Review: CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC: HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR at Kennedy Center

The holiday season is a magical time of year. The Champions of Magic stopped by the Kennedy Center on their 2025 Holiday Spectacular Tour to bring their own version of holiday magic. In case you have never heard of them before, The Champions of Magic consists of magical duo Young & Strange (Richard Young and Sam Strange), fourth-generation magician Liberty Larsen, and illusionist Fernando Velasco. Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular isn’t really a holiday show; it’s more of a love letter to magic. 

A lot is going on during the Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular (maybe a little too much). Typically, magic shows have a theme that links all the stories together to create a central narrative, and of course, really intriguing illusions and tricks. About halfway through the show, you might start to think: Where is the holiday theme? Sure, Strange occasionally brings up his “red” and “green” lights to a catchy song, and there are hints of a holiday party to come. And yes, the holiday party does happen, but it isn’t as memorable as the rest of the show (except for Liberty’s Charlie Chaplin drawing reveal). 

The best “holiday” bit in Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular is a little spooky, as it is a seance.  Fernando tells an engaging story about Charles Dickens, the author of A Christmas Carol, and a man who supposedly inspired Ebenezer Scrooge. Things didn’t end well for the person who inspired Scrooge in real life. Not only is the story itself engrossing, but so is the challenge of Fernando having to escape a small haunted room tied to a chair. He unsurprisingly pulls off a miraculous escape and manages to calm any lingering spirits. 

What The Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular lacks in holiday-themed illusions and escapes, it makes up for with many stories around the first tricks and how The Champions fell in love with magic. Going back to the basics isn’t a bad thing. There are coins and card tricks galore! Even some of the "simpler" magic tricks and illusions will make you wonder: How did they do that? Liberty’s story about the founding of Magic Castle is really entertaining, and as a bonus, she does a trick with a prop that belonged to her great-grandfather, William Larsen, Sr. 

While The Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular isn’t what you might expect with holiday-themed tricks and illusions, it is no doubt an inspiration for future generations of magicians.

Run Time: About 145 minutes with an intermission

Champions of Magic: Holiday Spectacular ran from November 21-23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center. For information on where Champions of Magic is heading next on their 2025 Holiday Spectacular Tour, check out their website.

Top photo credit: Courtesy of The Kennedy Center