Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Bach.
Hi Charles, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Charles Bach is a magician, dancer, illusionist and escape artist. A genuine, contagious enthusiasm makes the audience feel they are part of the magic as Charles transforms a theater into a magical place, filled with joy and wonder.
Charles started doing magic when he was 8 years old after his uncle showed him a card trick. He figured out how to do it and performed the trick the next day for his family. Growing up as a kid, Charles’ life was full of magic and creativity. He built stages and props out of cardboard boxes, floated balls around his room, made puppets from socks, and trained a white dove called ‘Dove Henning’ and a fluffy rabbit ‘Houdini’ to travel and perform at thousands of birthday and Christmas parties.
At 12, Charles started taking dance and acting to help him on stage. His years of ballet, modern and jazz dance training gave him a unique opportunity to study dance at Joffrey Ballet in New York, St. Louis Ballet and Cleveland Ballet. He also performed in musical comedies and plays. In his Wonders Show you will not see Charles doing his tricks in white tights, but you will watch him blending magic, dance and theater like no other magician in the world.
Throughout all his theatrical training and dance performing experiences, Charles continued to perform magic shows, study magic books and create his own original illusions. Eager to perfect his skills and talents, he began performing at Caesar’s Magical Empire in Las Vegas. Following his four-year-long Las Vegas success, Charles was approached by theme parks, resorts, casinos and luxury cruise lines to perform his own show. Charles has amazed and wowed audiences around the globe with his WONDERS show.
He has appeared all over the world, including performances at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and Branson. He has also been seen on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, on the E! Entertainment Channel, the Discovery Channel, and has made many other appearances on international TV around the world including England, the Netherlands, Norway and Taiwan. Charles’ creativity in magic has been called on to make CEO’s appear or levitate for numerous companies and he has consulted and created magic for ballet companies and other theatrical productions.
Charles is the only magician in the world performing an incredible death-defying Underwater Escape locked in 100 pounds of chains, locks and shackles. This spectacular feat of skill has been performed around the world at large events, on cruise ships and grand openings. As a testament to the genuineness of this performance, men from over 65 different countries have had the experience of chaining Charles up for the escape. In 10 years of Charles Bach performing this escape, over 1,000,000 people have witnessed it LIVE.
The WONDERS of Charles Bach is not only beautiful and mystifying but also extremely entertaining. Charles creates a truly magical experience for the whole family that is not dark and serious, just fun and amazing. Natural charm and personality, originality, high-energy choreography, beautiful staging with fabulously colorful costumes and props make Charles Bach WONDERS into high-level, first class entertainment.
Charles is now in his 7th year in Myrtle Beach at Broadway at the Beach in his own Wonders Theatre seating 170 guests and featuring the biggest and best magic show in town.
About Wonders Theatre
Charles Bach Wonders Theatre at Broadway at the Beach is located next to Dave & Buster’s in the former Oz Nightclub. It is an intimate 170 seat theatre and presents Las Vegas style shows and entertainment that cannot be seen anywhere else. The resident shows are the Charles Bach Wonders! Magic Show and the Steve Falcon Comedy Hypnosis Hour and other variety shows are brought in during the season. Charles first opened his theatre in 2019 in Myrtle Beach and the season expanded from a short summer season to now run from March through the end of December.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’ve spent many years traveling and missing home and family while performing on cruise ships and at resorts around the world. That has always been challenging, but I was able to travel with my wife and son right after he was born and we got to see the world during his first years. While he does not remember all the places he’s been, I believe it helped to shape his view of the world in a positive way.
When he started school, I spent a contract all alone and was miserable. I then made it my mission to find a place where I could keep performing, but be with the family. Myrtle Beach became the location for making that happen and Broadway at the Beach was the ideal place for my magic show.
Building a theater in a new space was an incredible challenge and it was all planned from 2 visits to the space and months of planning while being on a cruise ship in Hawaii. Waking up at 4am to make phone calls and plan all the elements required to open a business, build a stage, hire employees, and get the entire show moved to the East Coast from Hawaii was an incredible challenge. A wall of checklists filled my cabin and very little sleep was had during the process. But it all came together and now we’re celebrating 7 years creating magic in South Carolina.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My magic is known for incorporating all the things I love about theater and entertainment. Having a degree in dance and being a professional dancer for years allowed me to bring a different element to my performances that is not seen by other illusionists. I’ve been able to combine the magic with great choreography and dance, beautiful costuming, visual lighting and effects, interactive illusions, comedic interaction with the audience, and all the other elements that make a Las Vegas magic show and incredible experience for all ages.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The biggest risk was opening a theater in a town I knew very little about, in a space I’d only seen once, and leaving a comfortable job performing only a couple times each week on a cruise ship.
Taking my savings and investing in this venture was incredibly risky and the unknown is always challenging. But, you’ll never know till you try and that makes it worth the risk. Having a dedicated plan and budget, sticking to it, and doing as much of the work you can for yourself means you have the best chance of you venture working. Because you’ve lived and breathed the life into your creation, only you truly know what is needed to make it work successfully.
Pricing:
- Adult tickets $34.95
- Child tickets $19.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wonderstickets.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/WondersTheatre
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/WondersTheatre
- Twitter: https://Twitter.com/WondersTheatre
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/WondersTheatre
