Magic Stage (Test)

In the mid-80s, ShowBiz designed a 'new' Rock-afire stage, complete with new character costumes. It is tentatively known as the "Magic" stage, because of the printing on the center stage valance - although the stage better resembles a Bandstand / Variety Show.

Description of the Stages

The Rock-afire stages were drastically altered - Rolfe and Earl's stage had a solid gold rain curtain, a jukebox, and music notes dangling from the ceiling. Gone from center stage was the forest and trees (except for the stump beneath Beach Bear and the one around Choo-choo). Instead, the center stage had a backdrop "screen" that a light show and assorted projections could be displayed upon. Rounding out the stage were two large treble clefs on each end. Billy Bob's stage had a brick house façade that was plastered with posters of famous musicians including the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Looney Bird's barrel was also painted chrome.

Additional Information

These photos were taken in November of 1985, however it is unclear exactly which ShowBiz Pizza Place location tested this unique stage. Two locations in Texas have been mentioned as possible test stores - Austin, TX (Burnet Road) and Longview, TX. It's believed that this was just another test by ShowBiz's entertainment department that was never pursued beyond the store that received the prototype. Thus far, the only solid information that's been found are from the photos above (that were found at CEC's corporate offices back in the late 1990s).

More recently some audio was found, also from CEC's corporate archives, that is assumed to be from this Magic test concept. The most surprising insinuation is that the stage wasn't just magic themed or named that, but that ShowBiz toyed with the idea of actually renaming The Rock-afire Explosion to "Magic".

For more on this, check out Pizza Time - Episode 3: