00:00I'm here at the Art of Play, which is a magic shop.
00:04Magic, especially close-up magic, is having a bit of a moment right now.
00:07It's never been more popular.
00:09Everyone is spending hundreds of dollars to see magic shows.
00:12My theory is because there's so much crazy going on in the world,
00:15we're so addicted to our screens,
00:17we really want something that just grabs our attention
00:20and takes us out of everything that's going on in the world
00:23and makes us just laugh and be children again
00:26and be astonished by amazing things.
00:30We are living in a golden age of close-up magic.
00:35In New York and across the United States,
00:38intimate magic shows are selling out, sometimes in seconds.
00:42Here at 69 Atlantic in Brooklyn,
00:45one show by Spanish magician Danny D'Artiz sold out in 30 seconds.
00:51Think Taylor Swift-level demand, but for card tricks.
00:55This isn't a Vegas spectacle.
00:57It's small rooms, hidden entrances and world-class magicians
01:01working so close up you can reach out and touch them.
01:04There are now more than two dozen US venues dedicated to close-up magic
01:08and fans are paying as much as $350 a ticket for something rare,
01:13focused, shared attention in an age of distraction.
01:17High ticket prices, in turn, mean shows and venues like this one
01:21can actually start making money.
01:23Unlike the infinite scroll of social media, magic has a beginning and an end.
01:28It demands concentration.
01:30It creates collective wonder.
01:32And in a divided moment, it cuts across politics, class and culture.
01:38I've seen one magic show in New York City.
01:41It was actually last year and that one was very different to this one.
01:45So I really appreciated the humor of the magician.
01:49It's a lot of like audience involvement, which I appreciated.
01:53So yeah.
01:54And will you come back to another magic show in the future?
01:59I would.
01:59Would you value this at the same higher or lower as going to a Broadway show?
02:09Higher.
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