Laughter and pathos in "Elephant Room"

Of the clown, Nietzsche remarked, "He alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter." He would have spoken similarly of magicians had he seen the raucous, deeply revelatory

Elephant Room

, which is inaugurating the FringeArts building on Columbus Avenue.

At first glance, Elephant Room plays like a trio of middle-aged, washed-up magic-makers performing in their basement "secret society" in Paterson, N.J. With their long hair, porn-star moustaches, and lounge-lizard attire, and strumming and kicking to '80s power ballads, it would be all too easy to dismiss Dennis Diamond, Louie Magic, and Daryl Hannah (Geoff Sobelle, Steve Cuiffo and Trey Lyford) as a collective of hipster magicians, dorking up and ruining yet one more genre of performance.

But over 80 minutes, their initial clownish confidence and buffoonery erodes (though thankfully David Neumann's invigorating, humorous choreography only escalates), giving way to moments of vulnerability, surreal humor, and, in total contrast to hipster doctrine, genuine emotion.

Mimi Lien entombed the threesome in an enclosed set - a wood-paneled basement that used only a fraction of FringeArts' high-ceilinged performance space, capable of expanding to 54 feet wide, 33 deep, and 29 high. Christopher Kuhl's lighting design enlarged the feel of the show, with its mock-Vegas effects and floodlighting that washed out over the 240-seat venue, which will accommodate a range of new works and former Festival offerings year-round.

Yes, there's magic, more than enough to entertain the dozens of children who attended Sunday's matinee. Card tricks and minor sleights of hand progress into more stupendous feats of levitating bricks, disappearing acts, and a trio of eggs heated mysteriously into an actual omelet.

But the through line, helped along by audience participation, reveals the elephant in the room and in their lives. The three never-were entertainers tinge their tricks with pathos, hidden by magic but fleshed out in backstories of failed marriages, abusive childhoods, stints in rehab - all overcome with unburdened hope still fantasizing about glory.

In December, the winter FringeArts season will offer Pig Iron Theater's rocking Twelfth Night, the clowniest of Shakespeare's comedies. But until then, thanks to this minor masterpiece, there's no need to send in the clowns. The magicians and their metaphorical magic are already here.

Elephant Room

Through Oct. 20 at FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Boulevard, at Race Street. Tickets: $20-$49. 215-413-9006 or FringeArts.com

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