Best movies like The Magic Show
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to The Magic Show? Leverage your expertise to steer others toward movies and tv shows you've seen that might interest them as well. Aid in increasing the network of individuals proposing videos to each other. We welcome your participation!
Plot Summary:
The Magic Show is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, it opened on May 28, 1974 at the Cort Theatre in Manhattan, and ran for 1,920 performances, closing on December 31, 1978. Henning was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and director Grover Dale was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. In 2001, a filmed performance staged especially for the cameras in 1980, directed by Norman Campbell at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, was issued on DVD by Image Entertainment. This production, originally intended for cinema release, differed notably from the original Broadway production, with several of the most memorable songs, such as "West End Avenue" and "Solid Silver Platform Shoes", removed. Doug Henning reprised his original starring role, while Didi Conn co-starred as Cal.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 73
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: Canada
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Magic Show (1983):
Similar in 90%
Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End (2005)
Plot Summary:
Operating under the adage that wetter is better, Penn and Teller: Off the Deep End goes where no magic show has ever gone before--deep underwater on the floor of the Caribbean Sea! The original bad boys of magic, Penn & Teller, take their unique combination of magic and comedy to the Bahamas! Teller, the silent straight man, performs the most dangerous tricks including escaping from a straight jacket amidst a school of hungry sharks, as the tall and talkative Penn explains the secrets behind their amazing feats of illusion and trickery such as sawing a glamorous mermaid in half and dolphin s slight-of-bottlenose. In their show-stopping finale, Penn & Teller make an entire 75-foot submarine disappear before your very eyes! Deep beneath the surface of the sea, where even the smallest trick becomes profoundly more difficult, an Penn & Teller s talents more than meet the challenge, leaving their audiences (and at times, their assistants) gasping for breath.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 245
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
David Blaine: Frozen in Time (2000)
Plot Summary:
On November 27, 2000, Blaine began a stunt called "Frozen in Time", which was covered on a TV special. Blaine stood encased in a massive block of ice located in Times Square, New York City. He was lightly dressed and seen to be shivering even before the blocks of ice were sealed around him. A tube supplied him with air and water while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in the box of ice for 63 hours, 42 minutes and 15 seconds before being removed with chain saws. The ice was transparent and resting on an elevated platform to show that he was actually inside the ice the entire time.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Music
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Nunsense (1993)
Plot Summary:
An unfortunate convent cooking accident causes most of the order of the Little Sisters of Hoboken to die of botulism. Before all of the deceased sisters can be buried, Reverend Mother Superior (Rue McClanahan) buys a camcorder and VCR for the convent - resulting in not having enough money to bury the four remaining sisters (which, by the way, are temporarily being stored in the freezer). In order to raise money to bury the four dead sisters, the Little Sisters of Hoboken (well, what's left of them) put on a riotous revue packed with hilarious, show-stopping song and dance numbers.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 184
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Into the Woods (2011)
Plot Summary:
Into the Woods takes the stories of the Brothers Grimm and gives them a dark and humorous twist. The popular tales of Red Ridinghood, Jack (of Beanstalk fame), Cinderella and Rapunzel are interwoven with that of the Baker and his Wife and their quest to have a child. However this re-telling goes beyond "happily ever after" as the familiar characters find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances and hopes and dreams are questioned and revisited.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 134
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Melvin, Son of Alvin (1984)
Plot Summary:
A shy young man is irresistible to women.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 140
Genere: Comedy
Country: Australia
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, independent film
Similar in 81%
Applause (1973)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring actress, whose sugar-coated appearance belies her ruthless drive, worms herself into the life of an aging star and schemes to replace her on the stage as the star of a new play.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 183
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Nunsense 3: The Jamboree (1998)
Plot Summary:
Third in the Nunsense series of musicals.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 44
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Forever Plaid (2008)
Plot Summary:
Forever Plaid is an affectionate musical homage to the close-harmony 'guy groups' that reached the height of their popularity during the 1950s. This quartet of high-school chums, and their earnest dreams of recording an album, ended (symbolically, and even literally) in death, when their cherry red '54 Mercury collided with a bus filled with Catholic schoolgirls on their way to see the Beatles' American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The girls were fine. The play begins with the wondrous and wondering Plaids returning from the afterlife for one final chance at musical glory.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 87
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Pippin (1981)
Plot Summary:
Pippin is a 1972 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto. The musical uses the premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. In 1981, a stage production of Pippin was videotaped for Canadian television. The stage production was directed by Kathryn Doby, Bob Fosse's dance captain for the original Broadway production, and David Sheehan directed the video adaptation, with Roger O. Hirson in charge of the music. Ben Vereen returned for the role of Leading Player, while William Katt played the role of Pippin. However, this version was a truncated adaptation and several sections of the play were cut.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 592
Genere: Comedy, History, Musical, Romance, War
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Opening Night (2016)
Plot Summary:
A failed Broadway singer who now works as a production manager must save opening night on his new production by wrangling his eccentric cast and crew.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: light, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical
Similar in 90%
Come Blow Your Horn (1963)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young man's decision to leave the home of his parents for the bachelor pad of his older brother who leads a swinging '60s lifestyle.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: retro, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 84%
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
Plot Summary:
When he's stationed in Tahiti, a sailor hires a witch doctor to keep an eye on his girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, grindhouse, independent film, offbeat, humorous, realistic, not serious, psychotronic, parody, light
Similar in 83%
Magicians (1982)
Plot Summary:
In a small Russian town, there is a Research Institute for magic. One of the witches, Alyona Sanina, is going to marry a guy named Ivan Puhov (not a magician). A jealous Apollon Sataneev tells her boss Kira Shemahandskaya that Sanina is going to marry not Ivan Puhov, but Ivan Kivrin, whom Shemahandskaya is going to marry herself. Enraged, Shemahandskaya, who is a powerful witch, orders Sanina to forget about her Ivan and marry Sataneev instead. And this will be final unless Alyona kisses Puhov before midnight on New Year. Alyona's friends call Puhov to the rescue.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Musical, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: fairy tale, captivating, sentimental, entertaining, suspense
Similar in 85%
Waitress: The Musical (2023)
Plot Summary:
A waitress and expert pie-maker dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 545
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
A Very Potter Sequel (2010)
Plot Summary:
Harry and his pals are back for more adventure than ever when they face off against dark wizards, demented monsters, and the most horrible woman in the world, Dolores Umbridge! So strap on your diapers because it's time to go back to Hogwarts!.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 213 min
Plot tags: parody, feel good, serious, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, psychotronic
Similar in 76%
A Little Night Music (1977)
Plot Summary:
"Fredrik Egerman is very happy in his marriage to a seventeen-year-old virgin, Anne. Only she's been a virgin for the whole eleven months of the marriage, and being a bit restless, Fredrik goes to see an old flame, the famous actress Desiree Armfeldt. Desiree is getting tired of her life, and is thinkin of settling down, and sets her sights on Fredrik, despite his marriage, and her own married lover Count Carl-Magnus. She gets her mother to invite the Egermans to her country estate for the weekend. But when Carl-Magnus and his wife Charlotte appear, too, things begin to get farcical (Send in the Clowns), and the night must smile for the third time before all the lovers are united." Written by Kathy Li.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 899
Genere: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Country: West Germany, Austria, USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, fun
Similar in 75%
Perfectly Normal (1990)
Plot Summary:
A cab driver and an opera fan strike up an unusual friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 316
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty
Similar in 82%
Sinderella and the Golden Bra (1964)
Plot Summary:
Prince David is having trouble finding a bride amongst the maidens of the village, so his father decides to hold a masked ball. Sinderella, an adopted French orphan, puts up with abuse from her stepmother and two stepsisters, and is not allowed to go to the ball. She is despondent until her inebriated fairy godfather appears and fixes her up real pretty and sends her on to the ball, with the admontion that she must return by midnight. Sinderella and the Prince get along famously, but the time flies and she leaves in a hurry, dropping her gilded support in her haste. The Prince mounts a desperate search for his loved one, requiring all the maidens of the village to try on the forgotten garment.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 200
Genere: Comedy, Musical, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: erotic, fairy tale, independent film
Similar in 75%
Once Upon a Mattress (1972)
Plot Summary:
The second television adaptation of Once Upon a Mattress was broadcast on December 12, 1972, on CBS. This production, videotaped in color, included original Broadway cast members Burnett, Gilford and White, and also featured Bernadette Peters as Lady Larken, Ken Berry as Prince Dauntless, Ron Husmann as Harry, and Wally Cox as The Jester. It was directed by Ron Field and Dave Powers.[9] Again, several songs were eliminated and characters were combined or altered. Since the parts of the Minstrel and the Wizard were cut from this adaptation, a new prologue was written with Burnett singing "Many Moons Ago" as a bedtime story.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Comedy, Family, Musical, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: fairy tale
Similar in 78%
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Plot Summary:
A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, melancholic, talky, light, realistic, semi serious, retro, epic, historically accurate
Similar in 88%
Victor/Victoria (1995)
Plot Summary:
An out-of-work singer, Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews), meets a just-fired, flamboyant gay man in a diner in 1920's Paris. He convinces her to pretend to be a man who is a female impersonator in order to get a job. The act is a hit in a local nightclub, but things get complicated when a gangster and nightclub owner from Chicago, King Marchan (Michael Nouri) falls in-love with "her." Flimed live on stage on Broadway, 1995.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 146 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, stylized, semi serious, remake of american film, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
Plot Summary:
The town sheriff and a madame team up to stop a television evangelist from shutting down the local whorehouse, the famed "Chicken Ranch.".
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: humorous, light, entertaining, satirical, sexy, retro, realistic, semi serious, sexual, sex comedy
Similar in 87%
Viva Las Vegas (1964)
Plot Summary:
Lucky Jackson arrives in town with his car literally in tow ready for the first Las Vegas Grand Prix - once he has the money to buy an engine. He gets the cash easily enough but mislays it when the pretty swimming pool manageress takes his mind off things. It seems he will lose both race and girl, problems made more difficult by rivalry from Elmo Mancini, fellow racer and womaniser.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: retro, psychotronic, hilarious, offbeat, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, entertaining, exciting
Similar in 89%
The Perfect Pickup (2020)
Plot Summary:
Four life-long friends who fail miserably in the dating world, set out to find the 'Perfect' way to pickup women. The lessons learned through their trials however turn out to be a lot more than they originally bargained for.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Comedy
Country: Canada
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Plot Summary:
A young but bright former window cleaner rises to the top of his company by following the advice of a book about ruthless advancement in business.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, witty, stylized, technicolor, feel good, realistic, not serious, parody, light
Similar in 85%
The Boy Friend (1971)
Plot Summary:
The assistant stage manager of a small-time theatrical company is forced to understudy for the leading lady at a matinée performance at which an illustrious Hollywood director is in the audience scouting for actors to be in his latest "all-talking, all-dancing, all-singing" extravaganza.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Musical, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: romantic comedy, feel good, humorous, realistic, stylized, semi serious, spoof, parody
Similar in 80%
Penn & Teller: Try This at Home Too (2020)
Plot Summary:
Filmed entirely at the homes of Penn & Teller and their friends around the world, "Penn & Teller: Try This At Home Too" is the second show from the magical duo and showcases new magic Penn & Teller and their magician friends have developed at home. Penn & Teller teach viewers how to do an array of tricks themselves and are joined by celebrity guests including Howie Mandel, Piff the Magic Dragon, and the cast of "Nancy Drew" including Kennedy McMann, Scott Wolf, Riley Smith, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, and Tunji Kasim. We will also get a chance to see viewer videos submitted showcasing versions of tricks they learned on Penn & Teller’s first “Try This At Home” show. .
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 12
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: funny, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Magicians (2007)
Plot Summary:
A pair of rivaling stage magicians are forced to confront their falling out over a guillotine mishap when they compete in a magic competition.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, parody, captivating, light, feel good, entertaining, funny, clever, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 80%
Hey Cinderella! (1969)
Plot Summary:
Hey Cinderella! is a one-hour Jim Henson special which tells a cracked version of the classic fairy tale. Cinderella lives with her wicked stepmother (as everyone who ever read the fairy tale knows), but what part of the story is never told is how Cinderella's fairy godmother had help from monsters, a prince pretending to be a gardener, and none other than Kermit the Frog.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: fairy tale
Similar in 90%
Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
Plot Summary:
A singer goes to a small town for a performance before he is drafted.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: funny, retro, black and white, hilarious, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, satirical, vintage