Big talent in an intimate show: Magician and mentalist Jason Bird’s “Parlour of Impossibilities” showcases his high-end act

Written by Tracey Weiss

Editor

The days of seeing a high end—but intimate show—magic show only in Las Vegas are over. Magician and mentalist Jason Bird has created the “Parlour of Impossibilities” at the Delamar hotels in West Hartford and Westport.

Bird, who moved the family to Glastonbury in October 2021, spent more than 25 years in Las Vegas perfecting his craft. When it comes to magic, he does it all. He does strolling magic and stage shows of all sizes for private and corporate audiences such as Google, Adobe, Microsoft and BMW. He even made the head of a company appear in a helicopter on stage for the audience of amazed coworkers. He’s made appearances on NBC, CBS and Fox, and flexed his magic muscle on television shows such as the CW's "Masters of Illusion.” He’s levitated a woman on stage.

While he still travels all over the country—and the world—to perform, what he loves the most are the small, personal shows, like he has created with the Parlour of Impossibilities.

Jason Bird’s show, Parlour of Impossibilities,” is for a small and intimate audience that enjoys magic and mentalist-style fun. Bird will be doing the show at the Delamar hotels in West Hartford and Westbrook this fall, with more shows to be scheduled. Photo by Jerry Metellus

“This show is sleight of hand,” he said of Parlour of Impossibilities. “The room looks like a Victorian parlor, with velvet curtains and vaudeville signs, very old timey. It sets the mood.”

There’s a dress code for show, too, to add a bit more ambience to the whole experience. “There’s something for everybody in the show,” he said. “I love this format. It’s intimate (only 60 people per show). It’s bigger than me doing card tricks, a real combination. Standing on stage at Bally’s has a different vibe.

One of the tricks that Jason Bird said, “put him on the map” was a short story magic trick that aired on the CW television network called “Masters of Illusion.” Jason comes across an old woman who wants to feed birds that simply are not there, and so he creates some live birds out of newspaper and scarves before turning honoring the woman’s request to turn her into a bird.  Photo by Ethan Miller

“One reason I have the show running is because I hate being away from home,” he said. He loves living in Glastonbury with his family, including wife, Tiffany and their son, Max, 13. He has two grown daughters, Isabella, 23, and Genevieve, 22.

“When we moved, the whole world was topsy turvy (post Covid),” Bird said. “I wanted to be close to New York, but I didn’t know anyone. I called a realtor. She showed me around. I loved Farmington and Avon,” but nothing was working out in terms of sales, and that’s when his realtor said, “have you thought of Glastonbury?”

“What pushed us was the schools,” he added. In Glastonbury, “we have friends. I really like the community. That’s what was missing in Las Vegas.”

He’s even done shows to raise for community organizations. He did a show for the little league and one this spring for scout troops 540 and 601.

“I remember getting my first magic book,” said mentalist and magician Jason Bird. “It was called ‘So You Want To Be A Magician.’ I picked up tricks. I would perform at the family reunion. I had fun. Then I forgot about it. I played sports, liked girls.” Photo by Jerry Metellus

“We’re happy to have them in Glastonbury. They’re a really nice family,” said Justin Kelleher. He is the leader of the Scout troops and he also saw the Parlour show in July at the sold out show at the Delamar West Hartford.

“He is an extremely high end, highly polished magician,” Kelleher said. “Normally, this is the kind of act you would see in Las Vegas. He’s very good at making things that look hard seem easy.

“He does sleight of hand tricks and those are always amazing. The intimacy (of the show) changes things. You’re right in the room and he’s right there. You can see it. I enjoyed the mentalist stuff, too and I have no idea how he pulls it off.

“Watching him do trick of is cool, but when you see them in person it’s a totally different experience. It’s why it’s worth going to.”

Magician and mentalist Jason Bird has an eclectic assortment of mind-bending tricks in his repertoire. Photo by Jerry Metellus

Bird grew up in grew up in Wisconsin, in a tiny farm town of 1600 people called Pardeeville. “I remember getting my first magic book, ‘So You Want To Be A Magician,’ he said. “I picked up tricks. I would perform at the family reunion. I had fun. Then I forgot about it. I played sports, liked girls.

“We moved to Arizona when I was 15, and I saw a David Copperfield show on TV, the World’s Greatest Magic Shows. By 17, I knew this was what I wanted to do. At 18, I moved to Las Vegas, and as a tradeoff, agreed to go to law school. By junior year, I was doing so many shows I became a professional.”

Law school was out, and magic was in. “My first show was at Caesar’s Magical Empire. It was so neat, he said of the place. “You would have dinner, then see a small magic show, I was a wizard. First gig I ever got. Little tiny choices you make can have a difference. I was working at a magic shop near there and doing magic behind the counter. Someone saw me and asked me if I wanted to work there.”

From there, he learned the ins and outs of being a strolling magician, playing costume characters, doing mini shows. “That’s what gave me my flight time,” he said. “I got good at things fast.”

Photo by Jerry Metellus

Doing magic, Bird said, makes him feel “powerful. Like I have a superpower and that’s addicting,” he said. “If you can’t dance, act or sing, become a magician. You wear a lot of hats.”  

Bird has even written a book, “Strolling for Dollars: How You Can Make A Living Doing Close-up Magic,” which came out last year. “It’s 583 pages. I left no stone unturned,” he said. “I wrote the book I wished I had when I started.” WHL

Upcoming dates and information for Parlour of Impossibilities:

Delamar West Hartford: October 18, November 15, December 20

Delamar Westport: October 25, November 22, and December 13

Tickets: https://parlorofimpossibilities.com

Jason Bird’s website: www.jasonbirdproductions.com 

To purchase the book, “Strolling for Dollars: How You Can Make A Living Doing Close-up Magic”: JasonBird.store