Magic remains largely a man’s game. The prototypical magic show features a man as the headlining illusionist accompanied by a number of beautiful women who serve as his assistants. Scarlett flips that around.

She started as an assistant but quickly picked up the secrets to performing the illusions. Her lifelong love of the stage, as well as singing, acting and dancing, provided perfect training for her to go off and start her own show. She came to Las Vegas about a year ago, and soon found herself performing at the V Variety Theater at Planet Hollywood.

Scarlett brings a different style of show to the Strip. It is family friendly, involves audience participation and, lastly, it features the beautiful woman as the headliner, not the assistant.

Scarlett: Princess of Magic plays the V Variety Theater at Planet Hollywood 1 p.m. Friday through Monday, 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and again at 5:30 on Thursdays.

When did you realize that this is what you wanted to do? When did you know magic was a passion for you?

Scarlett: I realized that magic was going to lead my career about three to four years ago. I was a professional dancer and dance teacher. I got a phone call from a magician in Reno looking for an assistant. I went to the interview and got the job. I became his assistant for about a year, and I picked up the magic really fast.

I took a liking to it immediately. From there, basically we decided to pursue a magic act of my own, a magic show. The magician who hired me, John Lewis, saw the potential and we decided to come to Vegas and produce a magic show.

Magic is typically a male-dominated industry. Has that caused any troubles for you in getting your career started?

I wouldn’t say troubles, but there is definitely a barrier. It’s a male-dominated industry. When people think magician they think man. So capturing your audience isn’t as easy as it might be if you were a guy getting up there.

But once they see you, they think, “Wow, this is different.” They just kind of have to come in with an open mind and know that they’re going to have a good time, and I’ve got nothing but compliments and people are so excited to see a female magician.

It’s a nice change because I’m not a girl doing man’s magic, I’m a girl doing magic in a way only a girl could do magic…or a drag queen.

What does it mean to you to be performing on the Strip? For performers, Las Vegas in general and the Strip specifically are the places to be.

It is a dream come true. I came down here just over a year ago and my goal was to be on the Strip within one year. It happened. And again, it sounds crazy, but it is a dream come true.

It is a challenge. I know I’m just starting out. I’m no Lance Burton, or anyone like that, but for a magician to be in Las Vegas, they say now that Las Vegas is every magician’s dream. For some people, for acting, it would be New York. For magic, Las Vegas is the place that every magician dreams to come. Hans Klok, a big magician in Europe, came to Las Vegas and played here at Planet Hollywood for a few months so he could say he played Vegas. It’s kind of like a status symbol. For me, I feel so fortunate and so lucky to be here with my own show in such a short period of time.

How would you describe the show to someone who hasn’t seen it?

I would describe it as not your typical magic show. It’s more like a variety magic show. Like I said before, I’m not a man doing woman’s magic; it has a lot of variety, dancing, little bit of acting. You’ll see different characters and different themes throughout the show, so there is something in there for everyone.

Audience participation is a big part of your show. How does that work having people come up on stage?

It is fun because every day is different.

For example, I got a couple up there once and they were so flat. They just had this big fight, and it was funny because it played really well to the audience even though they were pissed. They were up there stiff as a board, but it played really well with the audience. Other people are a lot of fun. They get enthusiastic, start kibitzing with you and stuff. It is a challenge and it’s fun because every day you don’t know what’s coming.

When you’re performing every day, you repeat a lot of the same illusions and do a lot of the same things. How do you keep that exciting for yourself up there so the audience can be excited, too?

Even though a lot of it is the same every day, for me, it’s a little bit different even though it is the same effect. I might perform it a little different depending on my mood, how the audience is responding and stuff like that. It always feels different. It’s always fresh. Even though you’re reliving it every day, it feels new. We also do change the show. We’re constantly evolving it, putting new things in, taking things out, switching things around and seeing what works better.

By Greg Jones

Greg Jones is managing editor of Casino Connection Nevada, as well as associate editor of Global Gaming Business magazine.