Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020 | 2 a.m.
She’s still not allowed to perform her namesake resident magic show in the 350-seat Westgate Cabaret, but Jen Kramer is ready to get back onstage, just as she was amped up to help reopen the off-Strip resort more than two months ago.
“It was so exciting, just the energy in the air,” Kramer says of the Westgate Las Vegas reopening event on June 18. “We had Sir Winston, the Westgate puppy mascot, and the shows were represented and it was just exciting to see the legendary Vegas fun returning. I really do miss doing the show and I can’t wait to be back, but it was just great to be there with my Westgate family.”
On this week’s Sun on the Strip podcast, Kramer explains how she’s been working behind the scenes to adapt her show to make it more “COVID friendly.”
“I’ve been working with my team of magic engineers and consultants to dream up new ways to do some of the magic, brainstorming and thinking of how do we take this moment and keep it engaging yet make it more friendly to the circumstances,” she says. “It’s been a real creative challenge, going through … all the moments where the audience would touch props or come up on stage, especially in a show like mine, which is heavy on audience participation.
“But to go beyond that, some of the changes we’ve made for COVID reasons, to be more safe and thoughtful, I think they have really pushed me and they are making the show better anyway.”
Magic shows, whether they’re in a smaller showroom like Kramer’s or a bigger theater like Criss Angel’s space at Planet Hollywood, are inextricable components of the Vegas entertainment. And no matter when they’re allowed to resume performances, they will play an essential part in returning to Vegas normalcy.
“Vegas is such a magic mecca,” Kramer says. “There are family-friendly shows, shows that focus on illusions, shows that focus more on closeup magic, any type you would want to see you can find in Las Vegas. It’s part of what I love so much about the city.”
Listen to this and more on the Sun on the Strip, also available at Apple Podcasts.
