High 5 Freelancer Lienne Harrington takes a moment to reflect on the unexpected experience of enjoying…a MAGIC SHOW! Also interested in having your mind blown with unexpected performances and art in NYC? Think about joining the High 5 Freelancers Corps. 

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Last October as I nonchalantly scrolled through the High Five list of shows that I could go to, I found a couple of interesting things. I could have gone to see the NY Philharmonic, or the NYC Ballet, but as my eyes panned the screen they happened upon the loud face of Dan Sperry.  Who is Dan Sperry I asked myself and why is he wearing more makeup and hair gel than I have ever seen on one person at a time?  The broken mirror that made up the background of the advertisement grabbed my attention. However startling this advertisement was, it accomplished its goal. I was intrigued. “Click for Tix” transported me to the page which gave a brief synopsis of the show and then dates available for the tickets. It was “a magic show like no other,” “creepy and adult.” The last time I saw a magic show, my 5th grade friend had a magician at her birthday party. This magic show consisted of the cliché rabbit being pulled out of the hat, handkerchief disappearing and a myriad of known amusing card tricks. As a child I had always been interested in magic but not to the point of wanting to learn or see multiple shows. This Dan Sperry page sparked the nostalgia of magic and its allusions. I assumed that this would be an interesting and original variation of the classics.

When I arrived at Times Scare to claim my tickets, it was 9:30 and very cold. The very tall and gothic doors were being watched by a short older man with a white comb-over best described as someone from a haunted house. I then knew that this would be a one of a kind experience. I entered the venue climbing the long dark stairs, which led to a waiting room for the show. This room contributed to the already present feeling of Gothic design and Halloween-esque furnishings. Candelabras, dim purple, blue, and red lighting softly lit the dark room furnished with circular couches and a bar.  When the clock struck ten the doors opened. The theater was fairly big and yet still small enough to be considered an intimate setting. As the show came to an end and the last illusion brought to a close, I was utterly dumbfounded and shocked.

It was nothing like what I had expected. It was provocative, mind-blowing, and outwardly furtive. There was no “variation of the original.” Dan Sperry had come up with completely new (new to me) “tricks” that played with the audiences’ minds. It was chilling and left me with goose bumps upon the closure of the show. It is not every day that someone experiences an “in-person” demonstration of a “human voodoo doll,” mindreading, or audience members actively participating in numerous demonstrations; all with the background of music that started off sweet, but became creepy and haunting.  Dan Sperry has truly created a one of a kind show that does not leave the audiences’ attention unattended for one second.