Vaudeville is back but with a new veneer and attitude. When Optical Delusions takes the stage Friday night at the Majestic Theater, you will see three young talents at the top of their entertainment fields in juggling, magic and mentalism. Brought together by old and new friendships, the group brings their significant individual accomplishments and skills while attempting to rejuvenate the variety show form.

Marcus Monroe, 23 and originally from Milwaukee, is hailed by the press as the “rock star of jugglers.” He has performed on nationally syndicated television programs and opened for major musical groups across the country. In his act he combines comedy, juggling and an imaginative spirit, developing gimmicks like the “korch” — a combination of knife and torch.

If his name or act sounds familiar, it is probably because you have seen him perform before in Madison. Monroe has opened for the Madhatters the past two springs, during their end of the year super concert. He also opened for last year’s free Talib Kweli performance and hosted the annual juggling show held at Memorial Union.

“I consider Madison to be a little bit of a second home, I have a lot of family in Madison and my little brother goes to Madison,” Monroe said.

Ben Seidman, 24, also from Milwaukee, has been dubbed the pop wizard. When asked to clarify what that meant, he explained:

“I have no idea, and you can print that [laughs]. … No, where that comes from, I think, is that my training as a magician comes from hundreds of years ago, but at the same time, what we try to do is take something that was old and bring it to a new light, to bring it into pop culture.”

Seidman regularly performs as the House Magician at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He has also contributed advice and tricks to the popular A&E program “Criss Angel ? Mindfreak.”

Luke Jermay, 23, originally from Basildon, Essex England, also performs regularly in Las Vegas. The mentalist in the group, he has worked with A&E as well as the BBC and RT1.

“Basically what I do is create the illusion of reading peoples’ minds. When I say that, people instantly assume it’s some kind of psychic thing. But that’s not really the case with what I do. What I do is about combining psychology with observation and basic rules of human interaction to unlock what someone’s thinking,” Jermay said.

He has already authored over 38 books on his craft and runs a monthly article in Genii magazine. This performance will mark his first experience in Madison.

With such diverse and strong talent spread across the country, the formation of Optical Delusions was never guaranteed, but old and new ties pulled the group together.

“I knew Ben in Milwaukee, we both lived in Shorewood together,” Monroe said.

“We did a few shows together while we were younger. We had really good chemistry then. Then I started wanting to do my own thing — I moved to New York, he moved to Las Vegas where he became friends with Luke. I went to see Ben last August and met Luke Jermay. I’m 23, he’s 24, Luke’s 23 — we all perform, we all perform our own show, why not perform our own shows together?” he said.

Added Jermay, “I’d known Ben longer than Marcus, but when we all got together it just seemed a natural progression.”

Seidman elaborated, “Luke and I had always talked about going on tour, but we wanted three people. … In the back of my mind I knew I wanted that person to be Marcus, but Luke had never met him or seen him work. Marcus came into town, Luke saw him perform, and without me saying anything to Luke, Luke said, ‘He’s the third person.'”

The show itself is a dynamic distillation of the trio’s best.

“We each perform a set, and we do some skits and some other stuff. You’ve got three performers who usually do an hour show doing a 30 minute show each, so you’re only getting A-material,” Monroe said.

“Our show is always changing, always evolving. We wrote our show, so we don’t need permission from anyone to change it. We’re always adding in new things, taking things out. I’m doing material I’ve never done in Madison before. Luke and Ben are also doing brand new material. We’re really pulling out all the goods for this show because we want people to walk away with a good impression.”

With three young and exciting talents sharing the stage, this show promises to be hilarious and entertaining. And, with tickets at a near pittance for such an accomplished collaboration, you’d have to be a fool to skip this show.

“Optical Delusions” is Friday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. One night only. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or ahead of time at www.majesticmadison.com.