Rich Marotta Meir Yedid, Marc Salem, Mike Kirschner, Magick Balay, Will Fern, and J. P. Laramee are among the area magicians scheduled to perform in Magic Mania, a new weekly magic show in Manhattan that starts Thursday, August 7. Veteran performer Rich Marotta is the impresario behind the show, which will be held at The West End, a bar and nightclub at 107th Street and West End Avenue. "I wanted a room for people to work out," Marotta explained. "There are a lot of great magicians in the City who don't work Monday Night Magic, and they don't have a place to work out, and there are some new guys I've met who I would like to help bring along." Marotta will serve as master of ceremonies and host of the weekly 90-minute show which will usually feature performances by two magicians in addition to Marotta.
Dave Murillo The show's premiere will include performances by award-winning conjuror Meir Yedid, and Marc Salem, an accomplished mentalist who has been profiled on 60 Minutes and appeared on Broadway. David Levitan, Ryan Oakes, Steve Rodman, and John Born are among the other established local magicians who Marotta says will appear in the series. Magic Mania will also serve as the professional launching pad for emerging magician Dave Murillo on August 14. "I see it as a great opportunity," Murillo said. "Everyone's always talking about 'you got to get your chops.' But how do you get that? That's one of the obstacles when you're beginning performing professionally. What Rich is doing gives you a spot to try material out and get over the hurdle of getting in front of people."
Marc Salem Aside from the stage performances, Marotta is inviting close-up magicians to perform at the club's bar. "I'd like it to be a place where magicians hang out," he says." "If you look at history," says Murillo, "a lot of these big time names they all came from New York. There's not enough magic here in New York now in my opinion. A lot of it is in Vegas or The Magic Castle in California. I think we should have something like that here."
Rich Marotta started his magic career in San Francisco where he moved in the late 1970s in order to perform at the nightclub Earthquake McGoons. Over the last 35 years he has straddled the worlds of magic and stand-up comedy. Marotta moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1980 where he worked such clubs as The Comedy Store and The Improv and also appeared at The Magic Castle. He relocated to New York in 1984 where he performed frequently at Dangerfields as well as other local comedy venues. Marotta has also toured the national comedy club circuit and appeared several times on national television. He has marketed such original effects as Rat Trap and the Fishbowl Production, which are used by magicians around the world, and his work is documented in two DVD releases available in magic retail shops.
Tickets for Magic Mania are $15 and there is a two menu-item minimum. More information is at magicmania.net. The West End lounge is located at 955 West End Avenue at West 107th Street.
Rich Marotta started his magic career in San Francisco where he moved in the late 1970s in order to perform at the nightclub Earthquake McGoons. Over the last 35 years he has straddled the worlds of magic and stand-up comedy. Marotta moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1980 where he worked such clubs as The Comedy Store and The Improv and also appeared at The Magic Castle. He relocated to New York in 1984 where he performed frequently at Dangerfields as well as other local comedy venues. Marotta has also toured the national comedy club circuit and appeared several times on national television. He has marketed such original effects as Rat Trap and the Fishbowl Production, which are used by magicians around the world, and his work is documented in two DVD releases available in magic retail shops.
Tickets for Magic Mania are $15 and there is a two menu-item minimum. More information is at magicmania.net. The West End lounge is located at 955 West End Avenue at West 107th Street.
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