Michael Grandinetti, one of the stars of the CW television series “Masters of illusion,” will bring his show “The Magic of Michael Grandinetti” to Kilmarnock Saturday, October 18, to open the Rappahannock Foundation for the Arts 2025-26 On Stage season. His show combines grand illusions, stage magic, and sleight of hand with music, comedy, and audience engagement to create a robust theatrical experience. The performance starts at 7:30 pm at the Lancaster Elementary School Theater, 191 School Street. Theater doors open at 7pm.
“Our 2025-26 season is titled “Magical Medleys” for good reason,” said RFA president Jamie Tucker. “Each of our five varied shows will take you on an unexpected journey. In our opening show, Michael will transform our entire theater into a place of laughter, surprise, and wonder. We’re guaranteed to see things we have never seen before.”
Named by Digital Journal as “one of magic’s best loved magicians, the one to watch,” Grandinetti has performed on national and international television, in stadiums, arenas, casinos, and theaters around the country, with Oscar-winning composers and symphony orchestras and for NFL and NBA halftime shows and major sporting events.
Over the past 20 years, Grandinetti has been driven to make magic contemporary and to give it a wide, mainstream appeal. He has had starring roles on NBC’s “The World’s Most Dangerous Magic II” and POP’s “Don’t Blink” as well as The CW’s “Masters of Illusion.” For POP’s docu-series Don’t Blink, he filmed over 30 pieces of magic, from large-scale grand illusions to interactive sleight of hand, while surrounded by audiences at locations including Hollywood Blvd., Venice Beach, and Universal Studios.
Combining magic and music, he has created special performances for symphony orchestras in Grand Rapids, Huntsville, Rochester, Phoenix, Augusta, and Pittsburgh, where he performed with Oscar-winning producer and composer Marvin Hamlisch. During these shows, while the orchestras played musical selections specially themed for each illusion, Michael magically transformed a tuxedo into the orchestra’s conductor, made roses bloom on the stage, levitated into the air while surrounded by the playing orchestra, and, for a finale, caused the orchestra itself to read the minds of the audience by playing pieces of music they were only thinking of.
Live audiences of over 70,000 watched with a 360 degree view during NFL halftime shows as he caused people to appear, vanish, shrink in size, and levitate 10 feet into the air, right on (and above) the 50 yard line. Grandinetti has created basketball halftime shows for NBA teams including the Chicago Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks, the Utah Jazz, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Golden State Warriors, and college teams including the University of Michigan, Penn State, USC, North Carolina State, and for the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship at Barclays Center in New York City.
Before graduating from college, Grandinetti—who performed his first magic show when he was 5—received the City of Pittsburgh’s “All-Star Achievement Award,” an honor given to those who have carved positive and noteworthy paths in their industry. He continues to show audiences worldwide that the art of magic is innovative and exciting and that nothing is impossible.
Single tickets can be purchased online for $45 a show ($50 at the door) at rappahannockfoundation.org or by calling Donna McGrath, RFA office administrator, at 804-438-5555. A limited number of season subscription packages for RFA’s five shows are also still available for $190 (only $38 a show). Other shows include a folk trio from Nashville, an all-male a cappella quartet, a world-music-infused rock band, and an international chamber ensemble. Don’t miss out—call and subscribe today!
The RFA Season is sponsored by Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management. Series Sponsor: Susan G. Moenssens, Attorney at Law, Lighthouse Real Estate, Inc. Program Sponsors: Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, Sebra Corporation, Tri-Star Supermarket, and Two Rivers Communications.
