Liberty Magic: Joshua Jay makes magic in Making Magic
Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, PhD and Theron Raymond (6th grader)
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Liberty Magic continue their 2025 show series with magician Joshua Jay in Making Magic.
Jay is a world-renowned magician who travels over 300 days a year performing his art. The fact he’s in Pittsburgh through June 1 to premiere his brand-new show is a boon for our fair city. On May 21, he’ll even be throwing out the first pitch with a magic trick at the Pirates game. If only he could bestow the magic of a winning season on the Buccos!
This award-winning, globetrotting magician is also neighborhood adjacent. He was born and raised in nearby Canton, Ohio. Immediately following the world premiere of his new show here in Pittsburgh, Joshua Jay will perform at the massive Kennedy Center.
In a meta-moment, a voiceover of Josh’s internal monologue deliberating how to start the show in fact opens the show. He establishes both his impeccable timing and ability to connect with the audience when he walks on stage just as the narration muses, “They scream with excitement.” The audience responds accordingly, and the hype energy is made real. He performs a series of illusions that rapidly raise the bar and reinforce his 2020 “Magician of the Year” accolades.
Jay shares “This is a show about the making of a show.” Accordingly, he talks about the process of creating this world premiere over the last eight months. His authenticity fosters a bond with the audience. As a magician, it’s his job to make his tricks look effortless – so effortless they’re breath-taking illusions. Like any profession, one doesn’t necessarily think about what it takes to achieve expertise. When Jay talks about practicing his tricks in front of a 3-way mirror to see what they look like from different angles, it’s a unique insight into the labor of creating effortlessness.
One piece of “show making” Jay shares is he started taking shadow puppet lessons during the pandemic. (I didn’t even know shadow puppet lessons were a thing.) He wanted to learn enough to do one trick he had conceptualized. His instructor refused to teach him for a single trick, and five years later, he’s still a student. This half-decade commitment is an inspiring testimony to his growth mindset and dedication to advancing his craft.
Subsequently, he treats the audience to an exquisite shadow puppet show. We live in a high tech world, yet Jay casts magic with the ordinary. It’s utterly transfixing to witness his hands become storytellers as they cascade through a panoply of animals. The creatures are accompanied by a gentle soundtrack of nature sounds, and his flawless timing matches each shadow to the appropriate animal sound. You find your eyes involuntarily darting from the screen of shadows to his actual hands to see the shapes and evolution of stag to elephant to owl. He brings it back to the trick in question, astonishing as his shadows interact with real objects.
Jay’s tricks are layered stories. He thoughtfully utilizes audience participation. This simultaneously builds engagement and allows him to remove himself from the magic, making the participants unexpected heroes. It also heightens the wow factor as he somehow didn’t touch a thing and yet, magic! This is particularly true with his card tricks, which are the mainstay of his show. He stabs cards with a sword and makes cards appear that triangulate data points from random audience members. His experimental show reminds us that making and telling stories is the magic of a collective experience.
Ages 12 and up are welcome, so don’t miss the chance to see Joshua Jay in Making Magic through June 1, 2025 at the wonderfully intimate Liberty Magic (811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222). Liberty Magic also offers a VIP experience to go backstage and connect with Josh after his show. You’ll see a few bonus magic tricks too. Purchase tickets online here.
-TKR, Ph. D. & TR
