Lee Padilla was born and raised in Hawaii. His first job was at an ice cream shop in Waikiki’s International Market Place, an iconic mall on O’ahu. “While I was there, that’s when I decided to become a bartender, and as a bartender, that’s how I became a magician,” he told Genii.
Lee’s life took him away from O’ahu for over 30 years. He recently came back to Waikiki, where he barely recognized the place where he used to sling scoops. “I was just sitting in the courtyard area under the banyan tree, just relaxing before I went to work, and I opened up my eyes and realized that I was in the International Market Place, where I ended up starting my first job 37 years ago,” he said.
Lee’s job at the time was being a magic bartender for one of the establishments in the Marketplace. He’s gained an online following performing there, with almost 200,000 followers on Instagram under his moniker, @magicleehawaii. After talking with fellow magician Anjo Sanchez, he decided to pitch the Marketplace’s management the idea of a magic venue. “I told them I thought that Hawaii was ready for nightlife. We were still kind of on Covid protocol, where everything was closing at 9 o’clock.”
Bringing Back Old Waikiki
The mall executives were into the idea, and they agreed with Lee’s pitch to have the venue, which is in the center of the mall near the open-air courtyard where they host luaus, hark back to the establishment’s earlier days. “It looks just like a standard mall now, but the International Marketplace used to be a place where there were all these vendors and kiosk booths that you could purchase things from,” he said. “Our thought was, bring back the old Waikiki and make people feel like they’re [back there].”
To that end, the half-circle stage of Waikiki’s Magical Parlour looks like a tiki hut, with art from local artists on the walls available for sale. There’s also a magic shop within the space, for those who want to bring some magic home with them. The venue holds about 50 seats, with guests usually treated to Hawaiian music as they sit down, a drink in hand as they get ready to watch the 90-minute show.
Lee opens that show, doing roughly 30 minutes before the visiting magician comes on to do an hour-long set. Visiting magicians usually come for two weeks at a time, and at the time this article goes to print, perform one show at 7 p.m. every Wednesday through Saturday.
The venue targets locals and tourists alike, though Lee really wants to attract locals. To encourage them, he offers discounted tickets to those who live in Hawaii as well as four hours of free parking at the Marketplace. “If I was a local, and I wanted to go to a show, that’s what I would want,” he said. “And after they see the show, I want them to come back again. I want them to continue to come to Waikiki and see a quality show.”
Just the Beginning…
Waikiki’s Magical Parlour has only been open since May 2025, and Lee has ideas on where he wants the venue to go, including having two shows a night, adding in a closeup magician to perform for guests before the stage performance, and potentially implementing some speakeasy theming to the space. His main goal, however, will remain the same: for guests to feel welcome. “It’s the aloha spirit, it’s the way you make people feel. I think that’s really, really important. If you connect with them through their spirit and their heart, I think that it makes it a lot easier to connect them with magic.”
All photos courtesy of Lee Padilla