In a dimly lit room, the scent of chicken alfredo mingles with the sharp crackles of flash paper as magicians perform card tricks and illusions of the eye, all part of an improvised murder theater. 

And it’s all happening just inches from the audience members’ water glasses.

At the Mystery and Magic Dinner Theatre’s production of “Murder at the Magic Show II,” the fourth wall doesn’t just lean and sway, it disappears. 

The Murder and Magic Mystery show flips the script on traditional magic by dropping a crime scene in the middle of the illusions. Hosted by Tucsonan Norm Marani, the night is a mix of laughs and mind-bending tricks that suddenly turn into a team investigation. 

“I loved how they structured the seating,” said audience member Jessica Doherty. “By starting with simple table interactions before announcing we’d be working as a team, they built a sense of camaraderie early on. It made solving the mystery together more natural, even though we didn’t know each other at first.”

Each table must piece together which magician was “murdered” and why. The table that gets it right wins the grand prize. Those who get it wrong could become involuntary participants in the next act.

“Murder at the Magic Show II” thrives off proximity. In an era of stadium tours and digital effects, the smaller setting offers a perspective that larger venues cannot replicate, Doherty said. 

“I actually enjoyed the magicians that were at the table, and how they were performing tricks right there,” she said. 

“I also love the snarkiness of the magicians,” she added, referring to the way the magicians teased and joked with the audience.

At the heart of the mayhem are Ross Horwitz and his partner, Norm Marani, both veterans of what they call an “ancient craft” that relies as much on personality as sleight of hand.

Horwitz, who has been a magician since the age of 7, and Marani, who first took the stage at 23, bring a combined 55 years of expertise to the world of illusion.

Both learned through apprentice-type programs under the wing of experienced mentors, Horwitt said. But while the discipline remains, the methods have changed for the upcoming generation of magicians, he said. 

“Now with YouTube, anybody can learn to do some very complicated magic if they put in the time and dedication to it,” he said. 

Still, he sees magic as more important than ever.

“This is a perfect time to put smiles on people’s faces,” Horwitt said. “There aren’t as many smiles as there used to be, even a few years ago.”

The show is a relentless barrage of humor and wonder. Horwitt describes the atmosphere as “almost non-stop once we get going.” 

It’s a sentiment that is echoed by the crowd, who find themselves gasping at a sequence of escalating impossibilities.

“For me personally, it was when the fire turned into a bunny right into my face,” said guest Steve Gronstal, who had been called on stage with his birthday cake, which transformed for the crowd. 

The magicians added ingredients to the pan, ending with lighter fluid that, when ignited, produced the bunny. 

“That was pretty awesome, especially because of the perspective I had there,” Gronstal said.

As the night progressed, the mystery deepened. Guests debated how tricks were performed and were treated to a ridiculous finale involving confusing mental calculations of dates and times.

As the final curtain fell and fellow guests wished Grontal a happy birthday near the exit, the takeaway for the audience was clear: Between the snarky jokes and the sleight of hand, they found a rare moment of shared joy. 

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.