MASTERS OF ILLUSION Star Jason Bishop Brings STRAIGHT UP MAGIC to New Victory Theater Tonight

Jason Bishop, award-winning illusionist and one of the stars of CW's Masters of Illusion, debuts Straight Up Magic at The New Victory Theater from tonight, November 18, through November 27, 2016. Combining multiple styles of magic in one thrilling performance, Bishop will also premiere a brand new illusion created specifically for the New Victory stage.

In Straight Up Magic, Bishop infuses old school tricks with new school stagecraft in a virtuosic performance of skill. Whether he's making a live goldfish come out of an iPod Touch, or levitating his assistant and then soaring up to retrieve her, Bishop moves easily from one captivating vignette to the next. From stunning sleight-of-hand and close-up magic to dazzling, full-stage illusions, he will perform more than a dozen acts in 90 minutes. The only magician to tour the rare "Double Levitation," Bishop specializes in rare illusions, such as "Plasma Screen," "Walking through a Brick Wall" and the "Cage Levitation," among others.

For his World Premiere at The New Victory, Bishop will debut "Speed of Light," an exciting and exclusive teleportation illusion he developed in collaboration with designer Jim Steinmeyer (Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast) and fabricator William Kennedy (Mary Poppins, Into the Woods), who has worked with famed magicians David Copperfield, Criss Angel and the late Doug Henning, among others.

The company is comprised of Bishop, his assistant Kim Hess and canine companion Gizmo. Bishop is the youngest person to win the Magician's Alliance of Eastern States Stage Award, and one of the youngest individuals to compete in The Society of American Magicians national competition. Bishop has performed at the world-famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles and was the official illusionist for Live Nation's Bamboozle Festival. His television credits include Cabaret Du Monde in Paris and Masters of Illusion on the CW network, among others. In 2007, he was awarded the industry's prestigious Jack Gwynne Award for Excellence in Presentation. The company performs an average of 150 shows a year, and has traveled to all of the lower 48 states, as well as 30 countries on six continents.

Learn more about Straight Up Magic on the New Victory website.

Straight Up Magic has a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes, including one intermission, and is recommended for everyone ages 6 and up. Tickets for Straight Up Magic at The New Victory Theater (209 West 42nd Street) are $10, $13, $18 or $25 for Members based on seat locations, with full price tickets starting at $16. Tickets are available online (NewVictory.org) and by telephone (646.223.3010). The New Victory Theater box office (209 West 42nd Street) is open Sunday-Monday from 11am-5pm and Tuesday through Saturday from 12pm-7pm.

Theatergoers who buy tickets for three or more New Victory shows qualify for free Membership benefits, including locked-in discount ticket prices, free unlimited exchanges (up to 48 hours in advance) and access to a first-look purchase period for newly added performances.

The New Victory Theater brings kids to the arts and the arts to kids as New York City's premier theater devoted to the highest quality performing arts for kids and families. Serving the city in all its diversity, The New Victory Theater on 42nd Street presents theater, dance, circus, opera and music from around the world at affordable ticket prices. In addition to its public performances, the New Vic is also the largest provider of live performance to NYC school kids, serving 40,000 students in grades PreK-12 from more than 200 schools, after school programs and day camps each year. The New Victory Theater's contributions to the cultural landscape of the city have been honored by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, a national Arts Education Award from Americans for the Arts and a Drama Desk Award for "providing enchanting, sophisticated children's theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people."

Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent nonprofit organization charged with the continuous cultural revival of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Committed to the transformational power of the arts, The New 42nd Street builds on the foundation of seven historic theaters to make extraordinary performing arts and cultural engagement part of everyone's life. The New 42nd Street fulfills this purpose by ensuring the ongoing vibrancy of 42nd Street's historic theaters; maintaining and fully using the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street to support performing artists in the creation of their work; and through The New Victory Theater, New York's premier theater for kids and families.

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