Acclaimed magician entertains Lynn kids

LYNN – From the Montreal Comedy Festival to the front lawn of the White House, magician and comedian Mike Bent has performed his style of child-friendly magic and comedy in some of the world’s most prestigious places.With the same dedication, enthusiasm and energy, Bent knocked ’em dead in the Lincoln-Thompson Elementary School auditorium Wednesday as if he was on the big stage filming another TV special.Bent, a Stoneham native and Belmont resident, performed his show “AbraKIDabra” for both younger and older students during two performances at the school, sponsored by the PTA.From sneezing up doughnuts and bananas to arguing with his quiet puppet rabbit friend Puff the Magic Rabbit, later re-named P-Rabbit for a short hip-hop routine, Bent had the audience entertained throughout the performance.In true magician tradition, he called up students on to the stage to help with his illusions, pulling coins out from behind their ears and making necklaces appear and re-appear. Music and sound effects provided support to his jokes, always keeping the young audience members entertained.PTA members said they came up with the idea for the show because they wanted to reward the students for working so hard to study for and take the MCAS test earlier this month, so they scheduled Bent, who made Lynn one of his many stops in Massachusetts.”I do schools and after school programs, and a lot of private parties on the weekends,” he said between performances. “It has been my full time job since 1985, so I am pretty busy.”Bent got his first magic book at age six and began performing at age 15. After graduating from Emerson College, he took his show on the road to comedy festivals and TV specials, appearing on HBO, NBC and Comedy Central, among others.A comedy-writing teacher at Emerson, Bent took up children’s comedy and magic in 1992 when his daughter was born, and has become one of the most popular children’s performers in the country.He has appeared at the White House twice during the Bush administration, performing along with animal trainer and celebrity Jack Hannah at the annual Easter egg hunt.While Bent is constantly performing and traveling to shows, he says it is important to keep his act fresh so he doesn’t get bored.”I change stuff around pretty quickly because if I get bored up there the kids can usually tell right away,” he said. “I probably have about three hours worth of stuff that I do. Sometimes you take something out for a while and bring it back, and you realize how much the kids like it.”