Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
LIBERTY MAGIC’S SUMMER LINEUP
Wednesday-Sunday | May 15 - September 8, 2019 | Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA – Eric Jones and Lee Terbosic have wowed sold-out crowds night after night in the intimate venue, and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to announce the 2019 Summer Lineup at Liberty Magic. Since opening in February of 2019, Liberty Magic has been ‘elevating the art of magic’ in a newly-renovated theater space on Liberty Avenue. The speakeasy-type venue is BYOB, and has performances every Wednesday through Sunday.
After Lee Terbosic’s In Plain Sleight show wraps in mid-May, London-based magician, Billy Kidd, takes the Liberty Magic stage with her newest close-up magic show, Bridging the Gap. Billy, who has appeared in many magic-based television programs such as Discovery Channel’s Breaking Magic and Syfy’s Wizard Wars, is regarded as one of the preeminent sleight of hand and close-up magicians. Following Billy in late June, Mark Toland brings his unbelievable mentalist abilities, which have earned him recognition around the world, to Pittsburgh with his show Mind Reader. Eric Jones returns in August by popular demand, with an encore of his hit show Impossible.
“In programming the summer at Liberty Magic, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust aimed to line up magicians that would uphold the high bar set by Eric Jones and Lee Terbosic at the opening of the venue, while simultaneously expanding the types of magic we present,” says Scott Shiller, Producer of Liberty Magic and Vice President of Artistic Planning for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “They are the best of the best, and we are particularly excited to add Billy’s internationally-infused magic and Mark’s unbelievable mentalism to the Liberty Magic repertoire.”
FEATURED EVENTS
Billy Kidd in Bridging the Gap
May 15 – June 23, 2019 | Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue
BILLY KIDD Assets
You may know Billy Kidd as the host of Discovery Channel’s Breaking Magic, Syfy's Wizard Wars, Penn & Teller's Fool Us, or maybe as a regular on the CW's Masters of Illusion. Based outside of London, she has entertained thousands of people across five continents. Billy is the founder of Krowd Keepers, Bath, England's very own weekly magic theatre, which has rated the number one entertainment venue for four years running. Billy is regarded as one of the preeminent sleight of hand and close-up magicians today.
In her newest close-up presentation Bridging the Gap, Billy brings a sophisticated and modern take on traditional magic which will make you laugh, mystify you, and leave you astonished. Bridging the Gap is full of surprises, so don't blink! Billy, a trained escapologist, performs feats that nobody should try at home. Huge objects appear from nowhere, and small objects vanish right before your eyes. Audience participation and interaction make this international spectacle fun, exciting, and completely perplexing.
Mark Toland in Mind Reader
June 26 – August 4, 2019 | Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue
MARK TOLAND Assets
Mark Toland knows what you're thinking. He can tell your birthday, where you grew up, and what you did last summer. To him, your mind is an open book. Mark has appeared everywhere from NBC to NPR to his own TED Talk. And now, you can find out why The Chicago Tribune says "Mark Toland is mind blowing!" and why countless audiences from Orlando to San Diego have recognized him as ‘one of the best mentalists in the world.’ In his latest mental masterpiece, Mind Reader, the audience is the cast, their thoughts are his props, and their minds are his stage. Over the course of 75 minutes, Mark dazzles with psychological illusions and mysteries of the mind.
An artist-in-residence at the esteemed Chicago Magic Lounge, the Chicago Reader has repeatedly voted Mind Reader a prestigious "Best Bet!” Don't miss the show that the Portland Fringe Festival calls "clearly created with the skeptic in mind. It’s full of laugh-out-loud moments and countless surprises.” Mind Reader is ‘a celebration of mystery that deserves to be experienced firsthand.’
Eric Jones in Impossible
August 7 – September 8, 2019 | Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue
ERIC JONES Assets
He’s BACK! After making every single ticket disappear during his sold-out, six-week run in the spring, Eric Jones returns to Liberty Magic for an encore performance of Impossible.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls Eric “Astonishing” and Pittsburgh City Paper hails him as “Undeniably impressive, impossible to understand" and "an entertaining mind warp.”
Impossible will leave audiences in wonder as reality transforms into the unreal, coins multiply, and cards fly. By the show's conclusion, guests will be left in amazement by Jones' canny ability to blur the lines between reality and illusion.
Tickets start at $40
Skeleton Key VIP Experience
The first two rows of the theater are reserved for the truly adventurous. The Skeleton Key VIP Experience unlocks these first two rows in our intimate theater, as well as a chance to become part of the performance (if you wish) and an exclusive meet and greet with the artist after the show, which includes private, close-up tricks. Members of the Skeleton Key VIP Experience can also purchase merchandise not for sale to the general public.
To purchase tickets:
- Visit TrustArts.org/Magic
- Call 412-456-6666
- Visit the Theater Square Box Office at 655 Penn Avenue
- Groups of 10 or more call 412-471-6930 or email GroupSales@TrustArts.org
Liberty Magic is a space dedicated to elevating the art of magic. Located at 811 Liberty, on the same block where Harry Houdini mesmerized Pittsburgh crowds in 1916, Liberty Magic is an intimate, speakeasy performance space dedicated to the art of sleight of hand and prestidigitation. With less than 70 seats in four rows, the magicians and performers who appear at Liberty Magic offer you a one-of-a-kind experience that is easy to access and hard to forget.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.
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