Dinner Table Magic (World's Great Magic)
$14.95 (download)
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=67341

The Hype:

In this volume, you'll learn some of the best magic effects to perform around the dinner table. Experienced performers know that after a meal, everyone is ready for some entertainment, you'll learn some of the most amazing magic ever created that can be performed with items routinely found on a dinner table.

You'll be the life of the dinner party when you learn these after-dinner miracles, many of which can be done totally impromptu. From classics such as Johnny Thompson's version of the Vanishing Glass and David Roth's handling of the Coins Through Table to unusual offerings such as Gregory Wilson's Off Base, a startling broken and restored wine glass effect, there's a treasure trove of magic offered here that's virtually guaranteed to make you the hit of any gathering.

 HENRY EVANS

Fork and Knife

 DAN HARLAN

Soft Silverware (courtesy of Meir Yedid Magic)

Invisible Cow

Mineral Magnetism

Shaker Suspension

Knife Swallowing

Sodium Free

 HARRY ALLEN

Spoon Spinner

DAVID ROTH

Coins to Cup

Coins Through Table

Free & Unlimited Coinage of Silver

 MICHAEL AMMAR

Bouncing Roll / Floating Roll

 TOM MULLICA

Karrell Fox's Napkin Vanish

A Sweet Prediction

The Mouse (courtesy of Murphy's Magic Inc.)

 AL SCHNEIDER

Sly Napkins

 SCOTTY YORK

Marked Coin in Sugar Packet (courtesy of Murphy's Magic Inc.)

 JOHNNY THOMPSON

Vanishing Glass

 GREGORY WILSON

Off Base

My Take:

Tired of buying a whole DVD to learn that one trick that you wanted but nothing else on the disk interests you? L&L solved that problem a few years ago when they started releasing compilation sof different magicians on the same topic. World's Greatest Magic. There currently 76 available in the series from Card Warp to coins, assemblies, and lots more. Of course this does include the DVD being reviewed now. Dinner Table Magic.

A look at the contents and artists is most impressive. (I see they even included a routine by my old friend, Harry Allen, It's nice to see him doing something other than a dealer show). A veritable treasure chest of famous magicians from FISM winner Henry Evans to Michael Ammar and even Johnny Thompson. Couldn't wait to dive into this one. 

Of course, the DVD features the usual L&L crowd of spectators, some of who have become video stars on their own thanks to their appearances on so many videos. You will also notice that the magicians were much younger than you probably remember. No problem there, the magic is timeless. It seems that most if not all of the routines are old tricks from some of the masters. This disk shows their variations and subtleties, (And not a card trick to be found!)

There is so much here I can't possibly hit everything but let me tell you about a few that I enjoyed.

Henry Evans takes the old classic of wrapping a knife and a fork inside of a napkin and making them change places. We all know this one so there is no surprise until the end when Henry pulls a full large bottle of water out from under the napkin. Henry's version looks great and is extremely easy to do.

Al Snyder's Sly Napkins was inspired by the work of Slydini. It is basically a nice spongeball routine using wadded up napkins.

Johnny Thompson's Glass Through Table gives a much more powerful reason for wrapping the glass. If you do this one, Johnny will get you to change your presentation. Influences mentioned are Max Malini and T. Nelson Downs. A nice auditory dodge is taught.

Dan Harlan teaches a nice set of five tricks. All easy to do. He has it routined so each trick leads logically into the next smoothly.

Tom Mullica likes napkins and teaches several routines. One of the all time favorites is making the napkin into a mouse which then runs up and down your arm. It utilizes moves associated with Dave Williamson's Rocky the Racoon. Tom says this is the one people remember and kids love it. He goes into detail showing you just how to fold the napkin to make it look good. If you have ever been on a cruise, one popular thing is that your cabin steward will fold a towel to look like an animal. Then sometime during the week, they will give a towel folding lesson. This is very reminiscent of that.

David Roth teaches several coin routines. These are not for beginners but if you do coin magic, you should have no problem. My favorite of them is Free and Unlimited Coinage of Silver. Using several items on the table, each is lifted to display a coin beneath. These are put into his pocket and the items lifted again revealing another coin. For me, this had the feel of Dean Dill's Blizzard but not using gaffs. J. B. Bobo first saw this performed by a street magician in Vienna and  referred to this as the "nonpareil of after dinner tricks." and it would be hard to follow this with anything else.

 Although you might have seen (or even perform) a number of these routines, it is valuable to see how a top pro performs it teaching deceptive moves and subtleties. My favorite from this video would probably have to be Johnny Thompson's Glass Through Table. (Who doesn't love Johnny?) Besides using the bit numerous times to hide te drop, he finishes bringing the glass back in a logical manner.

Despite the filming technique being somewhat dated, $14.95 is a small price to pay to be able to add some of these to your set. Great if you do restaurants, bars, parties, etc. Recommended.

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