Dreaming of a Dan White Christmas: The Magician at the Nomad Hotel

An intriguing invitation

Theory11's Nomad Magician Deck

Imagine, after receiving a mysterious invitation, that you are walking down New York's Fifth Avenue, festooned with holiday decorations, on a brisk December evening.  You step out of the night air into the vestibule of a luxurious hotel, the kind featured in film noir detective movies.  You're greeted -- in a sense -- by a barefoot, pretty young woman in a diaphanous white dress.  She doesn't speak, but moves, as though in a trance, handing you a few playing cards and gesturing toward a lushly carpeted stairway.  More cards litter the stairs, and the hallway above, leading you,  like a trail of breadcrumbs, into a Victorian-era parlor decorated with posters from the golden age of magic.  After a few minutes, a mysterious old man enters, moving slowly onto the stage.  After he types a short letter, he places it into a battered chest,  which he hangs from the ceiling.

And the show hasn't even started yet.

Welcome to The Magician, one of New York's hottest shows.  Tickets to the event literally sell out in seconds after being posted on the web.  (The only reason I got so see it is that my wife endeavored for months to get tickets -- they were an amazing Christmas present!)

The star at the center of this mysterious universe is Dan White, an eminently likable and remarkably talented performer.   Though he performs in a 19th-Century setting, lit with Edison bulbs, he's as 21st Century as they come - a cool, funny, hip, irrestistable young performer.  During the course of the show, Mr. White proves himself to be a powerful mentalist, an adept cardician and an admirable illusionist.  This seemingly intimate show -- set in a parlor-style setting with a small audience -- packs an oversized punch.  During the proceedings, Mr. White literally read my mind, correctly divining a personal fact about me that he could not have learned by any ordinary means.  Indeed, his method -- about which I can only speculate -- appears to have been so extraordinary as to recall the legendary effects of the great Max Malini, who went to unimaginable lengths to work miracles.

Dan White (center) together with your
 reporter and Linda, who got the tickets!

So what does Mr. White offer during The Magician?  Well, dear readers, that is where my story ends. I will not reveal the marvels that await those lucky enough to get tickets, as it would be akin to spoiling the ending of an intricate murder mystery.   Because what Dan White performs during this show is, by and large, like nothing you have ever seen.  There are moments when it seems like he's employing  a traditional bit of magic -- like, say a Bank Night routine or a Himber Ring -- but then this fine performer twists it into something so very marvelous that it defies every expectation.

And through it all, he remains so affable that he holds the audience firmly in his grasp.  There's none of the smarmy "I'm smarter than you" approach to magic that has plagued our art for generations.  If you want to get a feel for his style, take a peek at this video of Dan White working with Jimmy Fallon:

This is fun, fresh, different and utterly mind-blowing.  If you're in New York, just go.

Courtesy Kardify.com

And now to the cards!  There's a whole deck of them, produced by Theory11 specifically for the show, and available at the theater and online here.  The folks at Theory11 poured their considerable artistic vision and skill into this pack.  It may be the most sumptuous deck of cards you'll ever hold.  In the photos, you can see the unbelievable tuck box, a custom Ace, the intricate back design and the marvelous Joker.  Try to get your hands on a deck before they're gone.

Stage magic has experienced a kind of renaissance in the past few years.  A wave of offerings by a group of rising stars, such as Mr. White, Derek DelGaudio, Helder Guimaraes, Harrison Greenbaum and Derren Brown have injected energy, intelligence and originality into magic, revitalizing it as an art form in the digital age.   With performers like these out there, we can expect even more amazing things to come.