• Arnie Kolodner

  212-582-2633; arniemagic.com

  Think of Arnie Kolodner as a magician and actor rolled into one. Kolodner and his (lovely) assistant, Alice Bergmann, stage fully costumed magic shows that take classic children’s stories—Cinderella, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz—and add interactive tricks (including the crowd-pleasing floating-table and disappearing-lady routines). New to the lineup is a wizard-school adaptation, à la Harry Potter. Donald Trump, Katie Couric, Kevin Kline, and Harvey Weinstein have all hired Kolodner to perform at their children’s birthdays. Be prepared to pay top dollar ($650 for a one-hour show), and check on availability well in advance.

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine