For 25 years, Steve Cohen’s Chamber Magic has been a fixture of New York City. He started out in 2000 in a friend’s West Village apartment. When his friend’s wife got tired of him rearranging her living room every week, he moved to the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park for a few months before landing at a suite in the Waldorf Astoria. “I walked in the first day thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is happening! I wonder how long they’ll let me use this beautiful suite!’” Steve told THE EYE. “I ended up staying there for 17 and a half years and did 4,750 shows.”
When the Waldorf closed for renovations in 2017 (renovations, I might add, that are still ongoing), Steve had to find a new home. He found it at Lotte New York Palace, where he performs to this day. While there, he celebrated his 5,000th show—the NYC mayor at the time, Bill de Blasio, recognized the milestone with a proclamation—as well as his 6,000th performance. Over half a million guests have seen Chamber Magic, and on March 28, he will recognize his 25th anniversary of performing with a special event after his regular show at the Lotte. Bombas, a sock company Steve has worked for in the past, is putting out some commemorative footwear for the occasion, and there will be other sponsorships as well, including a 25th-anniversary deck of Tycoon cards from Theory 11. It’s sure to be a great party.
Twenty-five years is a long time, and Steve has witnessed firsthand how NYC’s magic scene has changed. “When I began, there were really only two regular magic shows in New York—it was Monday Night Magic and myself,” he said. “And now there are over a dozen magic shows in New York City that are ongoing, regular shows. I think audiences are more aware of magic as an outing… people have more education about what magic can be, because each of us has a different style, a different sensibility, a different take on what magic can offer an audience. So the public is seeing all different styles, manners, and approaches to magic, and they tend to have a new sense of taste of what’s good.”
Steve added that he’s proud of his role in creating magic in New York, and he isn’t planning on stopping… yet. “When I first began, I thought that a 20-year run in New York City would be ideal, because I was 29 years old at the time, and I thought foolishly that 49 was old,” Steve said, acknowledging that he’s now in his sixth decade. “I plan to go at least another six years, because that would bring me to 60 years old, and maybe at that point I will want to retire.”
