Tiffany's has always had a touch of magic. Under the flurry of feathers and the flash of sequins, the beautiful performers of the famous Pattaya cabaret have spent 42 years using illusion and sleight of hand (not to mention lip-synching) to enthral audiences.
But never before has the show had a genuine magician. Joe Labero, a Swedish entertainer crowned illusionist of the decade by the Merlin Award Society, is performing at Tiffany's for the next three months. Not only is Labero bringing the tricks he has honed over a 25-year career to the Pattaya stage, he will incorporate the much-loved transgender performers into his act as his assistants. They will appear from clear glass boxes and volunteer to be cut in half.
Labero has been travelling around the globe, and jumped at the invitation to make the stunning Tiffany's Show even more magical.
THE TRICKS BEGIN
Born Lars Bengt Roland Johansson in 1963, there was little to entertain a young boy in the small country town of Alvesta, Sweden. When he turned 12, his parents bought him a magic set, which came as a suitcase packed with coins, cards, banknotes and other items essential for up-close illusions. >> >> He took the suitcase everywhere, practising tricks whenever he could. Family gatherings were his first audiences, and he showed off every new feat. In time, performing became second nature and as he grew older decided to pursue it for a living.
Magino, as the teenager called himself at the time, watched every video he could get his hands on and travelled to magic exhibitions in Europe in an effort to learn everything he could. When he became skilful enough to enter the Swedish junior magic championship in 1979, he won the competition. That was when he met his lifelong mentor, Carlos Tornedo, who is still a source of inspiration today.
"What I got from him is passion," Labero said. "He taught me anything is possible and he always taught me to think bigger and bigger."
At 16, he left home to learn more magic and started travelling around Scandinavia to gain experience. But as required by law, he had to return to Sweden to join the army when he was 18. Even then, he would hold magic shows for other soldiers when they had free time.
As soon as he left the army when he was 19, Labero went straight back to his career with the goal of becoming the world's best magician.
WORLD TRAVELLER
Labero travelled all over Europe and America to practise his skills, beginning with disappearing cards and doves and adding more items and elaborate tricks as the years went on. He spent seven years on his skills, all the while watching other magicians such as the world's best in Las Vegas, before returning to Stockholm with a plan.
In 1991, Labero walked into the famous Berns Salonger restaurant and not only proposed a magic show, but asked them to invest in a million-dollar entertainment venue so he could draw in the crowd. He told the investors he wanted a water fountain on stage, a woman floating in the air, rock and roll, and anything else Las Vegas could offer. A week later, they told him "let's do this". The show sold out, and Labero would perform it 657 times in the next three years.
The Vegas concept really took off and it took him halfway around the world. An agent contacted him offering a similar show with a large team of dancers on Australia's Gold Coast. He took up the offer in 1996, and his career has since included residencies at casinos and on cruise liners, and he has headlined solo shows and taken to the stage with other magicians. His following grew, but nowhere more so than in Sweden where in 2010 he sold more than 300,000 tickets for 300 shows.
USE YOUR ILLUSION
After winning the junior tournament in 1979, Labero picked up other awards throughout his career. However, one major prize managed to elude him until 2009.
Judges for the International Magic Society, based in Las Vegas, had secretly been in the audience on several occasions between 2000 and 2009 to watch his work.
At the magic world cup in Beijing at the end of the decade, the judges shared the news that he had won the coveted Merlin Award as illusionist of the decade -- a title shared by such luminaries as David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, and Penn and Teller.
"I always tell myself to do my best. To see people smile, looking amazed and amused is far more valuable than anything because that means I did my job right as a magician," Labero said. "The applause and interaction from the audience are also important to me during the show."
Labero is now based in Singapore, where he has just finished a contract with Resort World on Sentosa Island. A theatre is being built for an upcoming show next year near the Raffles Hotel. The timing proved perfect for a collaboration with Tiffany's.
Alisa Phanthusak, the assistant to Tiffany's managing director, said while the cabaret is the first of its kind in the country, it was keen to hold special events to celebrate its fifth decade. She sat down with the team one day in February to think about what could be done.
Tiffany's changes its show every six months and holds two major events a year -- the Miss Tiffany and Miss Tiffany Universe beauty pageants. But the core of the performance has always been the same, with a beautiful performer lip-synching on stage.
Ms Alisa added a live singing show on weekends, which has succeeded in drawing in stronger crowds and has proven especially popular with Chinese tour groups.
The show with Labero is an idea Tiffany's hopes will attract attention, and bring back those who have already seen the main event.
"Joe Labero is not only a great performer but he is also a thinker who gives us a lot of new and fresh ideas for our show," Ms Alisa said. "He created a way to combine our Tiffany's girls with his show perfectly and the show really has a wow factor to it."
GET INTIMATE
Labero has always thought big and always wanted a large stage production. But as he grows older, he has realised it is more rewarding to get intimate with a smaller audience.
Performing in Phuket at the Seduction, an entertainment venue with 500 seats, gave him the opportunity to interact with the audience more than normal.
Tiffany's is getting a big act, however, and he promises a Vegas-style performance. The lighting will be darker than Tiffany's usual bright and dazzling offerings, but there will be no shortage of surprises.
Audiences will be left wondering how he does it even as he tricks them in front of their faces, taking many of the illusions down into the crowd.
When his three months at Tiffany's are up, Labero's next trick will be a vanishing act as he returns to Europe. But that doesn't mean he won't show up again when we least expect him.
"I hope I can come back to Thailand again and find my own smaller venue for a magic performance," he said.
"I am looking at some locations in Bangkok but there is nothing confirmed yet. I hope I can bring real magic to this country when I come back again next time."
Joe Labero performs Magic in Fantasy at Tiffany's Show Theatre, Pattaya, at 9pm from Tuesdays to Sundays until the end of August. Tickets cost between 1,500 and 3,000 baht and are available at www.tiffany-show.co.th or Thai Ticket Major.
Lars Bengt Roland Johansson or Joe Labero
MAGIC MAN: Joe Labero and Alisa Phanthusak, the assistant to Tiffany's managing director. 'Magic in Fantasy' plays until Aug 31.
