Amazing Johnathan

Poof! Amazing Johnathan makes good manners disappear

Staff Report

A lot can be said for the humor of the Amazing Johnathan, a former street magician who honed his skills at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Sadistic, vulgar, sexist and racist are a few words that come immediately to mind. Hilarious is another.

But Johnathan isn't for everyone.

Some are turned off by the caustic comic's liberal use of the "F" word and other obscenities, and by his making light of drug use, AIDS and homosexuality, among other topics.

To say the least, political correctness is nowhere in sight during a performance by the comedian.

If you find nothing funny about Johnathan driving a pair of scissors into the head of his dim-witted, blindfolded assistant, Psychic Tanya, you might not want to attend this show.

But we laugh every time we see him staple playing cards over Tanya's eyes to keep her honest when she insists on proving that she has psychic powers.

Among Johnathan's routines and jokes:

• He asks a volunteer who is helping him with a magic bit to say "wing" three times and then Johnathan answers an imaginary telephone.
  
• He takes a $20 bill from the volunteer, tears it up, tells him to hold it in his fist and says "Wouldn't it be impressive if I could make it reappear someplace else like the silver cup here on my table? You'd be impressed if I could do that wouldn't you? So would I."
  
• He appears to inhale a gallon jar of white powder that he calls "magic dust."
  

Penny Wiggins, who plays the role of Psychic Tanya, is an integral part of the show and a delight to watch as she performs such business as chasing a banana extended from her hat with a stick.

Wiggins, who started her performing career as a clown, has extensive experience in comedy and is a perfect foil for the exasperated Johnathan.

"Why did everybody want to play with the mushroom?" Tanya asks after Johnathan reluctantly gives her permission to tell a joke. "Because they said he was a nice guy."

"A fungi, a fun-guy," Johnathan impatiently explains to her. "They said the mushroom was a fungi."

Although the Amazing Johnathan bills himself as a magician, magic is an almost insignificant part of his performance. The entertainment value comes from the off-the-wall, and frequently off-color, cutting-edge, anti-establishment comedy that has become Johnathan's trademark.