Lights. Camera. Magic Men?
Whether it’s because you need a job to pay for college, you enjoy dancing with few clothes on or you have daddy issues, stripping doesn’t carry the stigma it once did. What was once considered dirty is now entertainment.
As thousands of women lined the streets to attend the first showings of the movie Magic Mike, little did they know that they were witnessing history.
After the success of the Magic Mike movie franchise, Channing Tatum, the star of the film, endorsed a live-show production.
Therefore, when Magic Men Live came to Stockton, I wholeheartedly knew I must see history in the making, am I right?
As I approached the entrance of the Bob Hope Theatre with a gal pal, I suddenly saw parades of women bearing heels, selfie sticks, drunken “woos” and exiting party buses. I knew I was in for a good time.
As I am currently in a serious relationship, I didn’t want to see the show to see shirtless men, but instead to learn what the hype was surrounding male stripping in America.
This was purely research. Science even.
We entered the theater and while looking for our seats, we found a merchandise table selling shirts. The shirts said things like: “Hocus poke us,” “Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go to Magic Men Live,” “Live laugh love strip” and “You had me at hello now strip.”
As strange as seeing these phrases on T-shirts was, I was thoroughly impressed with the marketing skills.
When we took our seats the Magic began.
First, a host in an absurdly tight suit came out and assured everyone what type of Magic show this was, more so as a disclaimer so the crowd didn’t expect to see a white bunny pulled out of a hat, instead of a buff guy pulling off his pants.
The show began and all sorts of shirtless men danced and paraded around the stage in different costumes ranging from Trojan to Navy.
Throughout the night, the Magic Men danced to different club and remixed music and pulled audience members on stage for complimentary lap dances.
I knew this show would be raunchy but I had no idea that it would be interactive.
All of the sudden the men jumped off the stage, crotch first and interacted with audience members, with their members. As women danced wildly holding $20s in the air, a bunch of men in their 20’s danced from lap to lap, the spandex slowly wore off from their thin Speedos.
I had no idea what I might’ve seen but nothing could’ve prepared me for this, I then thanked God I bought tickets in the back so that I could watch this in an omniscient point of view instead of first person.
As two hours flew by like clothes off the stage, I exited the Bob Hope with answers to my questions as if I should need to be baptized again.
In the end, no matter how raunchy or how romantic, being admired sexually or in a love sense, we all just want to feel adored or loved at the end of the day, regardless of how we encounter it.
So if you’re interested in seeing some stuff or learning what the hype behind Magic Men is, Magic Men Live is currently on tour and could be in a town near you.
Parental advisory recommended.
