David Kaplan LIVE (Penguin LIVE)

A unique style of magic, music, and juggling filled with unexpected, whimsical events.

"It felt so good to forget everything and laugh." - Carolyn Gabric, Stark Soil and Water Banquet, Navarre, OH

"…a brilliant performance." - The Athens Post

"Dave is extremely entertaining, and very talented at capturing and maintaining the audience's attention…" -Shannon Ruempler, Special Events Chair – Denison University

What will he teach?

Dave Kaplan has a unique style of magic all his own as he demonstrates in this Penguin Live lecture by starting things off with a bang… literally. His magic is designed to contain unexpected "events," as he calls them, like producing a coat rack from a paper bag in order to hang up his jacket. It's these whimsical events, and occasional odd devices (like his home-made hypno-glasses), that make him one of my favorite magicians to watch.

Plus, his magic is strong and unexpected too, as you'll find out when he shows you how to produce any card anybody names from your shoe at any time. Or, pluck a coin from your beard, roll it across your knuckles, balance it at your fingertips, and get it to slowly lay down on your command.

You'll also love his take on familiar routines like the color-changing knives. I hate to spoil the surprise, but his ends with both knives vanishing. Then, just when you're getting comfortable, out comes a live fish flopping around on the stage while he tries to catch it and put it back in his case.

He also juggles ping-pong balls with his mouth, leading to a continuous production, ending with a live baby chick. Really? Okay, things aren't always what they seem with The Great Kaplan. But he's always entertaining, whether he's juggling a hat, balancing a cane, burning a borrowed bill, destroying a cigar, or playing a song on a turkey baster. Let this lecture serve as your introduction to this remarkable man.

Who is he?

The Great Kaplan, virtuoso juggler, magician, inventor, musician, deadpan physical comedian, brings his one-man show to P3 Magic Theater! Illusion, music, juggling and deadpan comedy collide in this hilarious vaudevillesque spectacle. David Kaplan plays "the Great Kaplan", an earnest vaudeville performer, who while just trying to do a good show, inexplicably gets caught in the crosshairs of the universe. Murphy's Law according to Rube Goldberg.

Notable shows include a recent performance as guest ‘balloonist’ with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and network television appearances on ABC TV's "The View" and "The Statler Brothers Show" on TNN. David has headlined internationally in theatres and on major cruise lines, from Alaska to the Mediterranean to Tahiti. He has also opened shows for renowned performers including Steven Wright, Bobby Vinton, David Spade, Leon Redbone, David Brenner, Harry Blackstone Jr., and the Smothers Brothers.

Inspired by the antics of Keaton, Sellers, Victor Borge, the Smothers Brothers, and the illustrious Wile E. Coyote, among others, Kaplan's most spectacular accomplishment is emerging from the performance in one piece! David’s numerous awards include the first place medal at the Canton Battle of Magicians, the coveted "Peoples Choice" award at the 2006 International Brotherhood of Magicians Convention, and in 2010 he was awarded the Mandrake d’Or in Paris.