In last season's America's Got Talent four magic acts made it into the group of twelve final contestants on the NBC show. It was a strong year for magic on the program and even though Mike Super didn't win, he did get a burst of national visibility with his memorable performances (which included showcasing his imaginary friend Dexter and putting Mel B. in the hot seat). America's Got Talent was actually Super's second emergence on a TV reality show. In 2007 he was the winner of NBC's Phenomenon, a competition among mentalists. 

On January 11 Super performed two shows on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at Symphony Space, as part of the venue's Just Kidding series of family friendly events. Between performances Super spoke with the Magic in New York blog in a wide-ranging conversation about his career and about magic today. Super provides a view behind-the-scenes at America's Got Talent and addresses the question as to whether the competition provides a level playing field for all of its contestants. He also talks about the resurgence of magic's popularity on TV, and provides interesting insight into his life as a busy working magician.

Ricky Jay was in New York this past week to publicize the showing of Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice, as part of the American Masters series on PBS (the film airs January 23 at 9 p.m.). He participated in an event at the Paley Center where he answered questions after a screening of the film, and he also gave this interview for WNYC.

Magician Mike Super will appear this coming Sunday at Symphony Space as part of the Upper West Side theater's "Just Kidding" series for families. Super was a contestant in last season's "America's Got Talent" show on NBC where he was featured as one of the final 12 contestants. He will be performing two shows, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., in Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia space. 

The New York Times has run a detailed article examining the difficult developmental path of "Houdini," a musical in which Hugh Jackman had once planned on playing the well-known escape artist. Despite the eventual withdrawal of Jackman as well as songwriter Stephen Schwartz, the producers of the show say that it remains in development and they expect it to appear on Broadway in a future season. The article reveals the outline of the show's plot as it had been developed so far which would have focused to some extent on Houdini's conflicts with Margery Crandon and other spiritualists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/theater/the-musical-houdini-travels-a-bumpy-path.html?emc=eta1

After his recent lecture here in New York to the Parent Assembly of the S. A. M. Garrett Thomas stayed for what turned out to be a long interview for the Magic in New York blog. We covered a wide range of topics, from Garrett's start in magic to his work with David Blaine and how he threads together different pursuits in magic to make up his career. Garrett also makes a case for his strong preference for what he calls "conversational magic" and speaks in depth about the meaning and purpose of astonishment. As the originator of tricks like Imagination Coins, Ring Thing, and Big Coin, Little Purse, as well as a regular contributor to Reel Magic magazine, a working performer, and consultant, Garrett is having a big impact on today's magic scene. This interview provides a revealing view of one of magic's more influential figures.

After the closing of the Café Edison, the weekly Friday lunchtime magic get-together known as The Magic Table, has moved to The Evergreen Restaurant, at 145 West 47th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues). Although the group has met at 1 p.m. on the last two Fridays, the time of the get-together may change to avoid the peak of the lunch rush. Any updates as to time or location will be posted here as information becomes available.