Kayla Drescher is In Your Head at Rhapsody Theater

I have been a fan of magician and mind reader Kayla Drescher since seeing her perform on Penn & Teller's Fool Us in 2017. Now through February 11, Chicagoans can see their hometown favorite at the Rhapsody Theater. Recently, I interviewed Kayla to discuss her career and her “In Your Head” show.

Kayla's performance on Fool Us was delightful, beautiful and heartwarming. It was amazing in its simplicity. With just two sheets of paper, two scissors and Teller's participation, Kayla produced an act which remains one of my all time favorites from the show.

From that point, I wanted to interview her. Recently, in my day job, I started an interview series featuring folks talking about their careers and travel. I immediately thought of Kayla and when I saw she was performing at the Rhapsody Theater, it was the perfect time.

Kayla performs close-up magic combined with audience interaction and a bit of humor, all while wearing heels (“because ‘magic in pajamas’ was already taken,” she jokes). After giving a brief bio, Kayla differentiates magic from mind reading both in theory and practice.

With mind reading requiring audience participation, Kayla states each show is different depending on the various reactions. With too little interaction, the show would be short, but Kayla is very engaging and elicits great audience reactions and participation.

As per the title of the interview series, we talked some travel. She actually has a goal of performing in all 50 states and seven continents. (She is about eight states and four continents short right now.) Kayla mentioned her favorite cities for performing, recent new cities she visited and a couple places where she would love to perform.

Kayla had interesting takes on adjusting her act to audiences in different cities or even different nights in the same city. For the next month though, Kayla doesn’t have to worry about travel, although the snow storm this weekend did cause headaches.

In addition to the hometown audiences, her current stay at Rhapsody Theater gives her time to enjoy local sites and restaurants, like Planta Queen, her favorite vegan eatery on the near north side of Chicago. On a related note, I also love Planta, with spinach shiitake dumplings my favorite item.

“In Your Head with Kayla Drescher" runs through February 11 at the Rhapsody Theater at 1328 West Morse Avenue on the far north side of Chicago. The production features Kayla performing her unique mix of mind reading, humor, and theatrical magic. Running about 90 minutes with an intermission, time will fly while Kayla gets in your head, leaving a smile on your face.

I thank Kayla for her time and consideration. I found her to be as delightful as her act. I hope you go see her in person and see for yourself.