622: Michael Chaut - Monday Night Magician

Michael Chaut is one of the co-producers of Monday Night Magic in New York City. After 25 years, it is the longest running magic show in NYC. In this week’s episode, Michael shares the history of Monday Night Magic along with a brief history of some of the other magic venues and performers during the 20th century in NYC.

This week’s video of the podcast on YouTube. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the channel.

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532: Greg Wilson - The Legacy of Allakazam

Greg Wilson builds on the dynasty of the Wilson name in the magic community. He has created his own way since his early appearances on his mom and dad’s TV series, “The Magic Land of Allakazam” by performing large illusion shows of his own. But today he is focused on preserving the legacy of the TV show through his efforts in preserving film, stories, props and ephemera from the long running series. You can visit the website at AllakazamArchives.com to see videos and a lot more, plus help support this preservation venture. If you have any stories you would like to share with Greg, then you can write him at Wilson@AllakazamArchives.com

Greg Wilson performs his version of Mark Wilson's "World's Largest Card Trick", also called "The Divided in Four". This show is from the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Greg was celebrating his parents "Magic Circus" tv specials 40th Anniversary.

Greg Wilson presents his version of Sawing in Half or The Divided, at Disney's El Capitan Theatre, in his show, The Golden Age of Magic, during the screening of the film “Maleficent”

This week’s podcast was recorded in the summer of 2019 at the I.B.M. convention in Scottsdale, Arizona when Greg was there with his parents, Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell. Hear his talk this week about the myriad stories behind the scenes of “The Magic Land of Allakazam” and much, much more.

518: Derren Brown: Secret - On Broadway

The sensation of the U.K, Derren Brown, makes a triumphal return to the U.S. with his Broadway production of Derren Brown: Secret. This is the same show he gave in New York a few years ago in a much small theater off Broadway. This time he is in a 1,000 seat theater where Doug Henning performed in “The Magic Show” for four year (1,920 performances), the beautiful Cort Theatre. The show opened on September 6, 2019 (with the official opening on September 15th) and will run through January 4, 2020.

We were asked not to talk about the details or running order of the show, so I can only say that it is one of the top magic shows you will ever see. Derren is a wonderful orator and commands attention every moment of the show. His scripting and narrative is compelling draws us into a world that few have ever visited. Everyone wanted Derren to enter their minds and reveal their thoughts. I think it’s safe to say that New Yorkers have never witnessed anything like this before which is why I think word will spread and this will be a sold-out show and be extended beyond their scheduled ending date.

Performances begin September 15, 2019 and will run through Jan 4, 2020 at the Cort Theatre. derrenbrownsecret.com

This week we travel from Houston Texas to New York City for a sold-out pre-opening night for the Press. We talk with Monday Night Magic producer, Michael Chaut, then after the show we get a few minutes with Derren. Afterwards we chat with one of the producers, Oliver Roth. Then it’s a wrap and we head home.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:17 - intro of what this is about

00:03:11 - in the Houston airport preparing and getting excited about going to New York.

00:05:46 - on the subway with Michael Chaut, producer of Monday Night Magic, and on our way to Broadway to see the show.

00:12:09 - visiting with Derren Brown on stage after the lights are out and the theatre is empty.

00:17:11 - Oliver Roth, one of the backers and producers of the show talk about its development and how Secret finally came to Broadway

00:30:24 - Michael Chaut and I give a wrap and short review of the show

00:33:45 - details on the contest