Review: The Darling Of TikTok Mixes Magic Cocktails With Quips & Sips in INDULGENCE WITH LUCY DARLING at The Triad

Heigh-Ho, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW Reviewer back again. Grabbing that silent T in cabareT to bring you all the Tea!

D’ja miss Bobby, my angels? Yes, indeed, for the next few paragraphs, you will, once again, have your rainbow boy back in the saddle. Owing to a divine convergence, Bobby was asked to take an unexpected sojourn to the venerable uptown night spot, The Triad, to catch the magical act of the darling of TikTok - Lucy Darling, that is. Once the lovelies at BroadwayWorld called, we grabbed our ever talented pal, Stephen Mosher (and his camera) to join us for the fun. “But Bobby…” We hear you all shouting at your screens, “Why would you come out of retire… make a return... now, after so long, to review a magician, of all performers?” Well, my angels, first things first:  JUST LOOK AT LUCY!!

Gracious! Seriously, holy rainbows, is this not a woman who SCREAMS for Bobby’s erstwhile attention? The gown (nicknamed Bluey), the jewels, the crown of carrot cake upon her head, it all calls to Bobby in that I’m-a-drag-queen-in-a-woman’s-body kind of way! Aside from looking just too, TOO divine, Lucy’s act is one of hilarity and eye-popping, close-up sleight-of-hand magic. Darling is a  character creation of two-time winner (and current reigning) Stage Magician of the Year at the Magic Castle, Carisa Hendrix, whose little Lucy invention has propelled La Hendrix into global tours and sold-out performances, wherever she goes. Truth be told, my lambs, Bobby had become a fan of Carisa’s through her socials, where she posts video after video of her Lucy antics, rarely showing off her magic tricks (because why give it away for free?), but tantalizing the interwebs with her dry, cultured delivery of zingers and one-liners during face-to-face crowd work. As Lucy, Carisa improvs her way into and out of exchanges between her and the proletariat with the skill of the best of seasoned, off-the-cuff comics. While her magic moves delight all and create gasps in the stalls, the audience comes for her crowd work, and with the hopes of being the subject of her quips and quotes. Using a kind of faux mid-Atlantic, '30s movie star elocution, Hendrix’s Lucy slinks and struts across the stage like an upper-crust Mae West crossed with a ginger Jayne Mansfield, and with simple intros of “DaHling whhhhhhat is your name?"... and "Dahling whhhhhhhat do you doooo?” Lucy Darling finds ways to mine comedy from even mundane responses like, “I’m Mike, and I’m a lawyer.” Sometimes it’s the way the audience member says it, sometimes it’s how Lucy hears it, and sometimes they hit her with something like this…

With facial expressions and reactions reminiscent of another redheaded Lucy we all love, the darling Darling keeps her audience in the palm of her sleight of hand throughout her full 90 Minutes, a 90 minutes that goes by very fast and comes to a close far too soon, after a mind-mesmerizing magic finale of whisky and ice cream. Now you’ve had a taste of her through Bobby’s brilliant words, you must go see her, but there is only one problem, there. Wherever she goes, she sells out the house before she even gets there. Her following in the social sphere numbers in the hundreds of thousands, with millions of likes and shares across all her platforms, and, quite frankly, she deserves them. Deftly aided in her endeavors Thursday night by the hilariously odd Mark Ettinger on piano, harmonium, slide trombone, and every other instrument he could find to fill the stage, and armed with his own version of Larry Fine’s unruly doo to match his employer’s waxwork hair helmet, he plays her ever-present foil, throughout, with ease and expert musicianship. Lucy Darling’s show is a nightclub bonanza of laughs, playfulness, wit, and whimsy topped with jaw-dropping magic tricks. Even her tendency towards a potty mouth sounds luxurious in her fake, snobby, lock-jaw delivery and, as such, never offends. In short, my rainbow angels, Carisa Hendrix as Lucy Darling KILLS IT, and how.

She has three more sold-out shows this weekend, and if there was ever a cabaret club act to line up for, this would be the one. Because Bobby Gives Lucy Darling His FULL…

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows

You can check in with the Triad to see if any tickets have dropped off the tree or if there is a waiting list: HERE  (A Premium ticket is the best way to get one-on-one playtime with Lucy.)

Lucy’s Webby With Links To Her Socials & Her Schedules is: HERE

Learn About Lucy’s Alter, Carisa, On Her Personal Webby: HERE

Check Out Her InstaPictograms: HERE

All Photos By The MWAHVELOUS: Stephen Mosher