The Illusionists will return to Broadway for the fourth consecutive year in a new version of the international magic franchise. This year's show, The Illusionists - Magic of the Holidays, features five top-billed magicians: Darcy Oake, Adam Trent, Colin Cloud, Shin Lim and Chloé Crawford, who will perform a wide variety of magic including illusions, close-up effects, mentalism and escapes. Although the number of magicians is fewer than in previous iterations of the show, the production will also feature the dance group Light Balance which uses electronically illuminated costumes and black art techniques to create illusionistic, animated effects. The Illusionists – Magic of the Holidays will run November 23 through December 30 at the Marquis Theatre, 210 West 46th Street.

For our 2014 Interview with Simon Painter, a Producer of The Illusionists, go here.

The Illusionists premiered in Sydney, Australia in January 2012 with a cast of seven conjurors. Since then a number of different companies of the show and spin-off productions have toured throughout the world. In each version of The Illusoinists, the magicians are billed with descriptive nicknames indicating their specialty. In the upcoming Broadway company Adam Trent is positioned as "The Futurist," Oake performs as "The Grand Illusionist," Cloud is billed as "The Deductionist," Lim is heralded as "The Manipulator," and Crawford is known as "The Sorceress." 

Adam Trent is a veteran of The Ilusionists' first foray to Broadway in 2014. In that production he was featured in a segment in which he interacted with a large video wall, causing items to appear and disappear into the high-tech screen and using it as a moving backdrop to create the illusion of motion and other effects. Trent returned to Broadway with The Illusionists in 2015 and later toured in a solo magic production sponsored by the show's producers. Among other accomplishments he stars in a 10-episode Netflix series in which he performs magic for people he meets while travelling abroad.

Darcy Oake gained visibility on Britain's Got Talent where he was a finalist in the competition in 2014. He also has appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us and has made a number of high profile appearances including a performance at a 90th birthday celebration for Queen Elizabeth.

Chloe Crawford was a magic assistant to Murray Sawchuck in Las Vegas and then performed in Criss Angel's touring show The Supernaturalists and eventually in his Las Vegas show MindFreak Live. Crawford gained recognition as a solo magic act on the 2015 season of Britain's Got Talent in which she impressed the judges with a series of stage illusions.

Colin Cloud is a mentalist who bills himself as the "Sherlock Holmes of entertainment." He has appeared on both Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent as well as Penn & Teller: Fool Us. He also toured in The Illusionists - Live from Broadway, a previous version of the magic revue. As Colin McLeod he has released a variety of well-received publications and effects to the magic community.

Shin Lim was a winner of the FISM competition in 2015 for card magic and is one of the finalists in the current season of America's Got Talent. He also appeared twice on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, fooling the magicians both times. He is known for performing extended card magic routines, set to music, which involve multiple transformations and transpositions. Lim also has released a series of videos and other products for magicians interested in learning his routines.

Light Balance is a dance troupe from Dnipro City, Ukraine. They competed on Britain's Got Talent in 2014 and then on America's Got Talent in 2017 where they finished third place in the competition.

For more information about The Illusionists - Magic of the Holidays, or to purchase tickets, click here.

Magick at the McKittrick is a new late night magic experience featuring magician, sideshow artist, and raconteur Todd Robbins as its host and ringleader. The evening also features performances by a crew of closeup magic specialists, and will include tableside Tarot readings, and live music. The show is presented at the McKittrick Hotel in the venue's Manderley Bar which on show nights will be transformed into the "Magick Speakeasy." The next performances are scheduled for September 7, September 21, and September 28, although Magick at the McKittrick is planned as an ongoing event and additional dates will be added. The evening begins at 11:30 p.m. and runs until approximately 1:30 a.m.

"Patrons will experience an unparalleled display of remarkable close-up magic," according to Robbins, "as nine of the City's top magicians take turns visiting the patron's table and presenting an intimate concert of sleight-of-hand magic, mentalism, pickpocketry, sideshow skills and more." Brief performances will also be given on stage throughout the night. The show features a rotating roster of magicians which currently includes: Matthew Holtzclaw, Prakash Puru, Noah Levine, Matias Letelier, Jason Suran, Patrick Davis, Alex Boyce and Mark Calabrese. Robbins's co-host is Virginia Logan who also does "whimsical Tarot readings" at the tables. Stride and jazz pianist Jesse Gelber will provide music. "Anything can happen, and probably will, and probably will happen to you," continues Robbins in describing Magick at the McKittrick.

Todd Robbins is a multifaceted performer who has established himself most vividly for perpetuating the traditions of the sideshow including stunts like eating light bulbs and hammering a nail into his nasal cavities. He is also a talented magician who starred in Play Dead an off-Brodway show of true ghost stories and haunted happenings that Robbins created with Teller of Penn & Teller. He also can be seen as the host of Investigation Discovery's show True Nightmares and is a partner in the team that produces Monday Night Magic at the Players Theater in Greenwich Village.

The McKittrick Hotel was created as the venue for the immersive theater production Sleep No More and has branched out to also host a variety of other events, including another magic evening, At the Illusionist's Table.

For information about tickets to "Magick at the McKittrick," click here. Links to purchase tickets are live on the venue's Calendar of Events.

David Copperfield has built the world's most extensive collection of items related to magic, and guests who have been given tours of the displays he has created in a large Las Vegas building marvel at what they are able to see there. However, the venue is not open to the public at large and many of the items in it have rarely been displayed. The New-York Historical Society has brought a selection of objects from Copperfield's collection to New York which they are showcasing in the exhibition Summer of Magic: Treasures from the David Copperfield Collection, which runs through September 16. In our audio interview (click the player below to listen), the show's curator, Cristian Petru Panaite talks about his process of working with Copperfield to organize the exhibition and gives an overview of the materials on display. Panaite also talks about his own perspective on the meaning of magic and why it is a topic worthy of consideration in a museum like the New-York Historical Society.

The colorful and alluring exhibit features items related to Alexander Herrmann, Harry Kellar, Harry and Bess Houdini, Howard Thurston, Chung Ling Soo (William Robinson), Adelaide Herrmann, Alexander, the Man Who Knows, and numerous others from the 1880s through the 1930s, what the exhibition refers to as "The Golden Age of Magic." Some of the most notable items relate to Houdini, including his Metamorphosis trunk, a milk can, and a costume worn by Bess Houdini. It is also striking to see one of the rifles used by William Robinson in his guise of Chung Ling Soo, in the bullet catch act, which eventually resulted in his death while performing it. The exhibition also features a case full of the types of tricks purchased in magic shops over decades and that will be the envy of anyone who ever covetously paged through the catalog of a favorite magic shop. There also is a selection of stunning, large lithographs, and visitors will have the chance to see one of Copperfield's most well-known illusions.

The Historical Society has also been presenting an extensive series of magic-related programming throughout the summer. Remaining events include today's (August 26) demonstration of a magic lantern show, and a final weekend of performances on September 15 and 16 featuring Duffy Hudson as Harry Houdini.

The New-York Historical Society is located at 170 Central Park West at 77th Street. For more information about Summer of Magic: https://www.nyhistory.org/summer-magic.