These three shows are taking over the former Oz nightclub spot in Broadway at the Beach
A new tenant for the space at Broadway at the Beach that was formerly Oz nightclub has magically appeared.
Magician and illusionist Charles Bach is returning to Broadway at the Beach, and he is bringing some friends.
The Charles Bach Wonders Theatre is moving into the space in The Avenue section of the entertainment complex with three daily shows beginning June 4.
Bach, who performed at the Big D Theater in Broadway in 2019, will have the “Charles Bach Wonders: A Magical Experience” show at 7 p.m.
Niels Duinker will perform a one-man comedy juggling and variety show that includes various juggling feats, unicycling and audience interaction at 4 p.m.
Steve Falcon will have an adult comedy hypnosis show at 9 p.m.
Bach figured he should make more use of the venue aside from his show, and likes the other businesses and activity around his new location. Oz and the adjacent Malibu’s Surf Bar closed for good last summer after being closed several months because of COVID-19.
“I thought there was all this opportunity for more shows to take place in this space, we might as well bring in some other shows and utilize that time,” he said.
He had previously worked with Duinker and Falcon and recruited them to become part of the daily bill. Bach is the producer of all of the shows.
Bach planned to return to Myrtle Beach in 2020 but all theater shows in the area were canceled by government mandates to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
“We had a great time in our previous season at the Big D,” Bach said. “It’s going to be the same show with some brand new illusions and more effects than we could do in the former theater. With this new space we can do some amazing new things. There’s some magic that actually happens in the audience. In this one we can actually make it immersive.”
Bach said each performer will work six days per week, and their time slot on the seventh day will be filled by one of the other two performers.
Bach’s first show is June 4 and all three performers will have shows beginning June 11.
All three entertainers plan to perform at the Wonders Theatre into mid-August or late August, while Bach intends to remain through October.
Other performers are scheduled to use the venue after the summer season including ABBA and Billy Joel tribute acts over a couple weekends in September, and The Voodoo Blues funk and jazz band in the fall.
Falcon was performing at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas for a couple years before the coronavirus shut down casinos and entertainment in the city.
He’s made a lot of television appearances over the past year including on Discovery Plus and on episodes of Pawn Stars and Street Outlaws, and he has been touring. “But I’m looking forward to spending my summer in Myrtle Beach this year,” said Falcon, who described his show as an “18-plus adult-oriented Las Vegas-style comedy hypnosis show.”
Falcon may add one earlier family show per week.
Duinker holds eight Guinness Book of World Records marks in juggling, including 14 cups at once and juggling for the longest duration while blindfolded. He is from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and worked throughout Europe before a residency at the Comedy Barn Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He spent the past year in Ohio.
Duinker is working on becoming one of the few people who have ever juggled 12 rings.
The opening shows will be the first ones over the past year or so that the entertainers have been able to perform in front of any sizable crowd.
“We cannot wait to hear real people,” Bach said. “You can only work on it so much on your own in front of a mirror, but having an audience is the only way to know if it’s good. We have lots of new stuff.”
The Wonders Theatre stage is large at 45 feet wide by 15 feet deep, allowing for Bach’s large stage productions that include people vanishing and being levitated.
“We have a lot of big illusions that need space,” Bach said. “We’re building the stage much bigger for all the big illusions and all props for the juggling show, there’s plenty of room to put everything so we can have the biggest world-class productions that we can right here.”
A ceiling height of 20 feet rather than about 60 feet at the Big D gives Bach more opportunities for magic within the audience.
All of the shows will include audience participation in the seating areas and on stage.
“We can do immersive things in this space. You’re going to feel the magic, smell the magic and hear the magic,” Bach said.
The theater is expected to seat approximately 200 people, including about 150 chairs in front of the stage and about 40 seats along the balcony.
Tickets go on sale on April 1. Bach said ticket prices depend on seating and will be between $15 and $33 for each show. Concessions will be available.
Bach said he has a one-year agreement through Oct. 31 with Broadway at the Beach owner Burroughs & Chapin, and hopes to have a successful season and return in 2022.
“We would love to stick around,” Bach said. “We’ll see how 2021 turns around, and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
KidzTime Festival is this weekend
Broadway at the Beach will host the 20th annual KidzTime Festival from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The family-friendly event is open to the public and will feature a variety of kid-friendly games and activities, giveaways, visits with the Easter Bunny, strolling entertainment from Mr. Nigel and Over the Moon Productions’ costumed stilt walkers, and balloon artists.
In addition, many Broadway at the Beach retailers will be hosting in-store sales, promotions and sidewalk sales throughout the weekend.
The festival will be outside along the interior walkways of Broadway at the Beach in designated areas: Center Court (near Build A Bear Workshop), The Avenue (between Hard Rock Café and Dave & Buster’s) and Heroes Harbor (near Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville).
KidzTime Festival vendors will be socially distanced, extra hand sanitizing stations will be in place and socially distancing signage will be prevalent in all event areas.
The festival is sponsored by Broadway Grand Prix and is partnering with Help 4 Kids. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations, as Help 4 Kids will be collecting items for their Backpack Buddies program including: canned pasta, Vienna sausages, Pop Tarts, chicken noodle soup, toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks and underwear for school-aged children, K-12th grade.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 1:49 PM.
