Channing Tatum has done so much for the world. From his iconic Lip Sync Battle performance to writing a series of children’s books and single-handedly attempting to save the studio comedy, he’s basically the man that Bonnie Tyler was describing in “Holding Out for a Hero” when she asked for a “Streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds.” But perhaps his greatest gift to humanity is this: inspiring a generation of men to dance.
Sitting in the auditorium of the London Hippodrome Casino—the UK home of Magic Mike Live—four of the show’s stars (Jack Manley, Jake Brewer, Joel Ekperigin, and Myles Harper) tell me they wouldn’t have even considered dancing as a career were it not for Tatum’s influence. “It’s crazy to think that the only reason I started dancing is because of Channing, and now he’s sort of my boss,” says Brewer, who’s been a part of Magic Mike Live since the London show opened in 2018.
“He’s the entire reason I started dancing,” agrees Manley, an original cast member who also stars in Magic Mike’s Last Dance alongside Tatum, as does Ekperigin. “I’d say there’s a major percentage of male dancers our age who got into it because of him. The Step Up movies are what made dance seem exciting and new for us.”
Just as Tatum and the Step Up films reinvigorated interest in hip-hop and street dance among its millennial fans, the Magic Mike franchise has altered perceptions of the male revue show. While Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL, based in part on Tatum’s own experiences working in Miami, are credited with destigmatising male stripping, the stage show, which developed out of the films, goes one step further.
It brings the world of the films to audiences in Las Vegas and London, with an emphasis placed on creating an evening of entertainment that’s about so much more than a bunch of hot guys taking their clothes off (though yes, they do that as well). Now things are getting pretty meta in the Magic Mike universe, as the live show has inspired the new film Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Brewer and Manley, who’s about to return to the London stage for a short stint, first saw the casting call for Magic Mike Live on social media. “I wasn’t going to go to the audition at first, because when you hear ‘Magic Mike’ you instantly think of massive, jacked guys and that wasn’t me,” says Brewer.
It was a similar story for Manley: “I saw an Instagram post and the first line said, ‘Sexy appealing males wanted’, and I thought, ‘Nope. No way am I going to that,’ and just scrolled past it. But I kept getting tagged in it by friends, and so I reread the post, and it turned out they were looking for guys with skills like drums, piano, guitar, singing, aerial, acrobatics—a long list of things I was really confident about.”
As you might imagine, it was a pretty intimidating casting process. “When I turned up at the audition, it was full of body builders, and massive guys, all these models staring at themselves in the mirror, and I felt so out of place,” Manley admits. “But fast forward two hours and they're all gone,” he grins. “It was a dance and music audition, and half of them moved like a brick wall.”
At the London show, the intimate theater seats 325 guests on couches and at tables on an upper and ground floor, with performers regularly jumping off the stage to dance among the delighted audience. The Vegas setup is similar, and the vibe is very much slinky rather than seedy, emulating an old-fashioned cabaret.
Across a breathless 90 minutes, the show incorporates tap dance, gymnastics, singing, salsa, a guitar solo, and even some aerial acrobatics—like the big finale in Magic Mike XXL, there’s a strong emphasis on working with each performer’s individual talents, giving them all a chance to shine. It’s not so much about having the buffest bod, but what kind of fantasy the performers can create for the audience. Of course there is an element of conventional hotness to the show’s casting, but personality and ability play a huge role too.
It’s no surprise that Magic Mike Live fits so seamlessly in with its movie origins, given that many of the creatives behind the show also worked on the films. Co-director and choreographer Alison Faulk is the genius behind both “Pony” scenes (she also choreographed that dance in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), while associate director and choreographer Luke Broadlick and choreographer Teresa Espinosa also worked on Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL. There’s a strong sense that the team really cares about replicating the experience of watching these films: They want audiences to feel the fantasy IRL.
Tatum himself is also heavily involved in Magic Mike Live, beyond lending his name to the show, and regularly visits both the Las Vegas and London teams to check in and offer ideas about how the show can improve.
“When Channing first came in, as the guy that dressed like him, copied his moves, wanted to be just like him, I was speechless,” says Manley. “Everyone else was going over and saying hi, and I was just standing in the corner. I was so starstruck.”
But Tatum’s involvement extends beyond stopping by for a meet and greet. “It surprised me how deeply involved in the show he is,” says Manley. “Channing will watch the whole thing, and even for things that aren’t necessarily his bag, he’s got an idea, and such an incredible mind for knowing what the overall picture should be. And he’s very good at articulating that to his team.”
The hard work has paid off, with the show counting Kristen Bell among its vocal supporters. Having attended the London show twice in a week, I’ve personally witnessed how much of a good time audiences have watching the guys strut their stuff. There’s paper money falling from the ceiling, a Nine Inch Nails routine, and even a safe word if the idea of being singled out for a lap dance terrifies you.
There’s an infectiously good energy about the show, which owes more to the vibe in Magic Mike XXL than Matthew McConaughey’s slightly more old-fashioned schtick in the original film. The show’s storyline follows a humble waiter learning how to move and groove from the show’s multi talented cast. Did I ever think I’d be enthusiastically singing along to a Zayn Malick/Silk mash-up in public? No. That’s the power of Magic Mike.
Magic Mike Live has been a roaring success since it began in Las Vegas, selling over 1.25 million tickets across its flagship shows as well as a touring production (Harper and Ekperigin both performed in Berlin before transferring to London). One dedicated fan has seen the show over 100 times, and a reality show entitled Finding Magic Mike went behind the scenes to find the next cast member.
Now, Magic Mike’s Last Dance sees Tatum’s Mike Lane trade Miami for London, where he teams up with Salma Hayek Pinault’s Maxandra Mendoza to put on a show in the city’s theater district. The show based on the film has now become an integral part of the film itself, and Manley and Ekperigin are excited to be making their on-screen debuts doing what they love, alongside several of their castmates from the show.
“I got a DM on Instagram from the casting director,” Ekperigin says. “She said I’d been recommended by the London team, and wanted to know if I was interested in auditioning for the film. I had to send in a self-tape, which felt so bizarre. They had such specific questions—I think they really wanted to find out about our personalities and if we were right for it.”
Manley and Ekperigin were indeed right for the film, and when Magic Mike’s Last Dance shot in London last spring, they traded the stage for the set.
“For me the pressure is that, for a live show, it’s an hour and a half, and then it’s gone. But a movie is forever,” says Manley. “But Steven Soderbergh was so great to work with, because he really wanted everyone to get everyone in the mood and create the atmosphere of the show on set, and then he'd start rolling the camera. For the movie to be about putting on a good show, that positive atmosphere is just as—if not more—necessary as it is in the theater.”
Magic Mike Live has undoubtedly shifted the perception of male entertainers, with Ekperigin reflecting, “I love that it’s almost like an illusion—when you say ‘Magic Mike’ you think. ‘Oh yeah, male strippers,’ so people come in with this level of intrigue, and idea of what the show is, then they watch it, and then they leave with a totally different perspective. Whether you like it or not, you come out feeling some type of way. If you like it, that’s amazing, but if it’s not for you, that’s also amazing, because then you’ve learned something about yourself and you’ve taken a chance on seeing the show in the first place.”
But with Mike’s on-screen journey coming to a close, what does it mean for the future of the live show? The men are optimistic that the show can continue to innovate—after COVID-19 forced its closure for nearly a year, Magic Mike Live returned with a refreshed look and all-new routines, and the 10 shows a week frequently sell out. The nature of the show means the cast get to perform different roles and frequently find themselves taking on new skills. “I’m learning electric guitar, which is never something in my life I thought I’d get to do,” says Harper.
“There are differences in your experience at the show even if you just sit in a different seat,” explains Manley. “Then depending where you see the show—Vegas doesn’t have a tap number, instead of a guitar solo there’s a drum solo. When the show was in Berlin, their performer Carlos had a saxophone solo—it was the sexiest thing in the world. And then when you compare the show now to where it was when it began, it’s definitely changed a lot. When Chan or Alison come over, they’ll have a look and see what’s working, they’ll sit in and watch to see who’s reacting to what, and they’ll tweak it here and there. Every now and then there’s been a big change, so it feels like we can just keep going, and people will keep coming back to see what’s new.”
After seeing Magic Mike’s Last Dance, you might want to experience the “magic” for yourself—a large proportion of what we see on screen in the finale of the film is very similar to what you’ll see IRL if you head to the Hippodrome (or if you’re Stateside, catch the Vegas or touring shows). It’s true that you’re fairly unlikely to encounter a scantily clad Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, or indeed a Channing Tatum shaking it on the stage, but I can personally attest to the fact that Jack, Jake, Joel, and Myles are more than up to the challenge of providing a night you won’t forget. And if they continue to retain Magic Mike’s spirit of releasing your inhibitions, long may the show go on.
Finally: One recurring comment from my fellow guests at Magic Mike Live was that all the dancers smelled amazing. The secret? A good signature cologne. “No one wants a lap dance from a guy who smells bad,” notes Brewer. Harper recommends Dior Sauvage, Manley opts for Tommy Hilfiger, Ekperigin’s current choice is Dolce & Gabbana (“But I like to switch it up a lot”) and Brewer likes Giorgio Armani. “You’re the first person to ever ask about that in an interview, but people ask us at the show all the time,” Manley tells me. “Sometimes mid-dance.”
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