ENTERTAINMENT

UWO student is Now Serving Magic in Appleton

Shane Nyman

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

APPLETON - Rajon Lynch is bringing magic back.

That's the goal, at least, for the 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh marketing student, who in a week will unveil what he hopes is the first of many magical nights out in the Fox Cities.

"I wanted to bring something new to Appleton," said Lynch, who performs as RJ the Magician. "Something where people say, 'Man, you have to go see that.' There's a lot to do in Appleton but I'm hoping to find a niche."

Lynch, a native of Racine, knows that "new" is a relative term when it comes to magic and Appleton. The city's link to magic history isn't lost on him. And how could it be, when he's beginning his dinner-and-a-show endeavor at a place called Houdini's Escape Gastropub.

On Jan. 29, he'll partner with the Appleton restaurant for his first Now Serving Magic outing. It's a four-hour dinner-show combo where he'll host and be joined by two other Wisconsin magicians. Guests buy their tickets in advance and then are treated to a three-course meal and performances — most right at the table, in between courses — from the magicians. The restaurant, normally closed after brunch on Sundays, will be open just for Lynch's show.

Moving forward, Lynch hopes to expand Now Serving Magic to other Fox Cities restaurants and, eventually, get to where his name is known elsewhere in the state.

He's treading a performance path that isn't exactly filled with African-American success stories. But perhaps that's starting to change. In 2014, Kenrick "Ice" McDonald became the first African American to be named president of the Society of American Magicians.

"We have a rich history that a lot of people don't know about," McDonald told National Public Radio at the time.

As both a young and black magician, Lynch said he is happy to blaze his own trail.

"I don't look like the average magician," he said. " ... It's really cool because a lot of the time I think that's why I get hired, because I'm different."

He also has Appleton history working on his side. Harry Houdini remains arguably the most famous magician who's ever lived, and it was Appleton where the master illusionist's family settled after immigrating from Hungary in the late 1800s. Although it's basically a coincidence he's launching his magic career here (he left Racine to go to Oshkosh for its business school), Lynch is well aware magic has a legacy in Appleton.

"Back in the day, he was the Beyonce," Lynch said of Houdini, who became a pop culture icon in the days before movie stars and rock and roll.

Lynch's path to this point started as a kid. He remembers being about 8 and learning a trick — it involved making a salt shaker pass through a tabletop — on the Disney Channel and practicing it with his cousins.

"I was really bad," he said. "I'd always try to get people to watch me, but I was really bad so nobody would watch me."

Through his school days, Lynch was interested in the arts but never really found a serious passion. He liked plays and musicals but said he wasn't any good at acting or singing. He plays guitar, viola and harmonica, but, again, he said he isn't particularly skilled.

A turning point came when he was 18. He saw a poster on the UWO campus advertising a summer job opportunity at an arts camp in New York. When applying, he had to pick three fields he'd be willing to teach. Because he played viola, he first picked orchestra. He'd been on a high school cooking team, so he chose cooking. And because he needed a third field, he selected magic.

He got the gig and spent about three and a half months at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. Not only was he teaching magic, he was teamed up with seven professional magicians and, from them, learned how to be a performer. He went back a second summer in 2016 and plans to do so again in June.

A passion for magic was born. And his skills blossomed.

His time at French Woods, a camp with a staff of about 450 and thousands of students passing through, opened him to new worlds. The magicians he connected with come from all over the world and some have decades of experience. It's made it apparent that, if he so chooses, a career in magic wouldn't take some kind of wizard spell to pull off.

The business is still new to Lynch. His first job was about a year ago and didn't involve a whole lot of sleight of hand. It was a children's birthday party and he was working with balloons. Since then, though, he's built up his resume, having performed corporate gigs for Kimberly-Clark Corp. and Cricket Wireless. He's also taught magic through a program at the YMCA and is working on starting something up at the History Museum at the Castle.

A big step came a few months ago when he quit a retail job and decided to make a go of it as just a student and a magician.

"It's weird to see somebody doing magic in a suit one night and then go to Menard's and he's helping you find the screws," he said.

The outcome of next weekend's Now Serving Magic could prove to Lynch that he's moving in the right direction. He'll have 2017 and part of 2018 to continue to build his resume, make a name for himself and gain real-world marketing experience before graduation. He also plans on heading to French Woods for two more summers before making New York his home. From there, maybe he'll settle into what some would call a "real world job," or perhaps he'll make a go of it working cards, coins, handkerchiefs and ribbons for audiences.

"I want to be in New York," he said. "I go to camp every year, so I'm going to graduate and then I'll be in New York already.

"... (We'll) see what happens with a marketing degree and some magic experience."

Shane Nyman: 920-996-7239, snyman@postcrescent.com or on Twitter @shanenyman

IF YOU GO

What: Now Serving Magic, featuring a three-course meal and performances by RJ the Magician, Luka and MH

When: 6-10 p.m. Jan. 29

Where: Houdini's Escape Gastropub, 1216 S. Oneida St., Appleton

Tickets: $50, available at Houdini's Escape, 920-574-2616

Details: Now Serving Magic on Facebook and nowservingmagic.com; @nowservingmagic on Twitter