Steve Cohen: Chamber Magic Interview

Steve Cohen and Adam Rothenberg, at "Chamber Magic" at The Waldorf-Astoria, Photo Credit: Doug MarinoAs a Member of London's Magic Circle, Steve Cohen is a magician who will leave you wide-eyed and thinking long after the show has ended, "How did he do that?" From magic tricks to mind reading, Steve is the host of the very entertaining and mind blowing magic show Chamber Magic every Friday and Saturday at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Click here to get your tickets!

For more on Steve and Chamber Magic be sure to visit http://www.chambermagic.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter!

1. Who or what inspired you to become a magician? My uncle inspired me. He was an amateur magician. He was born in 1901 and saw Houdini perform live here in New York. My uncle interacted with the magicians in the Society of American Magicians, an organization Houdini founded. He specialized in what were called "pocket tricks." "Pocket tricks" is an old fashioned term describing tricks you can perform out of your pocket. If you walk into a party and don’t have anything to work with, you can take an object out of your pocket, show it to people, and then put it back in. Today we call that close-up magic. To my mind, close-up magic is the most direct form of magic because it's interactive. When my uncle performed it for us, he was very engaging, a very funny guy. Over the years, what stayed with me, even more than his tricks, was his ability to engage an audience. I've tried to keep that ability alive in my show too.

Me: I was going to say I noticed that. Your show is about the magic, but the way you interact with the audience, to make them feel a part of it, really adds so much to the show.

Steve: Thanks. The type of performance I do here is not actually close-up magic, but parlor magic. Parlor magic is a cross between close-up magic and a stage show. In tonight’s audience, we had 55 people and everyone had a good seat. You were in the third row and you could see everything. I think there is something to be said for watching miracles up close. The audience is able to participate in the tricks and be amazed, which is the aspect of magic I enjoy most. 

2. You have been performing Chamber Magic at the Waldorf Astoria for more than 13 years. Why did you decide to base your show on parlor magic as opposed to a different style? I was inspired by a famous magician from the late 1800’s, Johann Hofzinser, who presented a show in a salon in Austria for many years. He was the top society entertainer of Vienna. In that age, there was a whole culture of salons where people would gather to drink coffee, debate about politics, and talk about the news of the day. So having a magic salon was not unheard of. I have done a lot of research about Hofzinser's salon. I like to work with people in an intelligent way, so my goal was to re-create these salon shows in New York, a city with its own modern day royalty. I thought it would be interesting and fun to perform for business leaders and high society here.

Steve Cohen and Adam Rothenberg, "Think A Drink" at "Chamber Magic" at the Waldorf-Astoria, Photo Credit: Doug Marino3. How did you decide to make the Waldorf Astoria Chamber Magic's home? I began the show at my friend's apartment down in the West Village. Then I started doing the show at the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, where, as a member, I was allowed to use their front parlor, a beautiful mahogany room with a fireplace and Tiffany glass chandelier. I did the show there for about three months and I was starting to get some momentum, but the club, like many private clubs in New York, shut down for the summer.

At that time, I met my manager, who had connections here at the Waldorf; she introduced me to some of the executives here and convinced them to give me a try. That was 13 years ago. Since then, I've performed the show more than 3,000 times for more than 275,000 guests! The show is self-produced and promoted entirely by word-of-mouth.

4. How do you feel Chamber Magic has grown over the past 13 years and what do you enjoy most about performing the show? The show has really changed a lot. The signature pieces have stayed in the show, like the "Think-A-Drink" teapot routine and the "Linking Rings." The part of show I enjoy most is getting immediate feedback because in most jobs, you don't get such a quick response. In this type of performance, because there is such intimate interplay with the audience, I can tell how the show is going. What pleases me the most is knowing that the audience is enjoying the show.

5. You've taken this show around the country as well. Yes, I've traveled around the world with this show. That enabled me to reach further than New York and perform for audiences that, hopefully, would tell their friends and family about the show at the Waldorf Astoria. I enjoy seeing different cities but it's not easy to travel with this show, so I prefer to perform it here in New York, which is already a destination for theater.

Since the beginning, I established a "cocktail attire" dress code for Chamber Magic. This means the audience starts getting ready for the show when they’re still at home. The anticipation builds from the moment they start getting dressed up until the show starts.

Me: That is very true. When I was getting ready for the show, I was very excited. I never really get dressed up like this to see a show, so it's very different and it started the excitement at home and then when I got here and saw everyone else dressed up, it added to the excitement. It's nice to see that everyone does it. I think having everyone get dressed up makes it a real event, so that when they go home they tell everyone about this big event they attended.

6. You are a member of the Inner Magic Circle. What exactly dos that mean? The Magic Circle is probably the most prestigious magician’s organization in the world. Based in London, they have various ranks. Once you join the club as a regular or general member, you can move up in those ranks. The highest level, which I have attained, is Member of the Inner Magic Circle (MIMC) with Gold Star. It was a real honor for me to become a member of the Inner Magic Circle and be acknowledged by my peers.

Steve Cohen, Photo Credit: Clay Patrick McBride

7. What have you learned about yourself from being a magician? I've learned to be very resourceful. As a magician, you always have to be thinking many steps ahead of the audience, which sometimes means planning years in advance for a single moment. I've learned that I'm willing to practice months for a three-second technique or a year for a single trick that might take 15 seconds. When the audience eventually sees that trick, they have no chance, because they don't know how much went into preparing for that one brief moment.

8. What's the best advice you've ever received? It was an African proverb, "Don't push the river, it flows by itself." There were certain things in my career that I wanted to happen really fast, like my show taking off. I felt I had a great show and I thought everyone should know about it and it just didn't happen, so I had to think in real time. This African proverb really grounded me. I just said to myself, "If you just take your time, pay your dues, and do what you do best, people are going to eventually recognize you, so just let it happen in real time and let the river flow."

Woody Allen and Steve Cohen, Photo courtesy of ChamberMagic.com9. What's it like performing for celebrities? If you could perform magic for a celebrity of your choice, who would it be? I enjoy having well-known figures in the audience because it's a lot of fun to see them and I love chatting with them afterward. It's very flattering when they choose to come to my show out of all the things they could do in New York City.

To answer your question--ever since I was a boy, I've always wanted to perform for the President of the United States in the White House. I hope I'll get invited to perform there while the present administration is in power.

10. If you could have any super power, which one would you choose? Aside from the ones I already have? [laughs]. I would like the ability to figure out the teenage mind. I have a teenage son and I have no idea what he's thinking. I would love to be able to read his mind. I can read people's minds in this show, but at home it's a different story. 

Steve Cohen, Photo Credit: Clay Patrick McBrideMore on Steve:

Steve Cohen is the Millionaires' Magician. He performs internationally for celebrities, tycoons and aristocrats. When he is not traveling, Steve can be found at New York’s famous Waldorf Astoria hotel performing his public show, Chamber Magic. Steve recreates the intimacy of 19th century parlor performances by baffling his guests in the close quarters of a private suite. He is the author of the book: Win The Crowd (HarperCollins), and star of the two-hour speical Lost Magic Decoded on the History Channel.

Steve has received widespread media recognition, including: The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, Martha Stewart Living, The History Channel, Forbes Magazine, The Financial Times, The London Sunday Times and The New York Times.

Steve earned a degree in psychology from Cornell University and spent a year abroad studying at Waseda University in Tokyo. He has native-level proficiency in Japanese, and previously worked as an interpreter for the Japanese government. He holds the esteemed rank of MIMC (Member of the Inner Magic Circle) with Gold Star, awarded by The Magic Circle in London.

Lucie Arnaz: Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts Interview

The daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Lucie Arnaz has had an extremely diversified career spanning over 45 years in show business. She made her Broadway debut as "Sonia Wolsk" in Neil Simon-Marvin Hamlisch-Carole Bayer Sager-musical They're Playing Our Song for which she won the Theatre World, LA Drama Critics and Outer Critic's Circle Awards and has gone onto star in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows as well as dazzling audiences in both film and television.

Now Lucie is continuing on with her recording career as she comes to Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8pm with her show "An Evening with Lucie Arnaz" where concert goers can hear new arrangements of favorite standards by Gershwin, Ellington, and Porter, as well as Latin tunes made famous by her father and showstoppers from her Broadway career. Showtime is 8pm. Click here for tickets!

For more on Lucie be sure to visit http://www.luciearnaz.com and follow her on Facebook!

1. Who or what inspired you to become a performer? Not ever going to be sure of that. One would have to guess though, right? My folks were in the biz and I saw that they loved what they did for a living. If they sold fruit and loved it, I might be a produce manager now.

2. Who haven't you worked with that you would like to? The list is very long. And most have died. But, for the living, we can start with Ron Howard, Steven Soderberg, George Clooney, Kathleen Marshall, Hugh Grant...........and on and on.

3. You are going to be performing at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on May 18. What excites you about this upcoming concert? I rarely get a chance to perform my shows close to home and my friends are always asking when they can see me. Now they will have no excuse!!

4. What do you hope audiences come away with after seeing your concert, "An Evening with Lucie Arnaz"? A happier outlook on their lives.

5. With a wide range of material to choose from, how did you decide which material you wanted to perform for this concert? Each show is a bit different from the last. I look at the audience I will be playing for (demographics sometimes matter- often they don't), the money matters only in the size of the band I can provide and the size of the band then decides which of my 200+ charts I will do. Some songs work well with a small band and other arrangements really need the full complement. This is going to be the trio show and so it's a cozier feel. The material is always drawn from the same well, though. GREAT SONGS. Or, at least, what I believe is a great song- fairly new or a vintage standard. Stick with the best songwriters and great stories and you cannot go wrong. Plus, I am an "arrangement whore." A good arrangement of a song can send it into a whole new stratosphere.

6. Your latest album Latin Roots, is a celebration of your Latin heritage. What made now the right time to put this CD together? I had been asked to produce an evening celebrating the music of my father and his Desi Arnaz Orchestra for the 40th Anniversary of Lyrics and Lyricists Series at The 92nd Street Y in NYC. My musical director and I had been discussing the idea of a "Latin Roots" CD for years as we do so much of this music in our shows. It seemed criminal not to have that kind of a CD available for sale in the lobby if we were going to produce this big evening tributing my roots. SO, we produced both at the same time!!!

7. What is your favorite part of the creative process in putting an album together? The first time I hear the charts played by the full orchestra is pretty fabulous. When you get the head phones on in the booth and start signing to those amazing tracks. And hearing the completed, mixed CD for the first time is bliss.

8. You starred in one of my favorite Broadway shows They're Playing Our Song. Looking back, what was the best part about starring in this show?  That's an almost impossible question to answer. There was so much good about that experience. Working with and learning from the genius that is Neil Simon. Working with and learning from the genius that was Marvin Hamlisch. Laughing harder than I can remember at Robert Klein's humor. Being directed by Robert Moore. Watch Carole Bayer Sager create. I am a lyricist, too, and that was a dream come true for me right there. Being a star in a hit Broadway show. That's like being Cinderella at the ball every night. NOT being nominated for a TONY. There was more love and compassion sent my way because of that than if I had WON. And, best of all, I met my husband Larry Luckinbill, during the run of that show and we have been married 32 years now and he gave me three beautiful children and two delightful stepsons.

9. What do you get from your theatrical ventures that you do not get from your music or television/film work? A sense that, after working very hard and giving it my all during rehearsal, that I did it all by my self once the curtain goes up. There is great pride in that. It's a big wire act that thrills me to no end. It is also a huge amount of work to DO eight shows a week for an extended period, to keep showing up every night and giving 100%. That is something to be very proud of. 

10. You were the executive producer of two specials about your parents Lucy and Desi, the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special and Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie. What was it like going back through all the pictures and footage for these specials? I directed Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie, too, and in both cases, it was a very healing experience. I encourage everyone to try it, whether they have famous parents or not. Walk a mile in their shoes and see what choices you might have made if you had been in their place at the same time. It's a very forgiving experience.

Lucy Arnaz, Desi Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr, Lucie Arnaz, Photo from www.luciearnaz.com11. What do you miss most about your parents? Boy, you ask the big questions, don't ya? I feel like I should have a book deal and a big advance at this point for these answers!!!!! I miss now what I missed when they were both alive. I miss them being there.

12. What is like to be the daughter of two people who made such a big impact on the world of entertainment? A gift. A bonus. A pain in the ass.  A huge responsibility. A challenge. An inspiration. A reason to search for the real truth in life. SO, ultimately, a blessing.

13. What have you learned about yourself from being a performer? That I can be a light in this world.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

14. What's the best advice you've ever received? 

From my father: "There must be a way."

 From my mother: "Be good to Lucie." 

 From Unity: That we are all ONE and the power of God is within ME.

15. If you could have any super power, which one would you choose? I have not got a clue. Can I see the list of super powers? Is there a power to bring peace to all nations? If so, that would be my choice.

More on Lucie:

Lucie Arnaz's other New York stage credits include Lost in Yonkers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Grace and Glorie; in the London premiere of The Witches Of Eastwick; in the Coconut Grove Playhouse premieres of Once Removed and A Picasso; in national tours of Seesaw, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Social Security and My One And Only (Sarah Siddons Award); and in regional theatre productions of Wonderful Town, Master Class, Cabaret, The Guardsman, Annie Get Your Gun, I Do! I Do!, Educating Rita, Vanities, and Mack And Mabel.

She has appeared on television in The Lucie Arnaz Show, Sons And Daughters, The Black Dahlia, The Mating Season, Who Gets The Friends?, Washington Mistress, Death Scream and six seasons of Here's Lucy; on the big screen with Neil Diamond and Sir Laurence Oliver in The Jazz Singer (Golden Globe Nomination), Down To You, Second Thoughts, Billy Jack Goes To Washington, The Pack, Wild Seven and has lent her voice to the new animated fantasy about the NY Yankees, Henry And Me.

Lucie has performed the opening number on the Academy Awards (1981) and at The White House several times. She was Executive Producer of the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special (Emmy nomination), and Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie (Emmy winner 1993). She recorded her first album for Concord Jazz, "Just In Time," and her newest CD, "Latin Roots," is a celebration of just what the title says. Lucie has been traveling the country and the world with her various concerts for over 20 years. With her brother, Desi, she manages Desilu, too, LLC. With her husband, actor Laurence Luckinbill, she manages five grown children.

Max Crumm: F#%king Up Everything Interview

Adam Rothenberg and Max CrummIn my sixth video interview, "Call Me Adam" sat down with Grease: You're The One That I Want winner, Max Crumm to talk about starring in the new Off-Broadway musical F#%king Up Everything which plays at the Elektra Theatre in NYC (669 8th Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Street). Click here for tickets!

Charles Eliasch: Carnegie Hall Debut Interview

Adam Rothenberg and Charles EliaschIn my fifth video interview, "Call Me Adam" sat down with rising opera singer Charles Eliasch to talk about making his Carnegie Hall debut on Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 2pm. We also talked about working with his mom, Amanda Eliasch, life lessons, favorite hang-outs, superpowers, and were treated to a very special sneak-peak performance of "Ma rendi pur contento" by Vincenzo Bellini.

For more on Charles be sure to visit http://charleseliasch.blogspot.com.

Call Me Adam gets interviewed by Benjamin Simpson of Raving Octopodes

Adam Rothenberg and Benjamin SimpsonRecently I was interviewed by, Benjamin Simpson of Raving Octopodes, a new blog on the rise covering theater, life, and adventures in New York City. We had a really great time together and Benjamin asked me some questions I've never been asked, which was a lot fun. Come take a listen and find out more about my beginnings, my creative juices,  and where "Call Me Adam" is headed!

http://ravingoctopodes.com/2013/03/23/raving-interviews-call-me-adam/

Click here for the direct link to audio interview