Comic Magicians Penn & Teller to Perform Oct. 17 at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The UB Center for the Arts and UBASE will present comedic magicians Penn & Teller at 8 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Mainstage theater located in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

A couple of eccentric guys who have learned how to do a few cool things, Penn & Teller have performed together since 1975, and their award-winning theater show has been a long running hit on and off -Broadway. The duo keeps a busy schedule, performing live more than 100 times per year.

After playing small clubs, theaters and the Renaissance Fair circuit, Penn & Teller's off-beat brand of magic and comedy gained national attention when their stage show opened off-Broadway in 1985, leading to appearances on "Late Night with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live" and "Miami Vice." In 1987 their stage show moved to Broadway, the first of two successful runs.

Favorite guests on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman," Penn & Teller have made dozens of television appearances including "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The Today Show" and "Saturday Night Live." Penn & Teller also are frequent guests on several popular television series, including "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch," "The Drew Carey Show," "Friends," "Dharma & Greg," "Babylon 5" "Home Improvement" and "The Simpsons."

The 1985 PBS special, "Penn & Teller Go Public," won two Emmys and the International Golden Rose. Other television projects have included the recent Emmy-nominated variety series "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular," the ABC special "Penn & Teller's Home Invasion," the Showtime movie "Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread," the NBC special "Don't Try This At Home" and the PBS children's series "Behind The Scenes," as well as "The Unpleasant World of Penn & Teller" and "Penn & Teller's Phobophilia," both for Britain's Channel 4. "Penn & Teller Get Killed," directed by Arthur Penn, saw the pair in their big screen debut.

Penn & Teller have written two best-selling books, "Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends" and "How To Play With Your Food." Their newest book, "How To Play In Traffic," is a collection of practical jokes, miracles and anecdotes that makes travel funnier than ever before.

The duo serve as Visiting Scholars at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the highest honor bestowed by the school, and have lectured at the Smithsonian Institute and Oxford University. Penn & Teller recently were named two of the funniest people alive in Entertainment Weekly's "50 Greatest Comedians Today" issue.

Tickets for Penn & Teller are $35, $31 & $26 for the general public and $31, $27 & $22 for UB Students. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information call 645-ARTS.