Vegas ‘Misfits’ entertainers play to 4K on the Strip

“Murray’s Misfits” is a collection of Vegas magicians who usually play for a couple hundred ticket-holders in small Strip venues.

But Tuesday, the customized collection of performers played a corporate show for more than 4,000 attendees at Palazzo Ballroom. This show was for the Hegemon Group International Convention of Champions.

HGI “recruits and trains advisors who serve the life insurance needs of thousands of families,” according to a company news release. The event was an awards ceremony, followed by the variety show hosted and headlined by Murray Sawchuck, who usually performs at Laugh Factory at the Tropicana.

That venue seats about 300. The Palazzo room was set up at 15 times that size.

“You figure out whether your material is any good if you can win over a crowd of 4,000 that has no idea who you are,” Sawchuck says. “It’s a different challenge than working in front of 100 people or whatever in your usual show.”

For “Misfits,” Sawchuck performed in rotation with his sidekick, Doug Leferovich as Lefty; the comedy-magic tandem of Jarrett & Raja; veteran Vegas illusionist and bird artist Mondre; extreme stunt artist (nails in the nose, etc.) John Shaw; and showgirl/comic/magician Dani Elizabeth, who is married to Sawchuck and is his onstage assistant.

Leferovich and Shaw are cast members in the talented, recently relocated “Late Night Magic” production at The Venue at Orleans.

The idea for the “Illusionists”-fashioned lineup came to Sawchuck during a house-warming party at his Vegas residence last year.

“I looked around and I had a contortionist, a guy who can pick up paint cans with fish hooks in his eyelids, a ventriloquist, a magician, a comedian,” Sawchuck said. “The name ‘Misfits’ came to me, which I thought was a cute name.”

The show debuted last August in the little showroom at The Pass in Henderson.

“We sold it out,” Sawchuck said, “But it was only 190 seats. This was a little different.”

The Palazzo show was an example of how lucrative corporate bookings can be, especially compared to a residency show in a small-capacity Strip showroom. Many Vegas singers, musicians, comics and magicians bolster their coffers through such lucrative corporate bookings.

The phenomenon works its way up the corporate ladder, to top international headliners. In January, Elizabeth was part of a dance team that was booked for 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy’s 100th birthday at Nemocolin Resort in Pittsburgh.

Hardy wound up passing away the morning of the event. But the show went on anyway as a celebration of life, with Michael Buble headlining and commanding a reported $1 million appearance fee.

“You see companies pay top dollar, not just for the headliners but for shows like the ‘Misfits,’ as a way to celebrate the people who work for them,” Sawchuck said. “If I could do one of these a month, I could retire.” And he would know where to buy his life insurance.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.