Michael Carbonaro feels most comfortable on stage

Michael Carbonaro admits most people know him from TV appearances on “The Carbonaro Effect,” “Happily Divorced,” “30 Rock,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “CSI Miami.”

But he feels most comfortable on stages like the one at the Fox Tucson Theatre, where he will perform Sunday, Sept. 17.

“I love getting to perform live,” said the magician.

“Being on the stage is similar to the TV show in a way for the same reasons people like the show ‘The Carbonaro Effect.’ It’s big on improvisation. I use participants — audiences, kids, adults, and do tricks among the audience.

“I think I would get fatigued if I performed the same routines. There’s a new cast of characters every time I’m in a new city. I think there’s only one segment in the show where I don’t involve someone from the audience. It’s really mostly me playing with the people who come in.”

A performing magician since his youth on Long Island, Carbonaro studied experimental theater at New York University with aspirations of entertaining audiences through a variety of theatrical mediums, including hidden-camera magic, which he later showcased frequently on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Following Carbonaro’s frequent late-night appearances, he launched “The Carbonaro Effect,” which has run for over 100 episodes on truTV and currently airs on HBO Max and in syndication worldwide.

In this series, Carbonaro performs inventive tricks on unsuspecting members of the public, leaving them “bewildered and families at home laughing out loud.”

“Magic grounds me,” he said. “I have been in love with it ever since I was a kid. I loved the makeup from special effects horror movies and David Copperfield. I started buying tricks in a local magic shop and it got my motor going. I’m doing what I was made to do.”

In 2016, the New York native embarked on his first theater tour with “Michael Carbonaro Live!” His new show, “Carbonaro: Lies on Stage,” comes to the Fox Tucson Theatre. In it, he’ll teach audiences a prank.

“I tell people right out of the gate, you’ll be amazed, you’ll laugh and you’ll believe that magic is actually real,” Carbonaro said.

“I’m a magician and I still get fooled by magic. That’s why I think magic is so wonderful. I’m the kind of person that, even when I watch a magic show, I like to let myself ride the ride. I want to believe. I don’t try to dig too deep. I love when stuff fools me. It’s an art of attention direction. If it’s done properly, you will miss the things that are going on in the cracks and shadows.”

The payoffs — when fans react to his show — are worth it more so on the live tour than the TV show. Carbonaro said he works hard for the TV shows — don’t get him wrong — but the ultimate payoff doesn’t come until he’s home relaxing, watching the show on TV.

“With the live show, it’s much more immediate,” he added. “We’re here, we’re in the moment now. We’re laughing. It’s an hour and a half and here it is. It’s a conversation of energy.

“This show, ‘Carbonaro: Lies on Stage,’ is titled after the fact that people know I’m lying on stage. I have a finale in the show where I bring up two people from the audience and make them disappear. If you’re looking to get rid of anybody in particular, bring them down and I’ll take care of it for you.”