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'The Illusionists' will teach you how to spot a liar and other feats at Music Hall at Fair Park

It's hard to be crazy, sexy and cool at the same time. (Unless you're 90s R&B group TLC.) Add "creepy" to that list of adjectives, though, and you've got the cast of The Illusionists.

Magician seems too light a word to describe the cast, who show up in a see-through box suspended above the stage looking like a movie poster for a film featuring a motley group of super villains. Or Batman's rogues' gallery. Your pick.

"Are you ready for the next generation of magic," read the big screen.

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The patter throughout the audience during the intermission was more "I bet he did it like this" than "How did they do that." Word to the wise, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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"The Trickster" Jeff Hobson

He served as master of ceremonies, reminding me of the actual Trickster from DC Comics and played by Mark Hamill (Star Wars) on The Flash. His shoes are a sparkly wonder ("I wrestled RuPaul to the ground for these," he said). And so is he. Light on his feet, he keeps things moving between sets. And picks on Mesquite at least three times. He doesn't just talk, though. One learns that he's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

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"The Anti-Conjuror" Dan Sperry

At once intriguing and off-putting from the moment he steps into the spotlight, Sperry wears face paint and a fitted skeleton-printed shirt. You will never want to see dental floss -- or a quarter -- again after catching his act. If Harry Potter had used Sperry's brand of wand -- a shotgun or a knife -- he wouldn't have had to die so hard. Sperry talks fast but he's funny and disarming and in the end, sort of endearing. Everything he does looks painful. You don't want to think too hard about his shenanigans.

"The Inventor" Kevin James

At first macabre, and then sweet, James takes on the guise of a doctor whose Steampunk lab you never want to find yourself in. But then he'll pull a young girl from the audience and delight and amaze her using a square of tissue and turning it into something she'll treasure. Look out for that chainsaw. Some of it plays like a so-bad-it's-good 80s horror movie, but that may be the point. Cute: The reanimator and weather wizard grew up in Michigan.

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"The Manipulator" An Ha Lim

If there's ever a paper shortage, blame South Korean An Ha Lim. The Trickster -- which is a real villain name in the DC Comics Universe --  introduces him with all his accolades intact. He won a Golden Lion at the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. As one patron said, "I don't even know how he did that." My guess is the audience was too stunned to clap immediately after he was done. But he's all a lot of them could talk about during the 20-minute intermission.

"The Deductionist" Colin Cloud

The man from Scotland uses the entire crowd for his set. And he teaches along the way. Listen and learn as he tells you how to spot a lie and how to tell in which hand someone's hiding something. I won't give it away here. Funny: When he got help from the audience, he asked for someone with an iPhone that was already on saying, "I used to ask for a Samsung but I'm taking no chances."

"The Escapologist"Andrew Bosso

The Italian Bosso idolizes Harry Houdini, so much so that he does the Houdini Water Torture Cell. He has to hold his breath, but you'll find yourself gasping for air by the time he's done using only a paper clip and obviously good underwater concentration. I have questions: Why do they always have to go in the tank upside down? Anyway, he was scheduled to meet with the locksmith association in Dallas on Friday.

"The Daredevil" Jonathan Goodwin

Fearless with a crossbow, for which he started asking when he was 4 years old. And two even more fearless assistants.

The Illusionists -- Live From Broadway runs through Sunday, with shows at 1:30 and 7 p.m. each day, so there's still time to be amazed and astonished, especially at the versatility of Broadway. 

Tickets start at $15 at DallasSummerMusicals.org.

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