Why this Spanish Magician Just Bought a Theatre in Missouri: Full Story
His Barcelona live show has been capturing the attention of magicians and laypeople, with magicians flying in to see it. Now, he's set his sights on the US.
Antonio Díaz, one of Spain’s top illusionists, is knocking it out of the park over in the United States; he’s about to make his Broadway debut AND has just bought himself an entire theatre in Missouri. If he’s currently not on your radar, I’d advise you to consider why not! Let’s have a look at the exciting year he has ahead of him and why you should follow one of the best illusionists alive today.
Just in case you don’t know much about Mr Díaz, he is known as El Mago Pop and is the star of the Spanish version of Netflix’s Magic For Humans. He has been performing live shows since he was a teenager, and his 2017 show, Nada Es Imposible, broke pre-sale records in Spain, establishing him as the highest-grossing European illusionist in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
In 2019, he purchased his first theatre, Teatre Victoria, in Barcelona. Now, he’s gone stateside, acquiring a 2,800-seat theatre in Branson, Missouri. Originally known as the Encore Theatre, the space will be aptly renamed Branson Magic Theatre and will act as his American headquarters.
In a promotional video on his Instagram, Branson is explained to be the perfect destination for his newly purchased theatre, with nearly 10 Million tourists visiting annually and hundreds of live shows all around, firmly marking the city as one of the world’s leading entertainment destinations.
There is a bustling magic scene in Branson, too, with plenty of magic shows currently showing in the area. Let’s just hope the megastar Spaniard doesn’t overshadow everyone else too much. Even so, Díaz won’t be staging anything at his new theatre until May next year. In the meantime, he is working on another big project: performing on Broadway!
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City will be the home of Díaz’s first foray onto the Broadway stage, and tickets are currently available for his new show, also called El Mago Pop. The production is said to be similar to his Nada Es Imposible show, with ‘some differences in the script to adapt it to the culture of the United States’. Audiences can expect a blend of expert sleight-of-hand close-up magic and world-class, mind-blowing illusions.
This venture onto Broadway has been a long time coming, not only having spent nearly 20 years perfecting his craft and becoming such a huge success in his home country, but also due to the pandemic. The show was originally set to be staged in 2020 but was unsurprisingly pushed back.
Remarkably, with all the delays in mind, he will still be the youngest illusionist ever to stage their own Broadway show. On his website, Díaz described the project as "a vital dream" yet the "biggest challenge of [his] career".
Hopefully, now, with a Broadway show on the horizon, two international theatres under his belt and being the face of one of the biggest magic shows on Netflix, you can see why we’re making such a fuss about Antonio Díaz.
