Enigmatist, The

It’s nerd heaven at the Geffen Playhouse, with magician and New York Times “cruciverbalist” (crossword puzzle creator) David Kwong at the center of it.

Kwong, a charismatic solo performer, has brought his show The Enigmatist to L.A. after a sold-out New York run in 2019.  In it Kwong does all kinds of magic tricks (with cards, dollar bills, spoons, cell phones, videos, etc.) while connecting verbally with the audience in a crisp, lightly comic way. What distinguishes him from other magicians is his superior intellect, his deft way with cryptology and Scrabble.

That’s right, Scrabble: the game his mother taught him when he was seven. He now plays Scrabble on the Master level and proves it by creating a crossword puzzle using only Scrabble words right before our eyes (on a video screen) — in less than three minutes!>Working on a set designed to look like a living room and with the (masked) audience sitting at tables in cabaret fashion, Kwong prowls the stage, pulling off one dazzling trick after another, often with the help of members of the audience.  It makes for a warm, shared experience…and a provocative evening.