The Enigmatist Toronto!

And a brand new crossword "Hop to it!"

May 14, 2025

In this newsletter:

The Enigmatist Toronto!
The Enigmatist trailer (with puzzle!)
Doug Henning; Video: Things That Go Bump in the Night
New Crossword Puzzle: “Hop to it!”
Pandora’s Legacy from TED-Ed

The Enigmatist Toronto

Connoisseurs of conjuring and crosswords! I’m excited to let you know that I’ll be performing The Enigmatist in Toronto from June 10th to 22nd. Tickets and more info here.

This is very much like a hometown show for me. My father moved to Toronto in the 60s and much of my family still lives there. I spent much of my childhood in downtown dim sum restaurants and the shops of Queen St, where I hunted for vintage magic tricks. I grew up just around the lake in Rochester, NY, so it was an easy trip to come up for holidays.

Here’s a photo of the last time I did magic in Toronto! I think I was about 20 years old. I’m performing at my Auntie’s apartment. That’s my Uncle Stephen, loving the show!

Maybe I should bring the ol’ snake in the basket trick back for this latest run of The Enigmatist! I hope you come out for the show and please say hello afterwards!

The Enigmatist Trailer

This is the original trailer for The Enigmatist. This might be my favorite piece of video content. For those of you who have never seen it, there’s a couple of hidden puzzles in it. The second one will lead you to a fun little puzzle suite with a meta puzzle. Solve that, and I’ll add you to the Wall of Outstanding Solvers!

Directed by Adam Franklin, produced by Chris Chelko and Dave Shukan. Music by The Budos Band!

Doug Henning

We can’t talk about Canadian magic without Doug Henning. He is largely considered the first celebrity TV magician, starring in Doug Henning’s World of Magic, which aired on NBC between 1975 and 1982.

But here’s what the history books don’t say. My father was friends with Doug at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario! My father tells me that he gave Doug one of his first magic gigs: a performance at a Chinese New Year banquet on campus. Also, my father rented Ivan Reitman’s apartment one summer. Before Ivan became a household name for directing Ghostbusters and Stripes, he produced Doug’s first magic show, Spellbound, in Toronto in 1973. This show was eventually reworked into The Magic Show, which became a Broadway hit a year later. In 1983, Reitman directed the magical-musical Merlin. I’ve become good friends with Ivan’s son Jason, and have consulted on some of his films. It is a tangled web of magic!

Doug Henning. The Magical Musical. Merlin poster

I wanted to share one of my favorite illusions of his: “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” This illusion was a modern adaptation of Servais Le Roy’s “The Three Graces",” which the Belgian magician performed in the early 20th century. But Henning’s modern take is so delightful and surprising. Though the below video doesn’t show it, it seems that Henning closed his show with this illusion and produced a live tiger at the end. I wish I could have seen it!

New Crossword: “Hop to it!”

Conjurors and cruciverbalists, it’s brand new crossword time! This one is very fitting for a magician. It’s a Tues difficulty level. Solve it here, and please let me know what you think in the comments! Subscribe for an original crossword each newsletter!

Pandora’s Legacy from TED-Ed

I wanted to share an exciting new project from my friends over at TED. The game is called Pandora's Legacy, and it’s essentially a puzzle hunt woven into a physical jigsaw puzzle with elements of legacy-style board games. You begin by completing the first portion of the jigsaw, then solve hidden puzzles that allow you to unlock and assemble the remaining sections, ultimately revealing a single, cohesive image. Some challenges involve physical components, and the artwork was created by the talented illustrator Senne Trip. Pandora’s Legacy is here on Kickstarter. As of this writing it has surpassed its goal of $20,000 with a whopping $676,764!