Winter Storm Stella hit Chicago March 14, but that was not the only impressive sight for wide eyes and social media posts. Full-on nudity, professional trickery and the gracious hot bods of Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne were unveiled as their as all their clothes fell to the ground much like the snow outside. 

Tyler and Wayne are the co-stars and creators of the aptly titled “The Naked Magicians,” show at the Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St., March 14–19. These attractive could-be-models from Australia caught my eye in February and I knew I had to see the magic. If I’m being honest, I was thinking of the magic underneath the clothes, not the card tricks.

My expectations for this intriguing and sexy magic show were largely formed by interviewing Wayne before the duo came to Chicago. The naked pictures of them circulating the internet also contributed to imagining what would be onstage—and how much nakedness would be witnessed. The answer came when I attended the opening night, which was full of butts in seats, all the way to the top rows of the proscenium theater. 

The “Naked Magicians” provided a hilarious laugh of a show that had me gasping for most of the scenes—not just for the unbelievable comfort and presence both magicians held onstage while exposing everything—yes, everything—but for their professional magic that retained its glamour, awe and mystery. The show was rife with sexual innuendos, audience participation and jaw-dropping jokes that kept up the naughty, sexy theme. It was a completely fresh way to experience magic and it changed the image of stereotypical magicians, which is what the guys intended.

The magicians were more accomplished than I would have expected given the emphasis on their naughty nudity—rather than their skills—with some tricks beyond comprehension. One of these was the opener, which involved the random generation of an imaginary porno’s title with the help of a dildo tossed around the audience hot-potato-style. Whoever had the dildo was to create the name of the first character of the porno. The dildo landed in the lap of a man, who quickly tried to pass it to the front row of giggling girls.

“No sir, I think that belongs to you,” Tyler said with a smirk, and the man grudgingly held onto the dildo. He then told the audience the name of his first pet and first street he lived on—the code to creating your “porn name,” the magicians said. 

Barney Seventy-First was the man’s porn name; the dildo went on searching for Barney’s co-star. When it landed on a young woman in the top row, she shared her porn name—Heidi Grand. Another audience member created the title of the porno—The Slippery Bellybutton. Then the trick began. 

The magicians opened a small treasure chest hanging from the ceiling and pulled out a large piece of paper wrapped in a glass jar, which was there since the start of the show. Wayne opened it and the audience gasped in amazement. Written in big bold letters was the name of the porno, “Barney Seventy-First and Heidi Grand star in The Slippery Bellybutton.”

The jokes only got more R-rated from here, but many seemed far too staged and lacked a genuine touch, even though the Aussies promised they were trying them out for the first time because they are touring the U.S. Besides this, everyone was focused on the stripping. Throughout the show, Tyler and Wayne stripped away their clothes in a competition to see who could stay clothed the longest. They were tied up—wearing only boxer briefs—in straightjackets by audience volunteers and then jiggled their way free to Top 40 tracks. The first one to escape remained clothed with Tyler proudly winning. Wayne stripped entirely and showed everyone his butt, but kept a magician’s hat on his penis to tease the audience. 

It was not until their famous pin board trick that the audience saw what they came for. A volunteer was asked to come onstage and pick a card from a standard deck. After messing up once, the woman threw the whole deck at the pin board covering Wayne’s groin. Simultaneously, Tyler, from the other side of the woman, threw a steak knife to the board, hoping to pin the woman’s card to the board. But it was the wrong one, and the right card was nestled cozily on Wayne’s penis, which he flashed to the audience and received roaring cheers and claps.

The show ended with a—presumably—fake but elaborate orgasm by both Tyler and Wayne, who threw up confetti from their genitals like they were the happiest guys in the world. By the end, they were essentially dancing naked onstage while everyone watched them and their balls swing to the music. Looking around, some men, probably dragged out by their girlfriends or on a date, sat stone-faced with their arms crossed; others applauded the magicians and enjoyed seeing them naked as much as most of the ladies preset. 

“The Naked Magicians” certainly came prepared to awe the crowd with their bodies, accents and magic tricks, although most people were there for the first two, because why not see attractive strangers naked onstage?