Last Night, Monday June 16th, 2003. My last Monday in New York City - I'm retiring to my home in upstate New York to devote my time to magic. So what better way to spend that last evening than at Monday Night Magic, New York's longest running magic show, now in its sixth year, with a new show and new performers every week.

Monday Night Magic recently moved back to Greenwich Village, to the SoHo Playhouse at 15 Van Dam Street, around the corner from the famous Film Forum theatre, and the space has a traditional proscenium stage, great lights and sound, and a capacity of about 250 seats, every oneof which was filled...

... I was, to tell the truth, not looking forward to watching a set by a guy who makes balloon animals, my idea of one of Dante's inner circles of Hell, but I was astonished, amazed and amused by the extraordinary talents of John Cassidy, another human powerhouse, and the holder of the Guinness World Record for Most Balloon Sculptures Completed in One Hour, a hard to believe 494. As John puffed out his cheeks as big as Dizzy Gillespie to inflate what seemed like a hundred balloons, he mused about his weird love of rubber, his addiction to latex smells, and the pathetic life of a guy who like to inflate things. Running around like a dervish, he created magnificent balloon hats, animals and sculptures. After a playing card was chosen and lost in the deck, he inflated a six-foot weather balloon, shoved his head inside to find the card with his teeth, missed, somehow got his entire body INSIDE the weather balloon, but still couldn't find the card. Then a cannon of his own design fired one of those deadly lawn darts, it missed the target a spectator was holding, but burst the weather balloon, impaling the selection on John's derriere...

... It was because I was so enthusiastic about the Monday Night Magic concept that I became a (paid) regular attendee and that enthusiasm led me to begin writing reviews of the ephemeral performances, originally for the Electronic Grymoire. Those reviews led to my Video Reviewer job at Genii and, because last night's show will be my last for a while, it was an especially emotional occasion for me. I'm moving out of New York City, so I won't be there, but if you're in town I highly recommend this entertaining and amazing magic show.

— Matthew Field