Long Island's Michael Carbonaro returns home for Paramount magic show

Magician Michael Carbonaro, who grew up in Oakdale, is coming home to The Paramount in Huntington on Friday, with a new production called "Wonderboy." Much like Carbonaro himself, the show’s name has Long Island roots, stemming from when he was 13 years old performing at the Lions Club’s annual Mattituck Strawberry Festival.

"I got billed in the Long Island Traveler-Watchman newspaper [June 4, 1992] as ‘the boy wonder of magic and illusion.’ Originally, I was mortified because I thought it was the dorkiest thing in the world. I wanted to be taken seriously," says Carbonaro, 50. "Now, I look back, take stock and say, ‘Hey man … I was the boy wonder of magic and illusion!’ That’s pretty cool."

The 90-minute, family-friendly show focuses on the wonderment of being a kid again.

"There’s this bizarre sense of confidence you get with the naivety of being young. It’s when your imagination felt like a superpower before adulthood taught you to stop trusting it," Carbonaro says. "I’m touching back to the magic that made me feel so special when I first started sharing it with people. The universe is vast and full of mystery. Magic is the only thing that can really remind us of that."

LI BACKGROUND 

As a teenager at Connetquot High School, Carbonaro began putting on full stage productions at fundraisers, variety shows and even at halftime during his high school's homecoming game.

"My mom was pulling curtains while my dad was helping to fix the illusions when they broke or putting wheels on the props. It was a whole family operation," recalls Carbonaro. "I hoped to be the next David Copperfield."

Although he doesn’t want to reveal his tricks, Carbonaro, who had his own TV show, "The Carbonaro Effect," from 2014 to 2020, notes that during one portion of the show he completely transforms his own face.

"I cover my face in shaving cream and sculpt it into different monsters and creatures while looking at myself in the mirror. I become an old man, a devil and a monkey. It’s a cool performance art piece set to music," he says. "This is not a trick, but rather a very theatrical moment in the show without any deception. It’s true transformation and imagination."

CROWD ENGAGEMENT

There’s a significant amount of audience participation involved in "Wonderboy," where Carbonaro uses both children and adults in his performance.

"I cast each trick as I walk through the crowd. I have a pretty good sensibility now of how to pick people. It’s a vibe thing," he says. "Sometimes it frees people up and other times it can clam them up. I never know how they’re going to react, but that’s part of the fun."

Playing Long Island brings on a whole new set of feelings for Carbonaro, who grew up learning tricks at the former Magic Shop on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown.

"When I come back home, I get the same anxiety that I got when I first started performing. It’s a real charge and adrenaline rush of nerves, which is something I’ve really come to love," he says. "Nothing taught me as much as being a magician on Long Island pounding the pavement doing show after show at private parties, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, company picnics, communions and christenings. I developed my whole personality from performing on Long Island."