How NOW YOU SEE ME LIVE is Bringing Larger-Than-Life Magic to Broadway

The magic of Now You See Me is coming to Broadway this fall! Presented by The Illusionists creators Tim Lawson and Simon Painter, Now You See Me Live begins performances November 11 for a limited engagement through January 3, bringing together four world-class magicians as the “Four Horsemen.”

BroadwayWorld spoke with Simon Painter about why the hit film franchise was perfect for a live stage experience, creating a show that the Four Horsemen themselves might perform, assembling the production’s cast of magicians, the jaw-dropping illusions that he hopes will leave Broadway audiences asking, “How on earth was that done?”

I am a big fan of Now You See Me! What made you and the team feel that this film franchise was particularly well suited to becoming a live stage show?

We’ve known Lionsgate a long time, myself and my partner, Tim Lawson, created The Illusionists show that played on Broadway multiple times before the pandemic. With that show, we were the most extensive touring magic show in the world, I suppose, we came to Broadway, and to London, and to Sydney, something like 400 cities— it was amazing!

So, we were in conversations pre-pandemic, with Lionsgate, about doing the adaptation of Now You See Me, because there are a lot of similarities between doing the stage magic of The Illusionists, and doing a version of Now You See Me. And then the pandemic happened, so when they announced they were doing Now You See Me 3, which was last year, we made contact, and there were meetings about what it would look like if we were to put Now You See Me Live on stage.

We decided what we didn’t want to do is retell the story of the movie. What we did want to do is put on the show that the Four Horsemen would have put on stage, the biggest, most spectacular magic show with the four best illusionists in the world— that’s what we wanted to do. We leaned in on the DNA of the movie and gave fans of the movie, and just general fans of theatre, a massive spectacular, magic and illusion show.

So, the show isn’t Now You See Me the movie on stage, it is the what these magicians, illusionist, entertainers would be putting on in the world of the movie!

That’s exactly right, which gives us an amazing amount of film DNA to go with, in terms of looking at their motivations. We’re putting on the magic show the Four Horsemen would have put on. It’s got everything ranging from grand illusions to ridiculous escapes, to mentalism. We even travel back in time during one moment of the show. It’s very much larger than life, we pulled out all the stops, and are doing very large-scale magic, and close-up magic, and everything in between, with special surprises as well.

We opened at the Sydney Opera House in January of last year, we were in London this summer, and we did 100,000 tickets in London, which was absolutely amazing. We were so thrilled that this thing that started as a conversation ended up as this massive success. We’re unbelievably excited to bring it to New York.

How did the team go about assembling the Four Horsemen for Broadway? Were you looking for specific entertainers to do certain types of magic?

Very much so. We now have two versions of the show, we have one open in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, and another version that opens on Broadway. And essentially the two shows are almost identical, even if they feature different people. So, we actually have cast certain magicians that have certain skills in the right areas for the show. There are a few differences between the shows, but largely, they’re very similar scripts and very similar magic.

So, we’re casting magicians who have the highest level of magical skill, whether that be grand illusion, or mentalism, or slight of hand in the world to put in this. From doing The Illusionists, we have a very extensive rolodex of where these people are, and there is not that many of them! In terms of magicians that can do large-scale magic, whether that be close-up magic, or stadium-filling, larger than life, bombastic illusions, there’s not that many of them! So, we knew where most of them were.  We held a three-month casting process at the beginning of last year, and we’re delighted with the cast we’ve ended up with.

What are you most looking forward to with bringing the show to Broadway?

It’s always unbelievably exciting when you get the call that your show is coming to Broadway, for any producer, or entertainer, or singer, or magician, or actor, or dancer, it’s the pinnacle of where you hope you end up with your craft. We’re super excited, because it is a massive, over-the-top show, that is unapologetically big, and loud, and in your face, and funny.

During the fall and Christmas seasons on Broadway, with the world being what it is, what’s so nice is to be able to do something that is just over-the-top amazing, it’s just such a fun night out. This is definitely the largest touring magic show in the world right now. It works if you’re five years old, or if you’re 95 years old. It’s an excellent choice for families, for date nights, for everything in between, people that love the movies, people that haven’t seen the movies. And that’s what we’re so excited about, is sharing that joyous moment of sharing magic with this amazing audience in New York.

Without giving away a spoiler, have you found that there’s a specific trick or moment in the show that gets a very satisfying, or shocking, or funny audience reaction?

Yes, very much show. We have an act with a scorpion, a real, live scorpion, and it ends up in a very unsuspecting place. And that really is quite incredible, and shocking. It’s not harmed! We take very good care of the scorpion. But it is a very amazing act no on else in the world is doing at all. It’s something that every single night gets a huge reaction from the audience.

When the audience members walk out of this theatre, what do you hope that they’re talking about on the way home?

I started my career in magic, having never done any magic before, it was 15, 20 years ago when we came up with The Illusionists, so we’re always looking for tricks in the show where the audience is not going to know how they’re done. And so, I’m really hoping that they leave the show having had an amazing night out. That’s what we’re there to do, entertain them, take them away from the craziness of the world for a brief moment in New York.

But I’m hoping that they’ll leave being like, “How on earth was that done?” Because there are some things in the show that are so magically complicated that have really not been done before, that even if they think they know how something’s been done, they definitely don’t.

Now You See Me Live will open November 11 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Photo Credit: Johan Persson