While that dream has yet to come true (and I’m willing to wait), I was giddy to find this photo capturing Barack and Michelle Obama in the same private suite where I used to perform Chamber Magic!

The photo above is from the official White House website (now archived) and the caption read:

Sept. 21, 2011 “The First Lady reacts to something the President whispered to her at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in between events related to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.”  — Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Here is a photo I took in exactly the same spot, in the same room, one week later. Notice the chairs all set up for my show in the living room:

The Obamas’ whispering photo reminded me of a picture I took with Warren Buffett after a private show in Omaha, Nebraska. I’ll never reveal the secret he shared…!

My performance suite at the Waldorf Astoria New York was room 35H, in the Waldorf Towers, down the hall from the Presidential Suite. On October 4, 1965, Pope Paul VI met President Lyndon Johnson in that same room. Also pictured is First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson.

Pope Paul was visiting New York to address the United Nations. It marked the first visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church to the United States.

Here are some performance photos of me in that same room, suite 35H. Notice the same fireplace, and the same oil painting on the rear wall.

The Waldorf Astoria New York is closed but these wonderful memories remain. I was inspired to post this — albeit years later — since it corresponds with the current United Nations General Assembly being held in midtown Manhattan. When I came across the Obama photos, it reminded me of that formative stage in my life.

Looking back on my old showroom at the Waldorf, it seems so intimate and dainty. At that time, I never could have imagined that Chamber Magic would graduate to its grand showroom at the Lotte New York Palace (see below). I love my new venue even more, and am thrilled at the solid partnership with The Palace. We will be releasing 2020 tickets soon, in anticipation of the 20th Anniversary show. I look forward to meeting you at The Palace sometime in the near future!

The post Barack And Michelle in my showroom at the Waldorf Astoria appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I’m excited to announce the following tour dates:

BEVERLY HILLS:

The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

9850 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

September 20 and 21, 2019

(4 performances: 7pm and 9:30 pm each night)

Click HERE for tickets

If you have friends or family in southern California who you think would enjoy Chamber Magic^®, please tell them to reserve their tickets now.

I look forward to welcoming them to the show!

The post Chamber Magic^® Tour: Waldorf Astoria BEVERLY HILLS appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I’m excited to announce the following tour dates:

CHICAGO:

The Waldorf Astoria Chicago

11 E Walton St, Chicago, IL

September 28 and 29

Friday and Saturday

(4 performances: 7pm and 9pm each night)

Click HERE for tickets

If you have friends or family in Chicago who you think would enjoy Chamber Magic, please tell them to reserve their tickets now.

I look forward to welcoming them to the show!

The post CHAMBER MAGIC® TOUR: WALDORF ASTORIA CHICAGO appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I’m excited to announce the following tour dates:

BEVERLY HILLS:

The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills

9850 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

March 2 and 3

(4 performances: 7pm and 9:30 pm each night)

Click HERE for tickets

If you have friends or family in southern California who you think would enjoy Chamber Magic^®, please tell them to reserve their tickets now.

I look forward to welcoming them to the show!

The post Chamber Magic^® Tour: Waldorf Astoria BEVERLY HILLS appeared first on Chamber Magic.

• I have been playing at the Waldorf Astoria New York for 16 years. Over 500,000 guests have visited the show.

• Chamber Magic is ranked on TripAdvisor as the #8 show in NYC, including all Broadway productions (for reference, Hamilton is #15).

• The Waldorf Astoria will be closing on March 1, 2017 for 3+ years of renovations. The hotel was purchased in 2014 by Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese holding company, for nearly $2 billion. They intend to gut renovate the hotel, converting the upper floors into ultra-luxury condominiums, and the lower floors into a smaller boutique hotel.

• When I announced that the Chamber Magic show must move to a new venue, I was flattered to receive inquiries from seven top luxury hotels in New York. After numerous site visits and discussions, number-crunching and soul-searching, I have signed a contract with an iconic landmark hotel in midtown Manhattan.

• In partnership with my new hotel venue, we will be making a public announcement in the media. I really can’t wait to share this with you — including gorgeous photos of my new showroom. Frankly, it’s breathtaking.

• Chamber Magic will continue — uninterrupted — in its new home, to be announced shortly. I intend to keep New Yorkers and out-of-town guests believing in magic for years to come!

The post Moving, not Closing! appeared first on Chamber Magic.

One of my weekend rituals is to listen to the Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me podcast from NPR. Peter Sagal is the genial host, and his voice has an all-access pass to my ears every Sunday morning. I follow Peter on Twitter, and like millions of his fans, feel like I “know” him through his clever barbs and on-air quips. Last week, however, I actually did get to “know” Peter when he visited Chamber Magic^® to celebrate his parents’ birthdays. He is a tremendous guy.

After the show we talked for about 20 minutes, and snapped the photo above. A couple of days later, Peter sent the following endorsement:

“What Steve Cohen does is flatly impossible. Cannot be happening, and probably didn’t, really. I just hallucinated being in a hotel suite filled with well-dressed people, watching chamber-scale miracles. Seriously: not only could he not really have done any of that, but people don’t dress up anymore. Don’t believe me? Well, go — and don’t believe him yourself.” – Peter Sagal

We are now members of a mutual fan club. His show on NPR is always razor-sharp and often leaves me grinning so much my face hurts. (Especially when Paula Poundstone is on.) It would be a great honor to be asked to appear on the “Not My Job” segment — one can only dream?!

The post Peter Sagal – “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” Visits Chamber Magic^® appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I’m excited to announce the following tour dates:

CHICAGO:

The Waldorf Astoria Chicago

11 E Walton St, Chicago, IL

October 28 and 29

(4 performances: 7pm and 9pm each night)

Click HERE for tickets

If you have friends or family in Chicago who you think would enjoy Chamber Magic^®, please tell them to reserve their tickets now.

I look forward to welcoming them to the show!

The post Chamber Magic^® Tour: Waldorf Astoria CHICAGO appeared first on Chamber Magic.

As you may have read in the media, the hotel will undergo a massive renovation starting in the spring.

As a result, there are only six months remaining to see Chamber Magic at its original venue, the spectacular Waldorf Astoria.

Book your tickets now to see the show at the hotel

where it became famous! 

I will perform the last show at the Waldorf on February 25, 2017.

To accommodate the increase in demand for these final six months, we have added Thursday night shows from October through February. Tickets are available by clicking here.

PS: After February 25, the show will move to another luxury venue in Manhattan so I can keep New Yorkers and out-of-town guests believing in magic for years to come! Stay tuned for an exciting announcement.

The post Six Month Countdown at the Waldorf Astoria NY appeared first on Chamber Magic.

The purpose of this article is to provide useful information and a visual walk-through experience for guests visiting the show.

Our dress code: Cocktail Attire – jackets and ties for gentlemen and dressy attire for ladies.

The performance suite opens 20 minutes prior to showtime.

Recommended arrival time:

• 2pm showtime: Arrive at 1:30pm — you will be directed upstairs at 1:40pm
• 7pm showtime: Arrive at 6:30pm — you will be directed upstairs at 6:40pm
• 9pm showtime: Arrive at 8:30pm — you will be directed upstairs at 8:40pm

Please enter the Waldorf Astoria through the private Towers entrance, located at 100 East 50th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues. This is the only entrance that has direct access to the private elevator that leads directly to the performance suite.

Enter on East 50th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues

The Waldorf Towers has its own private entrance to the hotel:

Enter the Towers lobby:

On your left you will see a reception desk:

In the far right corner, you will see the Concierge desk:

Please wait in the Towers lobby until you are directed to the elevators, located to the left. A staff member will unlock the elevator for the designated floor:

When you arrive on the performance suite floor, follow the sign to Chamber Magic^®:

Chamber Magic^® is a 90 minute performance with no intermission.

Enjoy the show!

Photo credit of Steve Cohen outside Waldorf Astoria: © Scott Tokar 2015

The post Waldorf Astoria Walk-through Experience appeared first on Chamber Magic.

• 232 Chamber Magic^® performances at the Waldorf Astoria New York
• 14,000 visitors to Chamber Magic^®
• 15 national and international performances

Magazine Feature #1

I was interviewed in the ultra high-end Manhattan Magazine, Jan/Feb 2015 issue. Ethan Hawke appears on the cover. 

Chan Canasta Art Exhibition

I launched a one-day art exhibition as a tribute to Chan Canasta, an admired magician who left show business to follow his passion as a painter.

Canasta died in 1999, and I recently became friends with his widow Renata. We worked together to locate nearly 40 of Chan Canasta’s paintings, and I displayed them in my suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Approximately 150 people attended, and the event was a fantastic success. Throughout the afternoon I performed some of Chan’s card magic, and also screened television footage of Chan so visitors could see him “at work.”

NBC Television Spotlight

Chamber Magic^® was featured on NBC television, New York Live. Watch the full video here.

TENYO-ISM book has arrived!

I’ve translated all of Tenyo’s instructions from Japanese to English since 1997. It is an honor to be included in the new Tenyo-ism book by Richard Kaufman, with my own page.

This book set is unbelievable. A massive, heavy, and ultimately invaluable piece of magic history. I assisted in translating many pages from Japanese to English. If you have even the littlest interest in Tenyo magic, this is an incredible investment that will delight you for years!

Magazine Feature #2

A “local boy made good” article in Westchester Magazine.

Award of Excellence from Linking Ring magazine

I published an article titled “The Eleven Commandments of Parlor Magic” and was delighted to receive an award from the International Brotherhood of Magicians for this piece.

Visited Houdini’s gravesite

A friend from Japan visited New York so I took him to many Houdini-related spots, including Houdini’s home on West 113th Street, and Houdini’s gravesite in Queens.

#10 top show in NYC on TripAdvisor

When I started Chamber Magic^® in New York 16 years ago, my goal was to help raise public respect toward magic as a performing art. I wanted people to consider going to a magic show instead of the opera, or the ballet. It is highly gratifying to see that my vision has been recognized by so many others.

According to TripAdvisor.com, the top 10 Theater & Concerts in NYC are:

1.Lion King

2. Jersey Boys

3. Wicked

4. Beautiful – The Carole King Musical

5. The Phantom of the Opera

6.Kinky Boots

7. Radio City Music Hall

8.The Metropolitan Opera

9. Les Miserables

10. Steve Cohen’s Chamber Magic^®

Japanese book reprinted

My book “Win The Crowd” was reprinted in Japanese with a new cover. My friends at Tenyo told me that my books are stacked on the main shelf (the best position) in bookstores across Japan.

“Priceless” MasterCard review

Chamber Magic^® “Priceless” review by MasterCard website: “Your mind will be blown, no matter how skeptical you are.”

Premiere League Soccer meets Magic

We had a family dinner in NYC with Christian Fuchs, a pro soccer player on the English Premiere League team Leicester City. He is a fun, dynamic, and talented guy who has helped my son grow as an athlete. Christian is the captain of the Austrian National Soccer Team.

Of course I showed everyone some magic and Christian reciprocated with some awesome soccer ball juggling.

Tony Award Winner

Broadway and Younger star Sutton Foster sat in the front row at Chamber Magic^®. A true delight to meet her, and we enjoyed a chat afterwards. Months later she told the Huffington Post that Chamber Magic^® is her favorite date night in New York City.

Magic Mentor Monday Series

I researched and published a series of well-received articles on my blog, centering around my magical mentors. Each Monday for two months, I released a new long-form article that covered the teachings of beloved magicians from yesteryear: Max Malini, Johann Hofzinser, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, Charles Bertram, Think-A-Drink Hoffman, Albert Goshman, and Harry Lorayne. I will continue this series in 2016 with future articles about Mark Sicher, Danny Kaye, Sammy Davis Jr, Willy Wonka, and more.

Black TYCOON Cards released

TYCOONS, my custom playing cards co-created with Theory 11, received such accolades from discerning card players and magicians that we decided to release a new edition in black. I use all three editions in my show: red, blue, and black.

My Newest Secret Project Started…

And finally… I’ve begun work on my latest project, a graphic novel titled The Millionaires’ Magician, which will be released in 2016. Together with a team of incredible artists and writers who work for Marvel and DC, I have created an origin story for my performing character, presented in a 100 page graphic novel in full color. You are not going to believe how gorgeous this book will be! Much more to come in the coming year.

Thank you, everyone, for your ongoing support of my show. I look forward to sharing more magic with you in 2016.

The post 2015 Year in Review appeared first on Chamber Magic.