Adam Wylie, who plays Braniac 5 on Legion of Superheroes, is also a magician member at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
It's a pretty big deal to be a magician member, and it's not easy. Hopeful prestidigitators have to go through a challenging and rigorous process to be accepted, and it's as big an honor as it is an achievement to pass the various tests and learn the various secret handshakes. When Adam earned his membership earlier this year, we were all extremely proud of him, and planned a Legion night at the castle at some point in the mysterious future.
The future came last night, when I joined some of my fellow Legionnaires for an evening of awesome magic as Adam's guests at the magic castle. As a bonus, Anne had a late cancellation at work and was able to come along as my date.
We saw incredible close-up magic, and some outstanding illusions and sleight of hand. We saw probably the most talented ventriloquist I've ever seen in my life, and one of the funniest magicians this side of Penn and Teller.
But what I loved the most about the night was hanging out with my friends, having a drink in Irma's room (Irma is a ghost who sits at a piano, and for a buck will play virtually any song in the history of life, from Axel F to Vivaldi's Spring to Bobby Darin's More) watching Adam perform for us, and enjoying the camaraderie that makes working on Legion of Superheroes so much fun.
When I was on TNG, we all loved each other, and we were very much a family. Though I was too young to join in the fun, the rest of the cast got together frequently like I did with Yuri and Adam and Alex last night. When I worked on CSI, it was clear that the regulars on the show all cared for each other, and had relationships that went beyond the limits of the stage. When I did ACME Love Machine and ACME: A Day in the Life, we closed down the bar next to the theater every Saturday night, not because we were getting tanked, but because we genuinely liked each other, and didn't want the night to end, or wait a whole week until we could all get together and do it again.
All of these shows I've mentioned were loved by audiences as much as the casts loved bringing them to life, and last night reminded me of the only thing I really miss about being a full time actor.
Yuri (who plays Superman) and I did some ADR for Legion last week, and when we were done, we both sort of hung out with the writers and producer (when we really should have just gone home,) because we both love being part of this show, and never want the time we spend working on it to end.
I know this is corny, but it's true: when I get a chance to be part of a cast like the ones I've been in, it's a magical experience, and that joy and love infects all of us, and makes our performances better, because when actors are happy, when actors are relaxed, and when actors trust and are inspired by each other, we just do better work.
I hope I get to keep doing this work for a long, long time. Long live the Legion!
