The question I get most after a show is where else you can see great magic in New York. So here is my honest working-magician's answer. Yes, a magician recommending magic shows is a little suspicious, and yes, my own show is first on the list. I promise the other ten are the ones I actually send my friends to.
I keep this list current. Rooms open, runs end, and prices move, so I update it as the city changes. Always check the show's own site before you buy.
The obviously biased entry
Let us get the conflict of interest out of the way up front.
An evening of close-up magic and mentalism in a room small enough that you can watch my hands the whole time and still not catch it. I built the show for people who think they know how this works. It is the one I can vouch for completely, mostly because I am standing in it.
The real list
Ten rooms in New York doing genuinely good work, with the details you need to plan a night.
The most elegant room in the city, and the one I send people to when they want to feel like they stepped into another century. Formal attire is required and it absolutely adds to the night.
Slick, intimate, and genuinely hard to get into. Day-of tickets drop at 10am and vanish in seconds, so set an alarm and be ready to click.
Table-hopping close-up magic where the performers come to you. Sit close, order a drink, and let the rotation do its work.
The longest running off-Broadway magic show in the city and a great sampler of styles in one sitting. Insider tip, TKTS and Playbill discounts often apply.
Inside Tannen's, the legendary magic shop. Only about twenty seats, which means there is no back row and nowhere for the magic to hide.
Warm, funny mentalism in a room with real history. Gary is very good at making a crowd of strangers feel like one table.
Tucked behind the Art of Play shop, and one of the best reasons to cross the bridge for a night of magic. Wednesday through Saturday.
BYOB and pleasantly underground. If you want the version of New York magic that feels like a secret, start here.
A monthly night with wine in hand and a loose, generous room. Easy to bring people who think they do not like magic.
Classic parlor magic in an artists' club that looks like a film set. Cocktail attire, and worth dressing for.
Or bring the magic to you
If you are not looking for a ticket but for a night of your own, that is the other half of what I do.