In his SunTimes column, Roger Ebert, a reviewer known for his frankness when discussing movies and entertainment of all kinds, offers his thoughts on Jay's current stage show, "Rogue's Gallery."
The most astonishing elements in Ricky Jay's show involve his sheer dexterity in card manipulation, which you can see in the YouTube clips below. He weaves it all together into a chatty narration as if he's confiding in us, not fooling us.
One of the more interesting parts of the article had to do with a conversation that took place backstage after the show:
After the show we went backstage. Warm and friendly, he recalled a story I wrote about the first time we met, after the New York production of his first off-Broadway show, "Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants." (All of his shows are directed by David Mamet.)
That was actually, he told me at that time, the second time we'd met.
"We met at the University of Illinois," he said. "You published something of mine in a little magazine you were editing."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't remember the name."
"That wasn't the name then," he said.
"You had a different name?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
"That you will never know."
The perfect reply from a magician.
"Are you still keeping it a secret?" I asked him during this recent visit.
"I'd like to," he sighed, "but in the age of Google, that is no longer possible."