Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Get ready for Late Night Magic with Douglas ‘Lefty’ Leferovich

Douglas Leferovich

Shane O'Neil

Douglas “Lefty” Leferovich opens the door to a whole new world with Late Night Magic.

There’s a new off-Strip magicians’ showcase launching at The Space this week and there’s a very familiar face hosting the monthly event.

Douglas Leferovich is best known in the role of “Lefty” in Murray SawChuck’s comedy and magic residency at the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana and he’s been working and performing with SawChuck for seven years. But the veteran magician, director and consultant has been working in Las Vegas for 18 years and has been incredibly busy as of late.

In addition to his guest act status in “Murray the Magician” at the Trop, Leferovich has recently filled in as comedian host at “Crazy Girls” at Planet Hollywood, a gig he also completed at “Fantasy” at Luxor a couple years ago. He’s also the co-producer and creative director of the seven-year-old Sapphire Comedy Hour at Sapphire Gentlemen’s Club and works as a consultant for “Sexxy” and “The Magic of Jen Kramer” at Westgate and the new “Cherry Boom Boom” at OYO Hotel and Casino.

Operating as a jack-of-all-trades comes naturally for Leferovich, a New Yorker who’s been performing all his life and learning as much as he can about stage production and the entertainment industry every step along the way.

“When I first met Murray I was doing a convention on the East Coast and I think the reason why we bonded was not only because we respect each other as performers, but we both understood how when you’re starting out, you have to wear all the hats,” he says. “You have to learn how to sew so you can fix your own costume, you’re editing your own music, you’re doing your own graphics and public relations. And I’ve always been interested and asked questions in everything I’ve been involved with because if I’m working with another magician, I want the magic to be good but I’m also working on the lighting and talking about staging.”

Leferovich is somehow finding time to host Late Night Magic, a new monthly series produced by another versatile magician and entertainer, Michael Mayfield. It opens at 10:30 p.m. on October 24 at the intimate Back Space theater at The Space (3460 Cavaretta Court, 702-903-1070) with a bit of a spooky Halloween theme; shock illusionist Dan Sperry, sideshow-style star John Shaw and masked comic magician the Shocker will perform. Tickets and more information are available at thespacelv.com.

“I love the fact that this gives an opportunity to the people who aren’t at the Penn & Teller, David Copperfield or Criss Angel level to have their own show just a couple blocks over from the Strip,” Leferovich says. “In the magic world, these are well-known people, and this is a great chance for them to showcase their talents.”

Every show will have a different group of magicians and Leferovich will play host. Late Night Magic gives him a chance to flex his creativity as well, especially since his most consistent gig is a silent performance.

“It is very different to do this or to fill in on ‘Fantasy,’ for example, because when I do that or ‘Crazy Girls,’ I talk, and I don’t with Murray. But we’ve known each other for 20 years and our characters in the show have become very defined, so when we put a new piece in the show, it’s easy to figure out what those roles are.”

Anyone who’s seen SawChuck’s show and Leferovich’s performance would have to agree the two magicians have undeniable chemistry. You can see them do their thing at the Trop Sunday through Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m.