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My Magic - My Way - The Psychic? - Strange and Unusual Hobbies
The Quantum Eye - Monday Night Magic
The Quantum Eye
Eaton Magic Creations, Inc. presents
The Quantum Eye
February 09, 2007 through Friday, August 31, 2007
No secrets are safe from The Quantum Eye
Length: 1 hr 20 mins
Intermission: None
Seating: General Admission: You choose your seats at the theater.
The Quantum Eye - Reviewed by David Christopher
I had the opportunity to see The Quantum Eye presented by Magician and Mentalist Sam Eaton on February 16th, 2007. The first surprise was the location. You would never know that at 130 W.29th Street, you would find a wonderful performance space. There are no indications on the building other than postcards for The Quantum Eye wedged into the call box and taped on the door. Miss Amelia let us into the lobby and called an elevator for us. I asked her about the show and she told me to be prepared to be amazed. The evening was nothing like I had experienced before. If you're looking for entertainment that’s off the beaten path, you'll find it here.
The theater is located on the 10th floor. When I arrived, there was a show in progress. Sam performs at 7pm and 9pm on Saturdays. It was reassuring to hear laughter and applause emanating from inside the theater. After the show, a camera man was interviewing people on their way out. The audience was astounded with the mental gymnastics they had just witnessed. Many said they would recommend the show to their friends.
The doors opened just before 9pm and we were let into a quaint little theater that seats about 60 people. It's an excellent atmosphere for a magic show. A nice stage; very cozy. If I were to imagine an atmosphere that was right for parlor magic, mentalism, or even close up magic... this space was primo.
The music began and the curtains opened, revealing a cute man in a suit with round
frame glasses that seemed to fit his character. He introduced himself, warning the
audience that the depths of our minds were no longer safe! His opening mentalism
effect was very strong. He asked a young lady to think of a number and he began to
scribble numbers on a grid. He mentioned that the number that she was thinking of
was not on the grid. The numbers on the grid were suggestions from the collective
mind of the audience. Here's where he impressed us all: Every row and column added
up to the number the young lady was thinking of!!
Some other memorable moments in the show would be his prediction of a card, where the volunteer had free choice of 52 cards, and the chosen card was found folded and locked into a nest of boxes. Sam also demonstrated a unique talent for memorizing an entire deck of cards (shuffled by the audience) in a matter of 14 seconds.
But this show didn't earn a four star rating...When you have a show purely based on mentalism, as this one pretty much was, the majority of the time you sit there watching a magician think with a perplexed look on his face. So, if you don't have a good pace, the audience can get bored. This show could pick up the pace and still achieve the same effect. The audience also needs to be given breaks. Reading a mind is an awesome feat. But the audience also needs rest and some jokes to make them laugh or something pretty to look at. I saw a wonderful opportunity that wasn't taken, and I was a little heart broken. On the way into the theater, Sam had a little souvenir table set up. One of the souvenirs was a "mentally bent fork" for a couple of bucks! A fork bending routine is a beautiful trick that would give the audience a break from numbers and cards, and its still a form of mentalism. Also, he might sell more forks after the audience sees the effect in the show!
If you would like information on The Quantum Eye to purchase tickets, you'll find the show info on my Events Page.
Monday Night Magic
Monday Night Magic
- Reviewed by David Christopher
Monday Night Magic is truly a wonderful experience, as it has been for 10 solid years, and it’s the longest running off-Broadway magic show in New York. What a perfect venue for a magical evening. Every Monday Night you can see a different show! I had the opportunity to see the amazing performances of David Oliver, Chris McDaniel and Jon Stetson on March 13, 2007. Monday Night Magic schedules different magicians and entertainers for each show.
The venue is in St. Clements Theater at 423 W.46th Street. Again; you’d never know that there was such a wonderful organization behind that little door. There are window boxes outside the theater which are your only indication that you’re in the right spot. The theater is part of a church. The performance space is wonderful with its big stage, curtains, lights, and seating for about 250.
Jamy Ian Swiss was the Master of Ceremonies. His bio in the "MAGICBILL" is an impressive read; as are all of the bios in the program. I could tell he was really excited for the program this evening, and the tricks he performed intermittently throughout the show were very entertaining.
The first performer was David Oliver, who gave us some classic magic. He gave us a beautifully executed dove production routine including the production of two doves at once! He moved on to a lovely Zombie (floating sphere) routine. And to close his section of the evening, he picked up the cage with all five doves inside and vanished everything right before our eyes! He truly revived my interest in Dove Magic!
Next up was Chris McDaniel. I certainly didn’t expect this next delight. Chris is a one-man Wild West Show! His portion of the evening was filled with trick roping, bullwhip artistry and magic. While on the road with the Oklahoma tour I mentioned in "My Story..." I dabbled in roping... and let me tell you, that is a skill! That man was executing wedding rings, around-the-worlds, and Texas skips with amazing ease. His bullwhip demonstration was entertaining, and he closed with a lovely rendition of a song from Will Rogers Follies. The man can sing, too!
During the intermission, Monday Night Magic provided three close-Up magicians. Richard Cohn, Carl Mercurio and Andy Roberts took their places in separate parts of the theater and performed sleight-of-hand and close-Up miracles.
Jon Stetson was the headliner for the evening, and rightly so. I haven’t seen many mentalists perform, but this guy takes the cake. His mentalist effects were top notch and he was really funny. That is so important, too. When you’re a mentalist, you have to have a great personality and a quick wit. It’s no wonder this man is so successful. His performance alone was worth more than the price of admission! He performed a book test with five books! He’s a master of mind games and a "cognitionist".
The evening was wonderful and the great thing is next week is a completely different show. For information, visit Monday Night Magic, or find information and links on my Events Page!
