to see Blade Maxwell live on my honeymoon five years ago. Pre-​Yelping. But I still remember him so vividly. Mostly I remember the snark. He liked to say things like «You guys pay me to screw with your head! Now watch this!» He poked fun at the magic industry and the audience in this very honest way and made us all laugh while indeed screwing with our heads.

Great show in a fanatic lil historical town. Max was instantly likeable and great with kids with some really visual and well routined Magic. I was pleasantly surprised and would highly recommend taking the whole family. Didn’t see the museum yet but definitely will in the future.

Despite a rough start where the «first come first serve» policy of seating suddenly didn’t matter after my family and I were moved up several rows on the side, where a couple of speakers and a ficus blocked even my 6’6″ father from seeing a good chunk of the stage, the show was overall pretty good, though not without flaws.
Besides my families’ sudden displacement, where we were rightly assured that most of the action would be taking place where we could see (emphasis on «most»), I have a few complaints.
First and foremost, the volume on those speakers were WAY too high (especially considering the small size of the venue). So much so that 10 minutes after the show my ears are still ringing as I type this.
Second, Mr. Blade got a bit too preachy for my tastes, and talking about politics during a magic show just made me feel uncomfortable rather than amazed.
Which brings me to number three: we paid for a MAGIC show, not a concert. While Mr. Blade’s musical background and piano skills were both intresting and impressive, it’s not what we came for, and the volume of the speakers rattling my ear drums with every note played didn’t help the case. Especially since that’s what the show ended with: a concert. A magic show that should’ve ended with final trick that makes us leave thinking «WOW, that was amazing!» was instead replaced by a lovely rendition of Elton John’s «Your Song» that had me leave with the thought «Wow, that was loud.»
Now for some good news: the magic was convincing, very much so, and Mr. Blade was indeed hilarious. So, I did have fun. It was a nice note to end my vacation with. Would I go again? Maybe. If I had better seats, perhaps. In any case, I enjoyed myself more than I didn’t, and it was nice to go to an attraction in Hot Springs that didn’t turn out to be a total rip-​off.

Wasn’t sure what to expect… But was pleasantly surprised. Fun for the whole family and great entertainment!

It was a wonderful show and great for the whole family! Very funny! If you are in hot springs and don’t see the show it was a wasted trip!

Best magic show we’ve ever seen! He is great with the audience, loved how he interacts with the kids. He’s not just an illusionist, he is an entertainer! We are so glad we chose to go, great entertainment for the whole family.

What a great show in a little town. The show is about 2 hours long but goes by quickly with the performance of Maxwell Blade. Family atmosphere with illusions, magic, and even some Elton John cover music! Expect a full house so buy tickets early and they to get seated 30 mins prior to the showtime. Definetly won’t regret checking this one out.

My trip to Hot Springs was planned around a Saturday — the only day a show would perform in winter. When we got there to buy tickets, we found out it was cancelled. Some notice would have been nice! The website had no information other than the scheduled times.
If I ever get to see the show, I’ll update.

Loved it loved it loved it loved it!!!
We paid the little extra to go to the little attached museum too. It was a super fun show, and Blade was an excellent entertainer! It’s also very kid-​friendly and a good way to kill a few hours in Hot Springs!
Would totally go again, seriously had a blast!
/​Magic!

Don’t come here expecting Vegas because it’s far from it.
It’s a small and very quaint, no frills theatre roughly 100 stadium (remember high school) seating. The show overall was nice, somewhat engaging and we were not disappointed.
Fun family event for sure! Worth your trip to stop by and have a good time.

We hardly go to magic shows– in fact never, BUT that has changed because of Blade’s show. I went for something to do in the evening with my mom who entered reluctantly and we left as fans that appreciate the art.
Seating starts at 7 and show begins at 8. Blade Maxwell had some unique and clean family friendly magic acts and is also an avid musician. So on all fronts, I say take the opportunity to visit his place when you’re visiting Hot Springs– it won’t be a disappointment!
Plus John the younger magician is pleasant to watch– if you catch my drift.

Had a great time and saw some world class magic. As good as any show I’ve seen in Vegas but in a smaller venue making it more fun. My son went on stage and had a blast. Great memory and who would of thought in Hot Springs.

FANTASTIC!!! We got there at 6:45, they start seating at 7:00, show is at 8:00. We were in the second row but the theater was completely full by 6:30. It’s a very small theater which seats about 50 – 60 people. Maxwell Blade is AWESOME!!! Such cool tricks! Perfect for all ages. My 5 ½ year old daughter even got called on stage! I recommend everybody check this show out!

What a great show Maxwell Blade puts on. Safe for the whole family and very entertaining. The show is in a small, quant theater that seats about 100. We got there an hour early and were on the third row, so plan accordingly. Don’t miss it, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

My friends and I were on a long weekend hiking/​camping trip in the Hot Springs area. We saw an add for the magic show in a flyer and decided it might be a good excuse to spend some time in the air conditioning. We didn’t really have any expectations and were just looking for something random to do. We ended up having a great time and were all really impressed with the show.
We tried to go to the 8:00 show and even showed up almost an hour early, but it was already sold out. We decided to try the 10:00 show instead. We were almost the first people there and ended up sitting in the front row. This was awesome because he involved us in many of his tricks, examining his props and even had two if us go on stage.
The quality of magic was really good, best I’ve seen in person. And he’s a very good entertainer; I definitely laughed out loud several times. The small theater (only 100 seats or so) makes the experience very intimate. He shook everyone’s hands on the way out and even signed cards for us. I’d definitely recommend his show and would see him again.

What a great show! It exceeded my expectations! I let out a few literal «ohhhs» the rest of the time I was laughing and smiling. We all agreed he is a very good entertainer. He has a great connection with the audience. To feel better about life and the world after the show than I did before is surprising. I highly recommend this show! Do come early and do reserve tickets.

While visiting Hot Springs, my husband and I received a very «high praise» recommendation from a local merchant that Maxwell Blade’s Magic show was «THE» thing to see in Hot Springs. I specifically asked if this was a «professional» magic show and not some «cheesy» slight of hand, street magic. She assured me it was top notch and «world class». She even mentioned that he was «written up» in big magazines, was on YouTube. (Uh, so am I, so that should have been my first clue.)
On that recommendation and reading reviews we found online, we made reservations and went to the show. It’s a very small, intimate theater, only 100 seats, which makes it very nice and cozy and easy to see the stage. I’m not certain, but I think it was a recent move into this theater, and a «downsize» of his staff and assistants and his show. The beginning of the show was some music and a dark stage with smoke. This was followed, finally, by Maxwell coming on the stage performing the same old tired magic, with cards, scarves from the hand, etc. His «assistants» were young teen-​aged/​early 20’s boys and his two daughters, aged 11 and 5. The magic was the same old «street corner» magic with nothing new or original. It appeared almost as if this was the first week of this show as Mr. Blade seemed to be having trouble with props, (dropping things, things falling off his tables, his continuous looking off stage and asking for help and talking to his assistants, almost as if this was the first time this particular show was being performed. I REALLY wanted to love this show, and kept hoping throughout that he would work out the kinks and it would get better.
It didn’t.
He spoke many times of how he «used to» perform in Vegas, with these huge productions and large staff, etc. He even eluded to having been in a «3-​hit rock band» back in the 80’s, but because of «lawsuits» he couldn’t mention the name, but reassured you that «you have heard of them!» After an extensive and LONG search of 80’s rock bands, I could find nothing.
What really put me off throughout the entire show, was the fact that he kept «selling» his «tricks» from the gift shop, especially his «$ 20 ‘bag of tricks» which included nothing more than «dime store» card tricks and fake frame. More than once, several times actually, he would «remind’ you of the $ 20 bag of tricks you could purchase upon leaving, or during intermission. It was very off-​putting to say the least.
My husband and I don’t have children, so the kids he brought on stage to «assist» with the magic were not as entertaining as you would think, especially when one of the tricks included the «offing of» one of the kids’ heads! I’m sure his mom was «happy» about that one! The kid nearly peed his pants he was so frightened.
All in all, this one is for adults with kids. Young kids, because any kid over 15 or 16 will be as bored to tears as we were.
I’m sorry to do this, but after receiving the «rave recommendation» which was obviously a «plant» since she worked right next door, and after reading the reviews I found before making the reservations, that were either made up, or during the time before Mr. Blade moved into this new venue and lost his «staff of 13» at his old venue.
Bottom Line: Save the $ 30 (per couple) and go have a nice meal or see something else. This one is a waste of time and money.

I must admit… I went in to this a bit skeptical. I like magic… I just didn’t expect to get a great show. It was only $ 15 and I thought that was a sure sign it was going to be pretty lame. I am VERY happy to say how pleasantly surprised I was. Maxwell Blade is awesome. He, is an entertainer… He’s a magician, a story teller, a comedian, a musician and probably much, much more. He’s a big kid and he likes to see people having fun.
We had a great time, thanks to Mandy at The Springs Spa. She’s the one who recommended we go there. She even called up and asked them to save us 2 tickets since it fills up really quickly, and it really does!
On the way home from our Hot Springs trip, I looked Maxwell Blade up on You Tube and was really touched by his story. You should definitely check out his show if you’re in Hot Springs and maybe his You Tube as well… Best of luck to you Max! You’re on the right path and you have so much talent to share with the world. Keep it up!