MNW #99 :: BIG DADDY COOL

It isn’t often that a Nashville , TN producer chooses to debut a new show in New York City , but that is exactly what producer and performer John B. Pyka has chosen to do. On March 20th he, along with co-writer and director Andy Still will launch The Club Roxy Revue at the Producer’s Club Theater in New York City. What sets the Club Roxy Revue apart is that it is full narrative magic musical that fuses magic and illusion, music, and dance in a story about revenge set in 1940s Chicago. It is an historic show in that it is the first full narrative magic musical to debut in New York since 1982 when Doug Henning starred in the Broadway musical Merlin. The show features award-winning magic and illusion, hit swing music from the mid 20th Century, and high energy dance, and a compelling story set in 1940s Chicago. Big Daddy Cool joins us to talk about his new show as well as to share his ideas on creativity in the presentation of magic.

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BRIAN BRUSHWOOD AT SxSW

MNW #98 :: JEFF MCBRIDE

The Magician of the masks talks about magicians wearing masks! At the forty-first annual Magic Castle & Academy of Magical Arts banquet, Jeff McBride was named "Lecturer of the Year." A good friend of the show and a repeat guest, Jeff joins us on the Spirit of Magic podcast to recap the gala event hosted and produced by previous guest Neil Patrick Harris. In addition, Jeff takes time to discuss magic on television and the conflict between a program showcasing various magic acts and one exposing the secrets of magic.

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SXSW + NAILS + EYEBALLS = BRIAN BRUSHWOOD

Brian Brushwood of Revision 3's Scam School opened for the latest Live Diggnation Event which took place at the SxSWi conference in Austin Texas. Kevin Rose & Alex Albrecht called upon our Bizarre Magic Friend to get the crowd warmed up for the event which was covered in an article from Wired.com, "SXSW: Digg's Party Brings Rude Rock 'n' Roll 'Tude to SXSWi". Coverage included the pic to the left by Jim Merithew, "Magician Brian Brushwood of Revision3's Scam School impresses the crowd with the old 'nail in the eyeball trick' -- stick a nail in one eye socket and pull it out the other" and another subtitled "The Bigg Digg Shindigg crowd shows an unhealthy amount appreciation for magic tricks involving nails and eyeballs."

IN PRAISE OF... MAGICIANS

The passing of Ali Bongo is marked the guardian with an article "In praise of... magicians" which says, Part of the magic of magicians is that they seem to have found the secret of longevity. A skill that goes back thousands of years, almost as old as the oldest profession, has survived against all odds. From the burning of Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft in 1584 - arguably the first book about conjuring - to the coming of television, its demise has often been predicted but never realised. Instead it generated its own TV stars, such as the much-loved Ali Bongo, who died this week having been taken ill while preparing to perform before fellow magicians in Paris, at the age of 79." It also mentions the longevity of Davenports Magic shop which opened in 1898.

MNW #97 :: GAY BLACKSTONE

As the Executive Producer of the television series Masters of Illusion, the wife of renowned performer Harry Blackston Jr. and former President of the Aacademy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle, Gay Blackstone knows her way around the world of magic. Gay joins us on this episode of the "Spirit of Magic" podcast to talk about working wither her famous husband, celebrity magicians such as Orson Welles and Neil Patrick Harris, the challenges that she's faced in putting together a thirteeen episode series for television and about shows that reveal the secrets of our craft.

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SWING MAGIC

Big Daddy Cool, a.k.a John Pyka, and Andy still leave Nashville behind and head to New York City where they will present "The Club Roxy Revue" at the Producer's Club. According to John's press release, the show is a "full narrative magic musical that fuses magic and illusion, music, and dance in a story about revenge set in 1940s Chicago. It is an historic show in that it is the first full narrative magic musical to debut in New York since 1982 when Doug Henning starred in the Broadway musical Merlin. The show features award-winning magic and illusion, hit swing music from the mid 20^th Century, high energy dance, and a compelling story set in 1940s Chicago." The show description from Theater Online, "Prepare to step back in time and relive the magic of the classic supper club floor shows! Set in 1940s Chicago, The Club Roxy Revue tells the story of "Big Daddy Cool" Johnny Dellarocca. When Frankie Palumbo and Trixie Malone try to take over Club Roxy, Big Daddy Cool is forced to use all of his magic and charm to ward off the hostile takeover, but the lighthearted story takes a drastic and dark turn."

WHO'S COOL? MAGICIANS OF COURSE

Rick Lax and our friends from Street of Cards recently attended the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. As the epicenter of magic geekdom for the moment, the guys decided to throw a party, and who better to have on the guest list that some Vegas Showgirls. With that thought in mind, the first "Showgirls and Magicians Ball" was born. The event even got the attention of Las Vegas Weekly which covered the party with an article by Lax. "After a little more music and a lot more cocktails, the Backyard Brawl magic competition commenced. AJ from StreetOfCards.com twisted his arm around 720 degrees; Elliott from Chicago juggled apples; Bizarro pushed a red silk through his palm and magically regurgitated Oreo-cookie filling.The showgirls voted Bizarro Best Performer, and my roommate presented him with an industrial-size tub of neon green hair gel I’d picked up at the dollar store and then wrapped in expensive paper. He hoisted the gelatinous trophy over his head and reveled in the applause.AJ, the guy who usually hosts the Brawls, once described a magic competition to me in this way: “It’s like a Rolling Stones show: Sometimes the guys play for the crowd, and sometimes they play for themselves.”

You can watch Street of Cards TV here at the magic Newswire. Look in the bottom of the right column for the embedded player!

MNW #96 :: WADE LIVE

As we reported earlier today, Federal authorities were investigating claims by New York Magician Wade Whitcomb that he successfully shipped himself from New York State to Las Vegas via the United Parcel Service. Since it was first reported, the FBI & UPS have stated that it was a publicity stunt. According to various national news outlets, the current position of UPS seems to be that they believe Wade Whitcomb’s claim is a hoax. The Transportation Security Administration and the FBI were reported to be investigating Wade’s claim, but have since stated that they do not believe that he was actually in the crate that was shipped. Wade Live joins us on the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" Podcast to tell us what really happened.

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• Magician says he shipped himself from NY to Vegas
• Magician admits to shipping hoax
• For His Next Trick
• Feds Call Magician-As-Cargo Stunt A Hoax
• Magician who claimed he mailed self admits to hoax
• Feds call magician-as-cargo stunt a hoax

INSIDE THE WATER TORTURE

The first video ever from inside The Full View Water Torture Cell as performed by Kristen Johnson. Aside from Kristen, no one has ever seen this Escape from inside the tank... until now! This is the first of four different angles that Living Illusions will be making available. Inside Edition spent the day with Living Illusions last week and will present a feature story on Kristen this week.