How Steve Cohen Got To Carnegie Hall
by Antonio M. Cabral
M-U-M magazine, November 2011

Magicians and secrets have a funny relationship. The normal people who comprise our audiences watch us perform miracles and cannot begin to imagine how a person might learn the requisite techniques and other arcane knowledge to accomplish the impossible. Magicians on the other hand know all about the vast oceans of literature (in print and on film) obsessively detailing and documenting the history and lineage of all these bizarre, clever and wonderful ideas. They know you can walk into a magic shop and buy whatever you like without having to fight a dragon or some other kind of mystic wizard’s trial. They worry that their audiences will run home after watching a performance and look for the explanations on YouTube. The “secrets” are out there, if you care enough and know where to look. And yet, magicians and laymen can look at the same “miracle” and both be mystified—if for different reasons.

For example, many close-up magicians know the story of Max Malini’s famous production of a brick or a block of ice from under a hat as recounted by Dai Vernon in Stars of Magic. Vernon was tasked with watching Malini over the course of an evening’s dinner performance to try to pin down the little man’s sleight-of-hand secrets—in particular the the block-of-ice-under-the-hat trick. Throughout the full evening’s meal, Malini never left the table. Malini then proceeded to perform the trick and “…when Malini lifted the hat, a block of ice the size of four fists lay in the center of the table […] Vernon swears to this day that ‘The little bugger had no time to load up.’” While the regular audience members wondered how the ice got under the hat, Vernon was dumbfounded as to how the ice got to the table at all. A bribe to the waiter proved unsuccessful, and they never found out from where Malini had procured the ice.

On the other hand, whenever Steve Cohen performs the trick as the opener of his exclusive Miracles At Midnight show, the source of the block of ice is somewhat less of a mystery. The show is his second as part of his residence at the über-opulent Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. The kitchen at the Waldorf-Astoria is located on the second floor and takes up the area of a full city block. “They have a huge walk-in freezer, and they’ve let me have a whole shelf in there just for blocks of ice for this trick. I used to go down myself to fetch the ice, but it gets so cold in that freezer that our arrangement now is that I simply ring down to the kitchen and they run one upstairs for me at the beginning of each show.” Of course. Everything’s easy once you know the secret.

But while Steve’s audiences—like Malini’s—are astounded at the appearance of the ice under the hat, magicians marvel at something else. They don’t marvel at how the ice appeared under the hat or how the ice got to the table, but at how Steve Cohen himself has managed to “magically appear” in residence at the Waldorf-Astoria with not one, but two elegant, high-end magic shows—one of which costs $250 per person. For close-up magic! And coming this January, Steve will be premiering a stage show at a local Manhattan venue named Carnegie Hall. Compared to those “miracles”, blocks of ice and bricks under hats might as well be the old stretching thumb trick your uncle does [...]

As readers of this blog know, I am somewhat infatuated by Max Malini, the extraordinary magician who entertained celebrities, tycoons and aristocrats. I’ve modeled my career on his, and have been tracking down Malini stories for years. Many of these stories are chronicled throughout this blog.

I recently acquired Malini’s advertising booklet at auction (circa 1926) and was delighted for two reasons simultaneously. First, it is an honor to own this historic memorabilia of a prominent magic figure. The booklet is in very good hands.

Second, the text of the booklet has confirmed that Max Malini stayed and performed regularly at the hotel where I’ve presented Chamber Magic for the last decade: the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

In his advertising booklet, he includes laudatory letters from prominent figures, including President Harding. Here is one of the inside pages, containing personal notes from General Pershing and Vice President Charles Dawes [...]

My favorite comment after returning from my Philadelphia tour was an email I received from a guest. He wrote, “Your show is a thing of beauty, a magical symphony.” Wow. What a nice compliment. But I must say that Philadelphia audiences – who came out in droves to the magnificent Four Seasons hotel last week – made my job a pleasure indeed.

Whenever I launch the show in a new city, there is considerable risk on my part. Will people show up? How do I get the word out? Do I have any fans in that city who can help drum up interest?

Fortunately, Philadelphia is close enough to my home base in NYC that the word spread quickly. I even got a little advance press on a cool blog that has a large local following. The four shows sold-out swiftly, even before I arrived in town.

Another part of the risk in performing in a new city is that [...]

THIS SHOW IS NOW COMPLETELY SOLD-OUT

It’s the dream of any performer to stand on-stage at Carnegie Hall, presenting what they’ve trained their entire life to perfect.

I’ll have my chance on January 12, 2012, and I’d love it if you would share this momentous evening with me.

Carnegie Hall has three performance venues – I’ll be performing in their most intimate: Weill Recital Hall. Tickets went on sale this morning at 11:00am, and the box office tells me that they had people queuing up on the phones, waiting for the sale to begin.

This is a one-night only performance of my stage show “Theater of Wonder” – which is entirely different from “Chamber Magic,” now in its eleventh year at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. If you’ve been to my smaller show and want to see more magic, “Theater of Wonder” is for you.

Tickets are available at the Carnegie Hall box office (57th Street and Seventh Avenue), through CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or online [...]

July 14, 2011 at 12:30 PM
by Mark Anthony Green, in GQ.com

Vera Wang referred to Steve Cohen as the best-dressed magician she’d ever seen. Cohen was hoping for just best dressed. When the dandy magician isn’t shocking the who’s who of New York City from his private suite at the historic Waldorf Astoria, he’s conjuring up bespoke suits from London and ties from Tokyo’s finest men’s shops. In between ducking in and out his closet to show off more “gems,” we asked Cohen a few questions about his personal style influences and the importance of always dressing the part.

GQ: You go by the Millionaires’ Magician. You probably have a lot of well-dressed spectators.

Steve Cohen: [Hesitant laugh] Oh, sure but I wouldn’t particularly be able to say who’s well-dressed, because sometimes you get wealthy folks who come through who are dressed in casual clothes. Sometimes people, especially the nouveau rich, will intentionally not dress to look wealthy. They call it “Stealth Wealth.”

GQ: Let’s talk about the dress code. It’s a pretty audacious move to tell a room full of millionaires what to do.

Steve Cohen: One time I had a fellow come to my show who was wearing [...]

“Aside from his success, it is Steve Cohen’s charm and elegance which separate him from all but a tiny elite of world-class magicians. However, Steve is the only magician from that elite and highly-select group to take his show to an elite and highly-select audience. It is a true one-off: an intimate caprice of parlour diversion by an enthralling and consummate master.”

-Derren Brown

I also dug out an old photo of Derren with my wife and children [...]

This blog post really “takes the cake” as one of the more flattering moments in my professional career.

I was invited to perform at a gorgeous English-style country home in New Jersey yesterday (video below), to celebrate my client’s 50th birthday. After the show was over, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday.” You can imagine the look of surprise on my face when I saw my magic teapot, “Think-a-Drink” decorated in icing on his cake!

Magician Jonathan Brown saw this photo of the cake, and wrote a lovely comment on Facebook: “You know, you can win awards, make a name for yourself, get on TV etc..but when a CLIENT loves your magic enough to put YOUR trick on THEIR OWN birthday cake…well I don’t know where you go from that!”

Here’s a quick video [...]

Quick: let’s play an association game.
When I say “Washington DC in April,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Cherry blossoms? Nope. Rain showers? Nu-uh.

The correct answer? “Chamber Magic.” I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving four special shows in Washington DC during the first week of April.

I don’t tour the show too often, so this may be the only time for you (or your family) to experience magic in Washington. And lord knows that Washington could use some magic!

Ever since I was a boy magician, I’ve dreamed of [...]

by Wayne Kawamoto, About.com guide

In an era of ever-increasing technological marvels and bigger-is-better televised illusions, can an intimate evening of magic win over modern audiences? Watch Steve Cohen’s outstanding “Chamber Magic” and you’ll believe in close-up magic as well. In the show, Cohen recreates the intimacy of 19th century parlor magic.

The setting is an elegant hotel suite (I experienced the show in Los Angeles at the Beverly Wilshire). The props are minimal: playing cards, wine glasses and index cards. What you’ll savor are the talents and charisma of Steve Cohen and his modern take on the art of magic that provides an engaging and memorable experience.

What Steve Cohen has accomplished in “Chamber Magic” is nothing short of a miracle. It’s a must see production that demonstrates the heights to which the art of magic can soar. If you’re in one of the cities where “Chamber Magic” plays, you won’t want to miss it. [...]

Way back in 2002, just a couple of years after starting up my show, CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos came to visit me at the Waldorf. She brought her camera crew and did a feature story about Chamber Magic. The show has changed a lot since then, but it’s fun to see what she found interesting enough to discuss with Anderson Cooper, Jack Cafferty and Paula Zahn, in a roundtable at the end.

Genii: Why do you call yourself “The Millionaires’ Magician?” Doesn’t that turn some people off? It sounds kind of snooty.

Cohen: Nice way to start the interview!

Genii: It’s my prerogative: I remember teaching you and Mark Sicher how to shave when you were both kids.

Cohen: So you did. To answer your question, an upscale magazine in New York City wrote a feature story about me, and that was the headline: “The Millionaires’ Magician.” I’m at The Waldorf Towers every Friday and Saturday night for my show Chamber Magic. But the other five days of the week I travel around the world to perform at people’s mansions and private islands. They pick me up in luxury cars and put me up in fine hotels in Switzerland, London, Paris, the Caribbean, Boca Raton, Aspen, all over the place.

Genii: You’ve clearly figured out a great niche for yourself.

Cohen: To be honest, there are at least three million millionaires in America, and in my geographic region—New York City—it seems like everyone I know is a millionaire. So when I call myself “The Millionaires’ Magician,” it’s simply a description of my market. Now, I find myself contacted only by people—event planners, corporate groups, and individuals—who can afford my current rates. They kind of know what they’re jumping into when they call me, so there’s no sticker shock when they hear my prices.

Genii: How many shows per year do you perform? [...]

by Jonathan Bayme CEO, Theory11.com Magic awards are a dime a dozen. Many of them are handed out by local magic clubs. Some of them are distributed by regional groups. And a select few are handed out by meaningful, multinational organizations. Whenever I hear of a magician getting an award, I ask myself what award [...]

I receive at least one email per month from magicians around the world. Their notes usually begin like this:

Dear Mr. Cohen,

I am a magician in [name of town] trying to build my client base and marketing reach.

I would like to use your idea of doing parlor magic using a high end hotel as a base. Would you object if I used that approach here in [name of town]?

Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Do I split ticket sales with the hotel? Or, does the hotel pay me a fee and take all ticket profits? Does the hotel supply drinks as a part of the show price? How long should the show be? How much should tickets be? etc. etc.
–
Before I offer an extremely rare rant (not the type of prose you’ve come to expect from me), here is my form-letter response: [...]

The following text is from Dick Cavett’s introduction at my recent award dinner. I can’t tell you how honored I was to be introduced by this legendary television host. Dick Cavett: I love magic, and when I saw Steve Cohen the first time, it was in front of this building. This fellow came up to [...]

I received a Hollywood welcome when I arrived in Los Angeles last week. Actors Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother) and Chris Williams (“Krazee-Eyez Killah” on Curb Your Enthusiasm) both came out to my show at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, and director Steven Spielberg even bought tickets for himself and his [...]

The photo leading this post is one of my new favorites. It may look small, but you MUST click it to view an amazing panoramic view of the gorgeous St. James room in Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel. It was taken minutes before the doors opened to the public. As you can see, the mahogany walls and soaring window drapery provided the perfect backdrop for a classical magic performance.

Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge brought his whole family to the show, and even [...]

To celebrate Father’s Day, I invited my two children, Alex (age 10) and June (age 5) to perform at the Waldorf in Chamber Magic last night. It was their debut performance, and they did an amazing job! In this post, I’ve added a photo-essay and two videos of their world-premiere.

Sharing the stage with my children was, to me, the best Father’s Day present I could ever imagine.

Teller (of Penn & Teller) was kind enough to write an endorsement of my Waldorf-Astoria show. A few years back, he visited together with Dick Cavett. It was a great night. After the show, we talked extensively about Groucho Marx, Richiardi, and Slydini. Teller expertly performed a Slydini coin vanish, making my silver dollar disappear in the purest fashion.

Here is the full text of the quote that Teller [...]

Yoda visited Chamber Magic at the Waldorf last night.

Andy Nyman, my old friend and a truly wonderful man, brought him along. Of course, Yoda came in the form of his inventor, Frank Oz. He’s also the man behind the Muppets: Cookie Monster, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Bert, and Miss Piggy. After the show, we had drinks together at the Bull & Bear. What a thrill. During our conversation, he grunted in Cookie Monster’s voice for me, but I didn’t ask him to speak like Yoda. It just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.

Frank Oz told me that he once auditioned for [...]

Guest author Mark Levy: “Why did I tell this story? I told it because, well, it’s a damn good story. It’s got an intriguing premise and action that unfolds on the streets of Brooklyn and New York. It’s also got a big city reporter who’s so affected by the experience that he lies awake in anticipation and nearly starts believing in miracles. What could be better?” [...]

According to the National Theater in Washington DC, “The day when everyone dressed formally to go to the theatre has passed.” Despite being a historic theater – one that every U.S. president has attended since 1835 – the National has relaxed its dress code to allow patrons a freer choice. The theater’s website states, “To feel well-groomed, comfortable and good about yourself for a special occasion is really the guiding rule.”

I was upset to read this.

I believe that dressing up to go to the theater is a form of civility that should be resurrected. [...]

The Essential Magic Conference will be held on July 15, 16 and 17, in Portugal. I was asked to participate in one of their “passion videos.” This video just went live today on YouTube.

I have not mentioned this in print before, but since the very beginning my goal has always been to perform Chamber Magic for twenty years. There aren’t too many shows that have staying power. Not only magic shows, but theatrical shows in general. Ten years have flown by, and I want to keep Chamber Magic alive for ten more. Maybe I’m crazy, but I love performing this show. I’ve molded my life around it.[...]

Steve Cohen does not have the marquee name of a David Copperfield, David Blaine or Penn & Teller. What he does have, at 39, is Chamber Magic, five shows a weekend at the plush suite in the Waldorf-Astoria where Crown Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia stays when in town. Mr. Cohen’s specialty is parlor magic, fusing close-up maneuvers and tricks with common objects for small audiences. He models himself after conjurers who entertained the aristocracy in European salons in the 1800s. He does not saw women or make elephants vanish. [...]

NBC television featured a segment this week titled “Meet the Millionaires’ Magician” on their luxury program, LX New York. Have a look.

NBA coach Phil Jackson came to my show last night. After the show was over, we took a couple of photos. I look like a shrimp. Fact is, he is 6 feet 8 inches tall. He has a great sense of humor, and is a cool guy. The next night, Phil Jackson was in the [...]

Well-known magician, author, and all-around bright guy Joshua Jay wrote a lovely review of Chamber Magic on his blog today.

Here is a television interview I did with Mike Schneider on his Night Talk program, on Bloomberg Television.

Back in August 2007, the popular radio host Joan Hamburg did an extensive broadcast about Chamber Magic at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. She and her daughter Liz spoke about the show for about 8 or 9 minutes. I recently figured out how to record and edit an MP3 file, and am delighted to offer this broadcast [...]