News from Mark Mitton

The alumni of a hospital here in the area had me entertain at their annual dinner last night. This is a group of doctors from all over the world, and they love to have fun. They have a special song about “Style” that they sing to welcome people into their group. I did strolling magic during the cocktail hour, and then performed a stage show after dinner. I was quite moved when, at the end of my show, the entire audience serenaded me with their alumni song!

Thank you, dear doctors, for a great evening!

Rainer Hosch, the talented Austrian photographer who works in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe, and took pictures of me last year, was kind enough to send me another portrait. You can find two other shots on his website here and here.

From the world of Broadway and SNL, I zipped downtown to perform at another benefit that same night - this one hosted by Mike Myers at The Box. It was the annual gala for Only Make Believe, a non-profit organization that creates and performs interactive theater for children in hospitals and care facilities. Alan Cumming sang with Raven-O, and George Rush from the Daily News wrote it all up here.

Here is Mike Myers:

St. Malachy’s Church on West 49th Street, in the heart of New York’s Theater District, is also known as The Actors’ Chapel. It is a place of worship for the entertainment community, and for the dynamic population of Midtown Manhattan. Last night the church held its annual Father George Moore Benefit Dinner at Sardi’s Restaurant, and I was on hand to add some magic to the evening. Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live, and Philip J. Smith of the Shubert Organization, were honored for their commitment to community service, dedication to the arts and love of people and community.

Here is a slide show of the event:

The Fall is a great time to go to the circus. In the past week, I attended the dress rehearsal of New York’s own Big Apple Circus in Damrosch Park behind Lincoln Center. It is a fun show in a real circus tent, with some great acts. The fabulous juggling twins The LaSalle Brothers (who performed at our big extravaganza just last weekend!) dazzled the crowd with their amazing acrobatic and balletic juggling.

Then on Sunday, I drove to Bethlehem, PA, to see my friend, the comic bicycle acrobat Justin Case, star in Ringling’s Boom A Ring show. This is a circus that travels around the country performing in sports arenas. It is a slick and impressive operation, and most importantly: it’s a great show! Try to see it if it comes to your town.

One of my long-time clients is a couple that loves to throw lavish parties at the nicest hotels. They always ask me to provide them with unique entertainment. We have put together some really great shows for them over the years.

This past weekend they had a big party with a ‘Razzle Dazzle’ theme. It was spectacular. We had an amazing young contortionist who shoots a bow and arrow with her feet, incredible juggling twins, and a gold-painted acrobatic duo that balances on top of each other. In addition, we had a singer, three showgirls and a sexy strongman to mingle with the guests. The piano player was flown in from the Four Seasons in London. All the entertainers were a huge success and the client was absolutely delighted.

Check out the photos of the festivities below, or click here for a bigger slide show:

Last night I was at a party hosted by Marc Ecko Entertainment (MEE) and Showtime at the Metropolitan Home Showtime House, a 19th century $25 million townhouse on Gramercy Park, inspired by six Showtime original series. The two companies are collaborating on a Dexter video game for the iPhone. The party was incredibly cool: all the rooms had a different theme and there were demos of Marc Ecko Entertainment games all around the house. It was great to see Marc and his talented team again, and Erik King, the actor who plays Sergeant James Doakes on ‘Dexter’ also came over and said hello.

Click here to see the pictures in full.

If you happen to go to the play ‘Farragut North’ which opens at the Atlantic Theater Company on October 22nd, pay attention to the video news sequences which were created by my friend Josh White, from the Joshua Light Show, and his collaborator Bec Stupak. Josh asked me to show up dressed like a reporter this morning and shot me against a green screen.

There is a new Calder show at the Whitney Museum. I highly recommend seeing it. It features his work from the Paris years (1926-33), including drawings, paintings, wire sculptures and, of course, the famous circus. My absolute favorite Calder piece - Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere (1932-33) - is also on display. It is Calder’s earliest mobile, and it is in fact an interdependent performance piece.

With Mary Rower, one of Calder’s daughters, in front of the piece:

It’s not every day you get invited to perform for the rabbi of The Big M, but that is exactly what happened last night when I did a magic show at the birthday party of Karen Berg - one of the founders of the Kabbalah Centre and the wife of Rav Berg. The fabulous Wunmi and her multicultural afrobeat band got the festivities started. Then there was folkdancing. After that I performed a stage show with lots of audience participation. I made Rav Karen’s lipstick appear inside a sealed envelope inside my wallet. I also pulled a big flame from a man’s tongue. Then the party continued with more dancing. It was a beautiful celebration.

Take a look at these pictures or click here for a bigger slideshow with captions: