Veteran Las Vegas magician, comedian, producer and design artist Douglas “Lefty” Leferovich can currently be seen onstage with four other specialty performers at the Orleans in Late Night Magic, the show he’s been leading for more than four years (currently co-produced by Pompey Entertainment). But he’s been a force in Vegas magic for longer than that, helping other entertainers develop material and serving as the longtime sidekick in Murray Sawchuck’s magical residency show at the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana.

The Trop closed in April, but the magic continues. “I think magic always works because this is a town where people want to suspend belief,” he says. “They want to think they can put a quarter in a slot machine and win a million dollars, so why wouldn’t there be a stage with an empty box and you pull a cloth over it and there’s a tiger in it? It flourishes because for people who don’t live here, Vegas is the land of the impossible.”

Lefty recently chatted up the Weekly to talk about the end of an era at the Trop and how Late Night Magic sets itself apart.

What was it like to perform at the Tropicana right up until it closed?

I tell people I’m almost more sad about the property closing than the show closing, because Murray will move on, and the Laugh Factory I’m sure will find some other place [to reopen] because it’s a solid brand and it sold a lot of tickets. When there’s so much change in Las Vegas, it’s nice to have some things that are classic and legendary, that stay the same. Unfortunately the Trop was one of the older hotels and now it will be gone.

My coffee table in the living room is made from one of the original spotlights that was used in Folies [Bergere]. I have Tropicana posters on the wall. It will be weird to go by and see a baseball field there.

It sounds like you take pride in your connection to the Tropicana.

Absolutely. I think back to when Folies was there, and Siegfried & Roy were a guest act when they were [starting in Vegas]. Lance Burton was in Folies nine years before he opened his own show at Hacienda. There’s a long history of magic at that property, and Murray had one of the longest running shows as a headliner at the Trop.

Will you and Murray continue to work together?

I hope so. He’s done some shows recently in Australia and Sweden. We enjoy collaborating and I think there’s a good balance there, especially at the Trop where we really defined who our characters are onstage. In the rare chance something goes wrong, we know how to deal with it because we know how our characters would deal with it. When you’re working together for so many years, there’s a rapport you develop, similar to being in a band or playing sports.

You collaborate with other local magicians and performers, too. What have you been up to lately?

I’m currently working with Jen Kramer at Westgate and she’s putting in a new finale to her show. I worked on her show when she first opened and it’s been great to see her growth and how she’s come into her own, because she got started in smaller shows and corporate shows and has come to this full Vegas production. And when she puts something new in, it has to be her. I always take into consideration who I’m working with because it’s important to work that personality into the routine.

Late Night Magic has been onstage at the Orleans for a year now, and that’s another collaborative project.

There are a lot of different personalities. It’s different from a lot of typical magic shows where one magician has to be good at everything. We have five acts so everyone can focus on what they’re really good at and known for.

And it’s the only adults-only magic show in town. Why did you want to take that route?

There is a niche for what we do. It is late-night, edgy, dirty fun, and maybe it does [stand out] because it seems like every other magic show in town is more family-friendly. I didn’t want there to be a 7-year-old kid sitting next to you and we tell a dirty joke because I want you to be able to laugh freely, not curtail your reaction because you’re sitting next to a kid.

But it’s also different than a typical variety show where it’s host, act, host, act, because one of our strengths is how well we interact with each other. During someone’s act, two or three of the others might come out and do funny bits, and that makes it more of a show. And this venue seats about 75. It’s kind of like a European cabaret, and it’s almost like you’re on stage to see it all.

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