Illusionist Rick Thomas - Mansion of Dreams — Attraction in Branson

We went to see this show in Palm Desert, expecting something cool. It was so utterly creepy and disturbing. At one point, he called a little boy on stage and had him pick a "beautiful" woman out of a line up. The magician asked him if he wanted to kiss her and he said no. Rick then told him he would regret that one day. Then Rick put the woman to sleep and told the boy, "go ahead, you can do anything, she's asleep" and then there is this creepy Michael Jackson song playing in the background. The woman eventually wakes up and kisses the boy. It was so weird.

Then, Rick shows us a video of him playing "Tiger King" and shows all of these tigers he owns. He then tells the audience about his rescue of tigers and asks them to buy a stuffed tiger to support his mission. It sounded like he has a mission of "rescuing" these tigers from other places in the world and bringing them to live with him and act on stage. So freaking weird and dated. Not to mention all of the birds he used during his performance.

And if this wasn't enough, he basically spends 1/2 the time on stage, dancing and grouping his dancers, who are basically half naked. It was awful. We booed (when he was talking about the animals) and ran away at intermission. Truly disturbing. Don't waste your...

Ok, where to start,.. Well I’ve certainly seen my share of “magic” shows and can appreciate the level of skill and practice that goes into a great delivery and engaging show. I never saw Rick in Vegas but I saw many others. This guy is BY FAR the best illusionist out there. If I had to describe his illusions in a single phrase, I would choose the word, “Mind-bending”! Although I understand how many of these illustrations are done (I’m a former student of the art myself), there is absolutely no way to match Rick’s level of professionalism and delivery. The demonstrations that I don’t understand are beyond knowing without someone explaining the secrets, and I wouldn’t want to know anyway.

My son and I have experienced nearly everything there is in Branson and this guy is just on another level,..there’s not even a close second in my opinion and I told my son that he will probably never see better illusions in his lifetime.

Also, I just want to say, I really appreciated how Rick Thomas went out of his way after the show to meet every single person that wanted to say hi or snap a picture with him on their phone. He’s very personable and made everyone feel like family. Now that’s something you definitely don’t see...

After reading some of these reviews, there are a lot of Karens in this world. We have seen several magicians and illusionists over the years with our now teenaged daughters and felt that the Rick Thomas Mansion of Dreams show was by far the most personable. He truly interacts with the audience and makes you feel like an important guest in his show. During intermission, we went backstage to meet him, he shook our hands (which is ultimate sign of respect in Texas language), and he allowed my daughters to pet the dog and hold the cat as long as they wanted to..if we let them stay there any longer, they would've taken off with the cat, Loki. All the other performers we have paid to do this experience with have not been nearly as friendly. Once you've seen several shows, some of the tricks are similar, but not done with nearly as much enthusiasm as Rick Thomas. We would gladly support his tiger conservatory and have placed it on our list of places to visit. Thank you for a evening of laughter and entertainment, Rick Thomas, you and your dancers made a positive family memory that we will carry with us forever. We may not let you live down that now our daughters keep asking us for a Birman cat though, donations...