Mike Super Brings Fast-Paced Magic to Vilar Performing Arts Center

Aspen —Mike Super isn’t just performing magic at the Vilar Performing Arts Center on August 21. He’s trying to save it from the tyranny of the smartphone.

To hear him tell it, the traditional magic show is dying a slow death because audiences have learned to look away. Super, who won NBC’s “Phenomenon” and was a top finalist on “America’s Got Talent,” argues that the solution isn’t to tell people to put their phones away. It’s to use them.

“They spent all that money to get into Disney World, and I just wanted to watch magic tricks,” Super said, recalling a childhood trip where he traded $10 — equivalent to $100 back then — for the privilege of ignoring the rides. His mother’s exasperation led to a deal, and eventually, Super secured a gig performing for Disney. That experience taught him how to build performances that span generations, creating a tradition where grandparents and grandkids sit side-by-side.

But the attention span of that audience has shifted. Super notes that tricks which once took five minutes to unfold now need to move in about 30 seconds.

“You have to keep it moving and changing and engaging their curiosity much faster because that’s what cell phones do,” he said.

Most venues encourage silence and stillness. Super encourages interaction, even digital interaction. He doesn’t just read minds; he reads them while levitating to the latest TikTok trend song. He compresses what used to be three separate tricks into one continuous, improvisational flow.

“One slow trick wouldn’t work in today’s society,” he said. “So I’ll take three ideas that, back in the day, would have been three solid pieces, and put them all into one.”

The result is a show that feels less like a lecture in a tuxedo and more like a conversation with a big goof. He’s not standing there dramatically saying, “Look what I can do.” He’s admitting he doesn’t always know if a trick is going to work until it does.

For locals planning their August 21 evening, the question is whether this approach translates to a smaller venue like the Vilar. The answer lies in the show’s structure. It’s family-friendly, brimming with music and humor, and designed to keep the audience engaged rather than just observing.

Card tricks, levitation, and items appearing between panes of glass are the mechanics, but the method is what matters. Super’s approach acknowledges that modern audiences don’t want to be distracted by their devices; they want their devices to be part of the distraction.

He’s been doing this for about 20 years, but he’s sped up the pace to match the current moment. The math holds up: if you can hold attention for 30 seconds, you can hold it for ninety minutes.

“I’ve always been sort of a big goof and a lot of fun, in that I don’t take myself seriously at all,” Super said. “So instead of standing there dramatic in a tuxedo going, ‘Look what I can do,’ (I say things like) ‘I don’t even know if this is gonna work.’”

That uncertainty, he adds, leads to improvisation. And improvisation means a new experience every time. For the folks in the valley, that’s worth the ticket price.