ST. PETE, Fla. — Last month, ABC Action News told you about two St. Pete illusionists who lost their home during Hurricane Milton. Despite having to sleep in their theater, these magicians say the show must go on.
Chris and Ryan Zubrick were busy hanging ornaments on the tree inside Zubrick Magic Theater. It’s been their new home for the holidays after losing their full-time residence during Hurricane Milton.
“We came home and discovered we had 22 inches of water in our house, it was completely devastating certainly for us, but our seven-year-old son Oliver,” said Chris. “We had to go into his room and throw many of his toys and clothes away, it was heartbreaking, he also lost his school during Helene.”
Despite the destruction, Chris and Ryan knew the show must go on, not just for their family but for the entire community.
“Even though Milton has taken our home from us, it hasn’t taken our passion for performing, so now more than ever, we need to add some entertainment and happiness and joy to people’s lives,” said Ryan.
From now until the end of the year the couple is offering a new show, they call it their Holiday Spectacular.
“Truly an immersive show, we have state-of-the-art projection mapping throughout the theater, we have lots of audience participation, of course, we have our audience favorites, but we have made a little bit of a holiday twist to those, sleight of hand, grand illusion, family-friendly comedy,” said Chris.
Ryan and Chris can trace their careers all the way back to opening presents Christmas morning when they were kids.
“I was gifted a magic set for Christmas when I was seven years old, and it was just a passion that stuck,” said Ryan. “Now we have magic sets, and we hand pick the tricks and they make perfect stocking stuffers, so we like to gift that back to others as well,” said Ryan.
While the show may be full of illusions, one thing that is real is the reaction from audience members, many of them overcoming the same challenges as Ryan and Chris.
“They speak to us in the lobby, and they say, ‘Thank you so much for letting us escape. We lost our home, we lost our business, and we needed to experience the magic and wonder again,’” said Chris.
For more information on show times and tickets, go to zubrickmagic.com.
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