Lee Terbosic calls himself a “magidian”: part-magician, part-comedian.
Right on.
But no matter what you call Terbosic, he’s a pure entertainer.
A resident and a 2001 graduate, Terbosic can amaze you with a trick one second and tickle you with a quip the very next. Such was the schedule on Thursday night at the Pittsburgh Improv in Homestead Borough, where Terbosic headlined his “Tricks & Jokes” show in front of a crowded room.
Though opening comedians Mike Wysocki and Terry Jones were also impressive, the crowd was decidedly Terbosic-biased and ready for the headliner all night.
Terbosic gave the crowd sneak previews throughout the event by introducing Wysocki and Jones before finally taking the stage himself.
Despite some technical difficulties at the beginning of the evening that prevented the magidian from appropriately “rickrolling” his audience, Terbosic more than made up for it by predicting playing-card choices and levitating a chair, among other features.
As with all of his tricks, there was more to the show itself than what met the eye. Terbosic, after all, had been preparing for Thursday for quite a while.
“I’ve been doing shows like this for years,” he said. “It’s a culmination of a lot of years of practice and putting material together.
“Putting (Thursday’s) show together was a little more difficult because I wanted to do different material than my last show. I know a lot of these people (audience members) have seen me, and I wanted to give them something different this time. So I came up with about 30-35 minutes worth of new material within the last four months.”
To read more about Terbosic’s experiences and journey in show business, read published on the B-W Patch in December 2010.
One of the audience members who had seen Terbosic perform before was fellow 2001 Baldwin High graduate T.J. Assad, another Baldwin Borough resident.
According to Assad, Terbosic realized his goal of impressing those already used to his talent.
“I thought he did a great job,” Assad said. “I’ve seen Lee a bunch of times, but I really enjoyed this. I love seeing the reactions from the crowd.”
The biggest reaction came last when the nearly packed house, including plenty of new faces, rose for a standing ovation.
“I worked hard,” Terbosic said. “I don’t expect it, but it’s always nice when you get it.
“I thought it was a huge success. I had a blast. Mike and Terry did an amazing job, and it was so much fun.
“I’m glad that I got the support of Pittsburgh, and everyone comes out. It’s awesome.”
Terbosic’s upcoming schedule is to be determined, but he may be appearing on a future episode of the “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels” reality show on the A&E Network after impressing the KISS star while volunteering at a Pat Tillman Foundation event.
Check back with the B-W Patch for more information on Terbosic’s shows.
