MAGIC'S A DRAG IN LAS VEGAS

A new magic show is coming to Las Vegas and it's “Magic’s a Drag” starring Cashetta, the Queen of Magic. “Magic’s a Drag” opens Feb. 21st at the Harmon Theater. According to the press release, "Cashetta gives magic a fabulous makeover as one of the only female impersonator magicians in the world. Her act includes cards that disappear and reappear in unlikely places and a gypsy rope illusion that rivals Harry Houdini’s famous escapes — with a twist. She even teaches an audience member, dressed in drag, to perform an illusion. And just wait to see what she does with a five-foot balloon." “Magic’s a Drag” replaces the highly successful “Lucky Cheng’s Dinner Caberet,” which ends its three-year engagement at the Harmon Theater on Feb. 14.

COPPERFIELD'S PARANORMAL POWERS?

Maybe something was lost in translation, but I came across a curious reference to David Copperfield and his "claims of paranormal powers" in an article from the online version of AllAfrica.com. The piece talks about everything from "Goatmen," Third Eyes and occcult practices before saying of Copperfield, "Critical inquiry could also affirm the existence of certain paranormal practices as the case of David Seth Kotkin, a Jewish American magician and illusionist, better known as David Copperfield, illustrates. David Copperfield's claims to magical powers had been subjected to rigorous scrutiny over the years. He was not only the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians but his proven illusions include walking through the Great Wall of China, making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, and levitating over the Grand Canyon. Not only did he provide entertainment he also used his magical powers to good effect, when in 1982, he founded Project Magic, a rehabilitation programme aimed at using magical powers to help disabled patients regain lost or damaged dexterity skills. The programme has been accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association, and is reportedly in use in over over 1100 hospitals in some 30 countries worldwide. Essentially the magic of David Copperfield is tested and proven and some public good have indeed come out of it."

MAGICIANS AT DOWNING STREET

Attendees at a benefit for ‘Every Disabled Child Matters’ at 10 Downing Street were entertained by Magicians co.uk performers including James Freedman who managed to lift the wallet of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in spite of a heavy police presence. READ MORE

TRUE ASTONISHMENTS CONTINUES TO ASTOUND

If you're just coming out of a cave that you've been hiding in for the last year or so, you might not have heard of the much anticipated Paul Harris project "True Astonishments." The stunning 9 DVD set just arrived on my doorstep... and... well... WOW! Here's the trailer to give you just a taste of what you have to look forward to :

MNW #90 :: MARK WILSON

Widely credited as the man who was the first magician to mainstream magic on television, Mr. Mark Wilson is our guest on ths edition of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast. This is the first of a multi-part interview that we'll be producing with Mark's help exploring his career, thoughts, ideas an philosophies as they relate to magic, both on television and on stage.

LISTEN TO MY CONVERSATION WITH MARK WILSON:
OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN: GET IT AT ITUNES :: MP3 DOWNLOAD HTML 5 PLAYER ::

MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT KRISTEN BELL

Kristen Bell is taking her role as a magician's seriously these days. The actress, currently working on the film "When in Rome," recently made an appearance on the Craig Ferguson show where the host (assisted by Margarite - aka Ed Alonzo) "sawed her in half " after an introduction by Neil Patrick Harris. Afterward, she told Ferguson, "A magician can never tell his tricks, and now I'm a magician, so I can't talk about this anymore." The film "When in Rome" The film tells the story of an ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, who takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a “foolish” fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of an odd group of suitors: a sausage magnate (DannyDevito), a street magician (Jon Heder), an adoring painter (Will Arnett) and a self-admiring model (Dax Shepard). WATCH BELL PERFORM ON THE LATE LATE SHOW:

WATCH MASTERS OF ILLUSION ONLINE

The MyNetwork Television series "Masters of Illusion" can now be viewed online in its' entirety. CLICK HERE for episodes 1-4 and a few excerpt videos. Watch this video clip of Jeff McBride from the show:

SPENCERS DAZZLE AUDIENCE

The Spencers' recent performance in Virginia left quite an impression upon the 900 audience members in attendance. According to the Martinsville Bulletin, the audience " squirmed in their seats, hands raised, as they vied to become on-stage volunteers for the pair’s magic show. Whether or not they were chosen as magicians’ assistants, all of the audience members seemed to gasp and applaud at the tricks and illusions Kevin Spencer and his wife, Cindy, performed."

LANCE BURTON & NEIL PATRICK HARRIS ON LATE NIGHT WITH CRAIG FERGUSON

Neil Patrick Harris introduces Lance Burton on the first night of Crag Ferguson's Magic Week. Good stuff!  PART 2 WITH LANCE BURTON: NEIL PATRICK HARRIS TALKS MAGIC:

PRESTO DIRECTOR TALKS ABOUT CONCEPT

Academy Award Nominated Animated Feature Presto's Director Doug Sweetland (Pictured Right) revealed the original story concept in an interview with ComingSoon.net and we thought our readers would be interested to learn how much the story changed from its' inception. According to Sweetland, "I came up with a pitch, I was gearing it towards, you know, Pixar's tastes by having it be kind of like more buddy-oriented and having two sympathetic characters. So the magician actually was a really nice guy in the original pitch, as was the bunny rabbit. He was a total innocent. He was just this rabbit off the street who wanted an autograph and this magician just had his rabbit dump him, so he incorporates this rabbit off the street into the act. It was actually like two likeable guys, and that's kind of actually the story that Pixar greenlit."