Matt Donnelly, from Penn & Teller, to fool us at Brown County Music Center

Penn Jillette of CW network’s comic magic show “Penn & Teller Fool Us,” once asked the show’s head writer, Matt Donnelly, to learn one trick. Jillette, it seems, suspected the writer would be good at magic as well as metaphors and modifiers.

Penn and Teller picked four acts to headline “The Foolers” tour

Donnelly learned one trick — from seven different magicians — and assembled the feats for his first show. Turns out Jillette knows what makes a magician. Audience members will get a chance to see Donnelly Sept. 24 at the Brown County Music Center in “The Foolers,” four hand-picked, A-list magic acts. They are master magicians Matt Donnelly, Alex Ramon, Jessica Jane and Vinny Grosso.

Penn Jillette and Teller (simply “Teller”), are American comic magicians entertaining as a pair since the late 1970s. “The Foolers” is not a Penn and Teller show, per se, since those two won’t be present. Instead, it’s four exceptional acts that Penn and Teller chose from magicians they had judged on their “Penn & Teller” show.

Repeat: Neither Penn nor Teller will be at the music center performance on Sept. 24.

Las Vegas’s "Best Up and Coming Comedy Magician"

The “Las Vegas Review Journal” named Donnelly, “Las Vegas’s Best Up and Coming Comedy Magician.” The Mind Noodler is Donnelly’s act’s title. He’s been touring North America, bringing magic, yes, but also comedy.

“I’m responsible for the ridiculous comedy part of “The Foolers,” he said over the phone.

Donnelly spent years on tour opening for "‘Piff’ the Magic Dragon,” but he considers himself “new to magic. I’ve only been doing magic for five years. I’m learning from the other three ('Foolers') acts," he said.

“Mind Noodling” has entertained audiences at prestigious magic venues such as Los Angeles’s Magic Castle, the Chicago Magic Lounge and Nashville, Tennessee's House of Cards. The show has also headlined at the Second Bell Comedy Festival in Tennessee.

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Other magical sides of Donnelly

Donnelly cohosts Penn Jillette’s award grabbing podcast, “Penn’s Sunday School” as well as magic podcast “Abracababble.”

Donnelly recently completed his ninth season as head writer for “Fool Us.”

​Donnelly has been doing improv theater since he was 16. Comedy comes naturally to him. He played the Las Vegas strip alongside Wayne Brady in the hit improv comedy show "Making It Up."

Donnelly played Christian Grey in the hilarious "50 Shades! The Parody" at Las Vegas’ Bally's resort and hosted the innovative show "Executive Monkeys" at Las Vegas’ The Palms resort.

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Brown County show for all ages

His Brown County show is for the entire family, he said. And that means daredevil stunts and mentalism added to all the other aspects of magic one might imagine.

“Psychic Hill Billy” comedy magic show with “Roadkill Cookbook”

Some might remember Donnelly’s portrayal of his “Psychic Hillbilly character. Once when asked to audition for a TV pilot — as a bad TV Magician — Donnelly created a down-home character, Psychic Hill Billy. According to indiegogo.com, Penn Jillette told him to “learn an actual ... trick,” then provided Donnelly a trick to learn.

Donnelly slipped right into character, enjoying his sham country-boy side, complete with hat, beard and a “Roadkill Cookbook” he “authored” with dishes such as possum (with the fur still on) and onions. What he didn’t expect was his fans’ reactions.

“My fans felt betrayed. They were upset to find out I wasn’t a real hillbilly offstage.”

Do Penn and Teller like each other?

For all who have heard that Penn and Teller secretly dislike one another, Donnelly dispels the myth. “Penn is my good friend. Teller is my boss. And they get along very well.”

If you go

WHAT: “The Foolers,” with four master magicians: Matt Donnelly, Alex Ramon, Jessica Jane and Vinny Grosso. “The Foolers” pay tribute to magicians Penn Jillette and Teller. (Penn and Teller themselves will not be in the show.)WHEN: 7 p.m. Sept. 24WHERE: Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Blvd., NashvilleTICKETS: $69-$159, with tickets online at www.browncountymusiccenter.com/events

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Matt Donnelly to fool us at Brown County Music Center