All American Magic

Extremely odd salesman. Just wanted to argue.

This place is fantastic! I went to get some gags last April Fools, and recently returned for some magic tricks. The proprietor is the real deal and was generous with some lessons and demonstrations. Visiting here one time is more worthwhile than watching a thousand how to videos.

Fun family-​oriented magic show! Took my nearly-​6-​year-​old to this and she had a total blast. That’s how I’m evaluating it — the goal was for her to have fun and Scott & Mark really knocked it out of the park.
There is tons of audience participation and some fun prizes. They did magic with both kids and adults. As someone else wrote, don’t expect Vegas production quality, but it’s definitely professional. And considering what you pay, it’s a steal. And I appreciate their dollar popcorn and drinks — you really get the sense that they’re doing this mostly out of love for the art.
Scott’s strength was his ventriloquism and comedy routines. Mark did some of the «big» prop magic — levitation, swords through a box with his assistant inside, etc. — and also some mentalism/​card tricks. It’s comparable to what you see on TV magic shows, but much more casual and closer. It’s a local magic show and every child I saw in the audience was smiling.
The show says 2pm but actually started at 2:10, however you want to be there early so you can sit closer to the front, which gives you more of a chance of volunteering. There’s an intermission halfway through which is long enough to walk down to the mall restrooms.

I took my 14 year old to buy shoes at Mall 205 Famous Footwear. It was Mother son date day, with a quick errand to start off with. While there we decided to try the magic show that started at 2:00 pm.
I was very impressed. Scott Davis was wonderful with the kids. He blended wonderful comedy with amazing magic tricks that were great for the children in the audience. He kept the parents engaged with his fast talking, and quick whitted jokes. Some for the kids, and some for the adults.
Mark Benthimer is a wonderful magician and truly professional performer. As the owner of the magic theater, he informed me that they also offer magic classes to all ages. He is not the only teacher, he brings in other magicians from all over to teach the classes. He is very dedicated to his profession, to magic, theater, and comedy.
There were kids in the audience that talked back to Scott making the show even funnier. Scott has a magical way with children. He stayed after the show for over 30 minutes making free balloon animals for everyone who wanted one. From three year old children to adults, including me! My son got an ET made out of balloons that would amaze you.
This show is definitely worth the money, and definitely worth an afternoon with your kids.
When we decided to go to the magic show, I think my son was a little worried that it would be cheesy, or too young for him. He laughed a lot, and after it was over he told me he enjoyed it a lot.
The show was great, and you could easily see the passion and professionalism of the performers from the sound guy, to the ladies who help, and all the way up to the top.

Really odd sales guy. Told him that I wanted a really good trick that did not take much skill. I was prepared to spend $ 20 – 60 for one trick. I told him I had lots of tricks at home. So he started showing me stuff that, not only did I have but they were cheap little kid tricks. He did perform them well. But I did had them. Then he showed me another trick. I said I had that trick if it was the kind where… And was not interested if it was that kind. He would not tell me or show me if it was that kind or not. He asked if I had Svengali deck. i said yes. And then he proceeded to try to sell that to me. At one point he looked up at me and said it looked like I was not paying attention. I was not and was looking for a way to escape before he showed me another kiddie trick that I have had already. Over the past 40 years this is the only time I have walked out of a magic shop without having bought anything. Very frustrating.

Pros: A fun way to spend a weekend, good show
Cons: Kind of hard to find, geared more towards younger kids
I was looking for a unique gift to get my wife for her birthday. One thing I know she’s always been fascinated with was magic. I was looking for magic shows in Portland and this one was one of the first that came up. At first, visiting the website, I wasn’t super impressed and was even a little hesitant, but then I saw the high reviews on Unilocal and thought, well let’s give a shot. I bought her tickets and we attended it yesterday.
The show is located inside of Mall 205, a pretty barren mall from the 70s/​80s that has seen better days. Most of the stores inside are closed or local shops. When we finally got inside (very hard to find, directions aren’t great on the website and there isn’t much except little signs to point you in the right direction), I was again hesitant. The mall, basically decrepit, and the «store» nothing more than a kiosk. We got our tickets and we’re directed to an old storefront that by the walls looks like it was probably an old video arcade. They took our tickets and ushered us through the curtain to the stage, which was some fold out chairs and a small stage. At this point, I was ready for the worst, but then the show started.
It was actually a lot of fun! The show is two hours long, with a 15 minute intermission in between parts 1 and 2. Part 1 starts off with a visiting or guest magician. The one at the show we went to was a ventriloquist/​comedian/​balloon artist who also happened to do some magic tricks along the way. He was pretty good, slightly cornball and dorky, but entertaining. The little kids got a big kick out of him. That’s the one thing about this show I have to say upfront: this is a show geared towards families and kids. Some of the tricks are somewhat easy to figure out and some of the humor/​pacing is for kiddos. Still, we were entertained. The guest magician performed for about 20 minutes before Mark Benthimer, the main act and owner of the All American Magic Store and Show, took the stage. Mark is a seasoned pro and he did a wonderful job. He is high energy, witty, and has a good variety of tricks. He really gets the crowd involved and makes sure you’re having fun. He did about 45 minutes worth of performing before they went to intermission. Part 2 was the same format: 20 minutes with the guest magician, 45 minutes with Mark. At the end they drew a name for a free pizza and Mark gave a plug for his store where you can buy things to learn magic.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. Is it Vegas? No, not even close, but it’s an entertaining way to spend a few hours on a Saturday. Instead of spending $ 10 on a movie that’s probably not any good, spend $ 14 and laugh, oh, and ah over some magic fun.

Love this shop! Mark the owner is very informative, and can get magic tricks from the small, and easy to the large, and more impressive. The magic show is great too. My family and I had a great time! Thank you.

Found this little kiosk while searching for something new and unique to do with my nephews… a MAGIC show? I was down to give ‘em a shot and check it out.
The kiosk [not really a store] is full of all sorts of things… from books about doing magic, to videos, to props. We had a blast checking everything out… I’m sure there’s LOTS of good info here if you’re a beginning magician. Plus– they offer lessons!
We checked out the show as well, and it was definitely worth the money. Bought tickets a few days before, and got there early… and glad we did! There was a local magician as well as an outta towners, and both were great for different reasons. The local magician had more gimmicky stuff, but was HYSTERICAL and the kids [young and old] loved him. He had me laughing so hard there were tears… good times. The outta town guy [forgive the lack of names, my brain is too full for details like that] was a bit more wow-​y/​smooth, also entertaining and had some pretty sweet tricks up his sleeve.
Overall? Great shop, great show, a pretty sweet way to spend the afternoon. We’ll definitely be back for more!
Note: great for kids, cash only, buy tickets and show up early to get good seats!

I was thrilled to find out the owner of this mall 205 magic store is mark benthimer– who formerly owned the magicfest store at jantzen beach. They have added a theater to perform shows at as well. Great prices and a real teacher. Internet magic stores cannot give his kind of hands on advice. I highly recommend this store.