Kevin and I put in an effort for Halloween (okay, maybe not much!) and dressed up. Over the past few years, we feel like we’re about 90-years-old whenever Halloween comes around in West Hollywood (why is that music so loud? They’re going to go deaf!).
We went to the Halloween carnival on the early side this year, before the real insanity hits the streets. But we do love checking out the wild costumes that are easily more creative than ours. Though, the bar is pretty low. At least the dog got a lot of compliments on his shark costume.
I’m dressed as a nerdy cowboy, Kevin is the devil and Doug the Dog is a shark (though his fin fell off for the picture). Okay, we tried!
Later that night, I decided to look online for something to get us in the spooky spirit. That’s when I came across an article about a magic club that quietly opened earlier this year in Hollywood called Black Rabbit Rose.
Now, most people in LA have heard of The Magic Castle, a private magic club with celeb fans like Johnny Depp and Quentin Tarantino. But it isn’t for a casual night out and scoring a ticket takes effort. Plus, there’s the whole required advanced reservations, formal attire and a sit-down dinner. Oh, and no photos please (unless you’re tricky as a magician and can sneak one in like I did when my parents visited!).
The legendary Magic Castle in Hollywood
As a kid, I performed magic for friends, family, babysitters, the school janitor. Basically, anywhere I could get an audience! While I’m more of a casual magician now, I still love a good show. That, and not dropping a few hundred dollars on a random night out.
Tickets on Goldstar for Black Rabbit Rose run a cool $26 each. There is no required dinner or drinks to be purchased. So I signed us up and checked it out earlier this week. We didn’t know what to expect, but were definitely impressed!
The dark interior of the prohibition-era bar at Black Rabbit Rose.
We recommend arriving about 30 minutes early and grabbing a drink at the attached bar. We kept our drinks simple – a glass of wine. But they have an extensive cocktail menu with a drink called the Honey Bunny (which smokes!) and the Bullet Catch, a rum and coffee concoction that is topped with a flame.
The menu and 4 random cards you’re given upon arrival – where all members of the audience will do the final trick.
Magic shows are held Thursday-Saturday in the basement of a historic Hollywood apartment building, once home to actors Clara Bow and Stan Laurel. You’ll feel like walking back in time with the prohibition-era bar and themed cocktails. It is a completely different experience than The Magic Castle — much more intimate with a bar and separate theater area that holds at most 50 people.
Inside the theater, where performers pop out of secret passages.
I don’t want to give too much away. So will keep it to just the general info. Shows last about 1 hour and it’s a 1920’s-inspired variety act with lounge singers, a flame eating woman and plenty of magic.
And since the theater is so tiny, you can bet there will be a lot of audience interaction. And it was almost like they knew Kevin was the last person who wanted to get up on stage! Within minutes, he was included in the first act.
Kevin goes with the flow, even though he is about the last person to want to be pulled up on stage!
The show is quirky and pretty hilarious at the same time. Food isn’t allowed inside the theater so we recommend that you ask your waiter to make a dinner reservation for right after the show. Or even better yet, call in advance. The lounge is tiny. And the food is fantastic — all Thai from Crying Tiger, which also has a take-out window outside if you prefer to take your food to go.
The takeout window for Crying Tiger, a Thai restaurant. But we recommend getting dinner reservations in the lounge after the show where they also serve the same food.
But the most incredible part of the night for me (by far!) was the last magic act. The entire audience does it together and literally my jaw dropped. The audience turns into the magician, that is unless you can’t follow instructions! Following the show, Kevin and I went back to the lounge and ordered some Pad Thai and Taro chips that were surprisingly delicious. There is also a close-up magician that wanders around, who was fantastic. Just make sure you have some cash to tip.
The place is worth checking out — and like going back in time to another era. And who knows, maybe next year, we’ll even put more of an effort into Halloween now that we’re in the spirit. Okay, probably not!
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