So, one of the most mind-blowing evenings we had on our recent trip to New York City, was perhaps one of the most magical (pun intended…).
We went to see Noah Levine’s Magic After Hours show, which takes place twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday nights at the city’s oldest magic shop – most people don’t know is actually there.
You follow directions down one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city, the famous 34th Street, past thousands of people in the area to visit Macy’s Department Store and the Empire State Building, to an anonymous office building, with no sign outside to give you a clue.
You take the elevator up to the sixth floor, walk to the end of a corridor and enter a tiny darkened room filled with faint sounds of jazz, where magician Noah Levine awaits with a warm welcome and glasses of champagne.
Tannen’s Magic has been a hub for amateur magicians since 1925, starting when the young Louis Tannen bought two tricks with a $1 dollar bill he found on the pavement, and sold on for a profit, going on to become a street vendor in various locations in the city, but always hidden from public view.
Inside there’s everything, from children’s magic tricks that mysteriously change dollar bills into hundreds, to the grander needs of the professional stage magician; tricks with exotic and mysterious sounding names such as The Siberian Chain Escape, The Vanishing Princess of Thebes, and The Mysterious Golden Cage…
So many packets of playing cards!
And you can’t miss the giant stage elephant the moment you walk into the shop.
There’s even a pair of Houdini’s handcuffs, from when he was thrown manacled into the East River, decorating the walls!
Noah’s incredibly smooth performance comprises mind-reading, sleight-of-hand card tricks, and jaw-dropping coincidences. He’s charming and witty throughout, preferring thoughtfully composed subtle mind tricks over big, flashy pulling-rabbits-out-of-hats tricks.
Perhaps the biggest jaw dropper was guessing the name of a film a stranger in the audience had watched recently and written on a piece of paper, and the card a man on the other end of the phone had chosen?! Only those in the inner magic circle will know the secrets.
What a fun and mind-blowing New York date night with a difference! I highly recommend Magic After Hours and it’s also a chance to experience a hidden, little-known part of New York history. You can buy tickets here and read more here.
Photos by me and from Noah Levin’s Instagram.
1 Comment
This show was brilliant, thanks for finding it Ellie.