Local author, magician wows Waldorf audiences

Joe Romano, a Charles County native, performed a magic show at the Waldorf West Branch Library on July 29, wowing audiences by bringing literature to life in his show “Books! The magic is real!” presentation.

The magician brought a whiteboard to life by making a mouth he drew move, flowers bloom and cards magically change places, bringing smiles to every child in attendance.

Every trick Romano performed was tied to a different book to bring an educative twist to the show. The talking whiteboard he used in the act featured an illustration of Greg Heffley from Jeff Kinney’s hit series “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”

Some quips even had the parents in the audience laughing.

Romano said he has appeared in front of over 2 million elementary school children with his production, including in a multitude of theme parks, including Universal Studios, Walt Disney World, Knott’s Berry Farm, Six Flags Texas and Six Flags America.

He was chosen to open for First Lady Michele Obama at the “Read Across America” celebration at the Library of Congress, a biography says.

Romano also took the opportunity to showcase something new during his act in Waldorf — his first children’s book co-authored and illustrated by Sarah VanDam.

The tale “My Dad Invented the Smile” tells the story of how the iconic “smiley face” came to be through the eyes of his daughter Jacquelyn.

Harvey Ball, who passed away in 2001, was hired in 1963 by an insurance company that wanted a button to help make people smile, Romano told his audience. Ball created the smile on the button, but his daughter Jacquelyn told Ball that it needed eyes, as the smile could be a frown if turned upside down.

“Everybody loved it,” Romano said about the smiley face to his audience. “But then, here’s the bad part. Harvey forgot to do something, he forgot to protect the artwork with the government” through copyright.

The proliferation of the smiley face came at little monetary benefit to Ball.

“Everybody stole his picture and put it on bumper stickers, T-shirts and posters. He lost millions and millions of dollars.” Romano said. “Years later, a reporter asked Harvey, ‘Aren’t you angry? Aren’t you sad?’”

Ball did not view it as a negative, Romano explained. He got the world to smile a little bit more.

“Would we have emojis today if it wasn’t for this artwork?” Romano asked the kids in attendance. “We can’t answer that question, but it’s fun to discuss with your mom and dad.”