<img src=http://images5.fotki.com/v70/photos/6/6766/864814/Img_4338a-vi.jpg align=left>This is exactly what was on my mind as Kerrie and I were leaving my apartment to go to some mysterious event to which Kerrie took me out as a surprise birthday present. She told me about it weeks in advance and I have been mystified during all this time because I had no clue what it was. What augmented the mystery is the fact that she told me to get an ascot and a vest for this event. I knew her fascination with vintage clothing, but where could she be taking me around our neighborhood on a Friday night where I could be wearing this? (She told me it would be 5-minute cab ride from my apartment.) Being very busy I did not have a chance to buy an ascot, but did manage to get a vest with a matching bow tie. When Kerrie saw me in it, she approvingly nodded.
We caught a cab and Kerrie quickly muttered the destination address to the driver before I completely situated myself in the cab. I could only hear her say "50th street". During the cab ride I constantly tried to guess the place we were going to, but could not until we approached the Waldorf Astoria. I could not believe it! For a moment I thought that she reciprocated my favor of renting a luxury suite in the same hotel for <a href=http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/blog/entry/srkwwfsggt/>;her birthday</a>. I asked her if she did, and she said, "Well *I* did not rent the suit." Puzzled even more, I just decided to not ask any more questions and just go with the flow.
So far it has been a déjà vu of her birthday party. We entered through the same entrance to the Waldorf Towers as back in February and the familiar faces at the reception desk smiled at us. One of the people at the desk confirmed with Kerrie if we were going to "the magic show". Kerrie replied, "yes" mentioning to them that it was supposed to be a surprise for me. This giveaway together with a sign on a wall that read "Chamber Magic" finally drew away the clouds of mystery surrounding the destination of our journey. It was a very pleasant surprise for me, since I have always been fascinated by magic tricks and always loved to see them being performed.
We were escorted to the familiar private elevator bank and zoomed to 30-something floor. We entered a luxury suite very similar to the one I rented for Kerrie's birthday. The rooms where filled with luxury old-fashioned furniture, the walls were covered with ornate wallpaper and fancy chandeliers where hanging from the ceiling. We were greeted by the magician himself - Steve Cohen. He was wearing gray tails and beige vest. His purple did not match anything else in his outfit, but still looked good. He checked off Kerrie's name on the list and invited us to proceed to the living room mentioning to Kerrie that she could hang her coat in the bedroom's closet if she so desired. She went there and I waited for her to come back.
Then we entered the living room which had a collection of about 5 rows of chairs arranged in a theatre formation facing the fireplace and a big mirror above it. Classical music was playing in the background coming out from portable speakers located on the table in the back. The show was supposed to start at 9 PM and we got there about 10 minutes early. There were already some people there and Kerrie and I got a seat in the third row. The rest of the people were dressed nicely, but Kerrie and I fit the room ambience the most with my bow tie and vest and her vintage toque. As we sat down, Kerrie told me that the bedroom looked very nice. That made me look forward to taking some photos after the show.
Soon Mr. Cohen entered the living room. Even though the show had not officially begun, he made an announcement for us to take a piece of paper that was located in the middle of the program booklet and write down our favorite drink on it. It could be any drink - hot, cold, and alcoholic or not. He proceeded to hand out Waldorf Towers branded pens and told us that he would not make that announcement again and we should tell this to the people who come later. I put down Mango Madness Snapple remembering that this was the drink that I ordered most often when I used to go for lunch to a Chinese restaurant Ho-Yip when I used to work on Wall Street. Kerrie put down Poland Spring water after I reminded her that she often carried it in her hand bag.
Soon the room filled in with more people, the music somehow turned itself off and Mr. Cohen came back in the living room and officially started the show. He opened with a preamble saying that the setting of the show in a luxury antique private suite was meant to be similar to the one performed in the old days by the entertainers hired by wealthy aristocracy. It was meant to be very close up and personal. Then he proceeded with the magic tricks. I don't really remember them all now, but they were all very impressive. He started by performing some cool tricks with cards. He had the audience participate in shuffling them, cutting the deck and picking some random cards. Then he would guess the cards they picked by "reading their mind". He then was able to pour the drinks that were written on the pieces of paper from the same kettle! He made people find a random word in a book and tell what it was. As he was touching one person with a feather, he was able to make another person feel the touch. He borrowed a watch from a member of the audience and was able to change time on it without touching it. He was able to draw the same thing as a member of the audience drew without looking at the drawing. He found a professional doctor in the audience and had her check his pulse as he stopped his heartbeat for several minutes. The doctor was very impressed. The list goes on, but I don't want to spoil it for people who have not seen the show.
After the show <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4339.html>;Kerrie signed Mr. Cohen's guest book</a> and we took <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4340.html>;a picture with him</a>. Then we proceeded to check out the rest of the suite. Kerrie <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4342.html>;got so comfortable that she did not want to leave</a>. I <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4343.html>;sat down at a desk</a> to go over the amazing magic tricks listed in the show program.
Then we finally decided to leave so we headed to the front hallway. At that moment Mr. Cohen's wife came in with their child. There were also couple of people from the audience who were on their way out. So Mr. Cohen offered to show one more trick, this time performed by his son who looked like about 2 years old. He had one guy draw on a sheet of paper anything he wanted but simple enough for a two-year old to think of. The guy ended up drawing a heart. And when Steve asked his son what the guy drew on the paper, he answerd "Heart". That was quite amazing!
To be continued...
We caught a cab and Kerrie quickly muttered the destination address to the driver before I completely situated myself in the cab. I could only hear her say "50th street". During the cab ride I constantly tried to guess the place we were going to, but could not until we approached the Waldorf Astoria. I could not believe it! For a moment I thought that she reciprocated my favor of renting a luxury suite in the same hotel for <a href=http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/blog/entry/srkwwfsggt/>;her birthday</a>. I asked her if she did, and she said, "Well *I* did not rent the suit." Puzzled even more, I just decided to not ask any more questions and just go with the flow.
So far it has been a déjà vu of her birthday party. We entered through the same entrance to the Waldorf Towers as back in February and the familiar faces at the reception desk smiled at us. One of the people at the desk confirmed with Kerrie if we were going to "the magic show". Kerrie replied, "yes" mentioning to them that it was supposed to be a surprise for me. This giveaway together with a sign on a wall that read "Chamber Magic" finally drew away the clouds of mystery surrounding the destination of our journey. It was a very pleasant surprise for me, since I have always been fascinated by magic tricks and always loved to see them being performed.
We were escorted to the familiar private elevator bank and zoomed to 30-something floor. We entered a luxury suite very similar to the one I rented for Kerrie's birthday. The rooms where filled with luxury old-fashioned furniture, the walls were covered with ornate wallpaper and fancy chandeliers where hanging from the ceiling. We were greeted by the magician himself - Steve Cohen. He was wearing gray tails and beige vest. His purple did not match anything else in his outfit, but still looked good. He checked off Kerrie's name on the list and invited us to proceed to the living room mentioning to Kerrie that she could hang her coat in the bedroom's closet if she so desired. She went there and I waited for her to come back.
Then we entered the living room which had a collection of about 5 rows of chairs arranged in a theatre formation facing the fireplace and a big mirror above it. Classical music was playing in the background coming out from portable speakers located on the table in the back. The show was supposed to start at 9 PM and we got there about 10 minutes early. There were already some people there and Kerrie and I got a seat in the third row. The rest of the people were dressed nicely, but Kerrie and I fit the room ambience the most with my bow tie and vest and her vintage toque. As we sat down, Kerrie told me that the bedroom looked very nice. That made me look forward to taking some photos after the show.
Soon Mr. Cohen entered the living room. Even though the show had not officially begun, he made an announcement for us to take a piece of paper that was located in the middle of the program booklet and write down our favorite drink on it. It could be any drink - hot, cold, and alcoholic or not. He proceeded to hand out Waldorf Towers branded pens and told us that he would not make that announcement again and we should tell this to the people who come later. I put down Mango Madness Snapple remembering that this was the drink that I ordered most often when I used to go for lunch to a Chinese restaurant Ho-Yip when I used to work on Wall Street. Kerrie put down Poland Spring water after I reminded her that she often carried it in her hand bag.
Soon the room filled in with more people, the music somehow turned itself off and Mr. Cohen came back in the living room and officially started the show. He opened with a preamble saying that the setting of the show in a luxury antique private suite was meant to be similar to the one performed in the old days by the entertainers hired by wealthy aristocracy. It was meant to be very close up and personal. Then he proceeded with the magic tricks. I don't really remember them all now, but they were all very impressive. He started by performing some cool tricks with cards. He had the audience participate in shuffling them, cutting the deck and picking some random cards. Then he would guess the cards they picked by "reading their mind". He then was able to pour the drinks that were written on the pieces of paper from the same kettle! He made people find a random word in a book and tell what it was. As he was touching one person with a feather, he was able to make another person feel the touch. He borrowed a watch from a member of the audience and was able to change time on it without touching it. He was able to draw the same thing as a member of the audience drew without looking at the drawing. He found a professional doctor in the audience and had her check his pulse as he stopped his heartbeat for several minutes. The doctor was very impressed. The list goes on, but I don't want to spoil it for people who have not seen the show.
After the show <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4339.html>;Kerrie signed Mr. Cohen's guest book</a> and we took <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4340.html>;a picture with him</a>. Then we proceeded to check out the rest of the suite. Kerrie <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4342.html>;got so comfortable that she did not want to leave</a>. I <a href=http://rpungin.fotki.com/events/chamber_magic/img_4343.html>;sat down at a desk</a> to go over the amazing magic tricks listed in the show program.
Then we finally decided to leave so we headed to the front hallway. At that moment Mr. Cohen's wife came in with their child. There were also couple of people from the audience who were on their way out. So Mr. Cohen offered to show one more trick, this time performed by his son who looked like about 2 years old. He had one guy draw on a sheet of paper anything he wanted but simple enough for a two-year old to think of. The guy ended up drawing a heart. And when Steve asked his son what the guy drew on the paper, he answerd "Heart". That was quite amazing!
To be continued...
