Peanut Butter and Jelly
Type: parlor, stage
Skill Level: 
Retail Price: $69
Effect: A jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly are shown and covered with tubes. They switch places.
Performance Time: 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on your routine.
Reset Time: Quick reset
Angles: 
Quality: Timothy Wenk produces these and they should last forever.
Mike Maione: This is a kid's show equivalent to the passe passe bottles where the bottle and the glass change places. What makes this so great is that it's a more modern version of this old masterpiece that you can bring to a kiddie show and not worry about the implications a bottle of wine and a wine glass might have. And, if you use the routine supplied you can even involve an audience member and make some real magic happen.
The workings of Peanut Butter and Jelly are almost exactly like passe passe bottles; the only difference is the gimmicked bottles are gimmicked jars of peanut butter and the outer tubes which instead of being made of tin are made of a rubbery material that allows you to lift the gimmick by simply applying pressure as you lift. (You supply your own jars of jelly.)
I like this trick ... I especially like Timothy's routine where two slices of bread are placed in a bag, the bag held overhead by a youngster from the audience. When the magic happens and the jars supposedly pass invisibly through the air and trade places, they meet briefly in the middle and combine with the bread in the bag over the assistant's head to form a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Of course, the bag is opened to reveal a real peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This kicker ending makes this trick special. Unfortunately, it's also the reason I don't perform this trick too often. To perform the complete routine you need four slices of mushy white bread. (Wonder Bread works best.) Two slices are prepared into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich beforehand and brought to the show. If you usually eat mushy white bread ... good for you. Unfortunately, my wife's a health nut. She's convinced that mushy white bread is up there with potato chips, diet soda and candy as foods to be avoided at all costs. So she buys only those mutli-grain breads which can't be mushed into a neat little ball (and tastes like crap, I might add). So getting bread and making a sandwich adds to my prep time ... something I'm working hard to reduce. Still, Peanut Butter and Jelly is a great prop. I save it for special occasions.
Dr. Mitch: What's the hot new kid show trick of the month? Peanut Butter and Jelly. What happens? Every aspiring kid show performer rushes out and gets it. It becomes commonplace on the circuit. Then what happens? You pull out the trick and every kid there screams, "I know that." And, it becomes as useless as the Coloring Book. And THEN what happens? The NO-talent performers buy it because it's a "must have" and proceed to ruin the heck out of this.
I actually saw a magic clown perform this recently. She had no concept of the trick. She made a big production about dashing back and forth from tube to tube showing two peanut butter jars which transformed to two jelly jars. Now, here I am in the audience, gnawing off my own tongue trying not to shout at this performer "READ THE DIRECTIONS!!!"
Anyway, it's a good trick, even if it is a bit over used right now. Be creative, have fun with it and for my sake...if you ARE going to perform it...perform it right!!!
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