RICKY JAY LIKES THE HAND HE'S BEEN DEALT

A nice profile of one of the master's of modern card manipulation appeared in the LA Times earlier today under the above title. In the piece, Jay discusses his return to the stage with a reprise of "Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants. "The ultimate is the two of us sitting here," he says. "I want to come as close as I can to one-on-one, impromptu experience. It's just flat-out better." As a performer, Jay treats his audience with an almost anachronistic degree of respect. "You know this is going to sound silly, but I think it is a fairly noble profession to bring wonderment and some pleasure, I really do," he says. "Would you prefer to see a great show of mystery or go to a bad doctor? Which does more to serve us?"