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Magic Beyond Belief Darren Romeo, one of the most popular shows along the Pigeon Forge parkway, has reopened after an incident on Saturday night forced the cancellation of the evening show and resulted in the arrest of its star Darren Romeo.
Hundreds of guests at the Magic Beyond Belief Darren Romeo show on Saturday night were disappointed when the performance was cancelled just moments before it was scheduled to begin.
“We had all gotten refreshments, were seated and photos taken like a normal show and when it was time for the show to start, a man came out saying due to technical difficulties he was not going to be able to perform,” one guest said. “He suggested we all trade our tickets for a different show or refund. We all thought it was a joke, like part of the show, and were waiting for Darren to magically appear and it never happened.”
Guests filtered back into the lobby and stood in line to exchange their tickets when Darren Romeo reportedly appeared, stood on the counter while yelling to customers that the theater would not let him perform his show and exhibiting bizarre behavior that was later attributed to an adverse reaction of mixing a prescription anxiety medication with wine.
The Pigeon Forge Police Department confirmed officers responded to a call at the Magic Beyond Belief theater Saturday night, where they found Romeo sitting on the front counter and smelling strongly of alcohol. Romeo told officers he had taken the prescription medication Ativan and drank two glasses of wine.
“Mr. Romeo was very emotional and could not control his behavior,” the police report said. “One minute he was just fine, the next he was cursing different people, to crying the next.”
Officers arrested Romeo and transported him to the Pigeon Forge Police Department for booking.
Darren Robert Romeo
“On Saturday, July 15th, the decision was made to cancel my Magic Beyond Belief 8:15 magic show,” Romeo said in a statement to fans on his Facebook page on Monday. “I readily admit that on rare occasions, I have experienced anxiety attacks. On this day, I took medication along with a glass of wine that caused an adverse reaction.
“I felt that I was capable of performing, but management felt otherwise and at the time, I did not realize that they were trying to protect me. I now understand that this decision was in the best interest of my own safety, the safety of others as well as the integrity of the overall show. I’m happy to announce that I’m feeling great and that the show is back on tonight. My heartfelt thanks to my cast, my crew and all Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment for their sincere concern.
“Finally, I apologize to my wonderful fans that missed out on that night’s performance.”
He received an outpouring of support from fans on social media who urged him to take care of himself.
Romeo is the first and only protégé of Master Magicians Siegfried and Roy and previously performed in his own show as “Siegfried & Roy presents: Darren Romeo” at the Mirage in Las Vegas.
As of Monday, the Magic Beyond Belief Darren Romeo show was back on its regular schedule. The show is owned and produced by Fee/Hedrick Family Entertainment Group, who recently invested more than a half a million dollars renovating the 525-seat theater located at 135 Parkway in Pigeon Forge to debut this year’s show.
“The company has no comment at this time,” said David Fee, president and chief executive officer of Fee/Hedrick when asked for comment on the events of Saturday evening.
