Two performers, one wearing a blue shirt and black vest and the other wearing a red shirt, overalls, red glasses and a blue hat, make silly faces on stage and appear on a large screen above the stage.
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Watch The Magic City's trailer!
Get a sneak peek at the show.

The Magic City

Manual Cinema
from Chicago, Illinois

March 29 – April 6, 2025
Recommended Ages
For everyone 6 and up
Price
Tickets start at $24*
Members save 30%
 *Price includes service fees
What Kind of Show?
Puppetry with live music and projections; poignant and inventive
Running Time
60 minutes with no intermission
Venue
The New Victory Theater 209 W 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
public schools

Select a Performance

Available

Few Seats Left

Unavailable

Week of March 24 – 30

Mar 29

Sat, 12pm

Mar 29

Sat, 5pm

Mar 30

Sun, 11am

Mar 30

Sun, 3pm

Week of March 31 – April 6

Apr 05

Sat, 12pm

Apr 05

Sat, 5pm

Get to know the performers and creative team at a Talk-Back!
Live audio-description provided

Apr 06

Sun, 11am

Live sign-interpretation provided

Apr 06

Sun, 3pm

Key

  • Audio Described Performance
    Audio-Described

    Live audio-description provided

  • Audio Described Performance
    Sign-Interpreted

    Live sign-interpretation provided

  • Audio Described Performance
    Talk-Back

    Get to know the performers and creative team at a Talk-Back!

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About the Show

Nine-year-old Philomena loves building miniature cities with her big sister, Helen. But when Helen gets engaged, what will become of their world? And who wants a weird new stepbrother? So Philomena fashions herself a new world from books, toys and found objects that come alive when she falls asleep. Will she retreat into her imagination, or can she open up to her newly blended family? Brought to adventurous life through Manual Cinema’s (Leonardo!, 2022) signature fusion of actors, puppets, live music and miniatures, The Magic City encourages us to build bridges rather than walls.

The Magic City lets everyone in.

—Chicago Tribune

Things to Know

  1. Manual Cinema was last at the New Victory in 2022 with Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster.
  2. As cinematic as the world of The Magic City is, everything on stage will be performed live—including the music!
  3. The Magic City is based on Edith Nesbit’s 1910 novel of the same name.

 

The show on stage is just one act of your experience! Come early or stay late for free lobby activities on the day of the show. Then whether you’re building anticipation, continuing the fun or looking for laughs at any time, at-home New Victory Arts Break activities await you whenever and wherever.

About the Artists

A performance troupe, design studio and production company, Manual Cinema tells visually exciting stories that redefine the term “multimedia.” Vintage overhead projectors, puppets, actors and live feed cameras cross moviegoing with theatergoing, remaking the cinema experience with liveness and theatricality for the stage. Their ingenuity won them an Emmy in 2017 for The Forger, a documentary short made in collaboration with The New York Times.

Photos
Photo: Chuck Osgood
Photo: Chuck Osgood
Photo: Chuck Osgood
Photo: Chuck Osgood
Photo: Chuck Osgood

Creative Team

Writer
Drew Dir

Art Direction & Puppets
Lizi Breit and Drew Dir

Costume & Wig Designer
Mieka van der Ploeg

Lighting Designer
Claire Chrzan

Sound Designers
Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter

Production Stage Manager
Kate Hardiman

Accessibility

On the left, a paper puppet of a woman with curly brown hair holds a smaller kid with red glasses and a blue hat in her backpack, and on the right, an ASL interpreter signs against a gray background.
Watch The Magic City's ASL-interpreted trailer!
Watch Trailer

For every performance at the New Victory Theater…

  • You can head downstairs to the Accessibility Table (across from the bathrooms and lockers) to borrow supports like fidgets, earplugs, assisted listening devices, wheelchairs and more.
  • Our quiet Cozy Zone and a live feed of the performance are available in the lower lobby at all times for patrons with sensory sensitivities or anyone who needs a break from the theater.
  • Wheelchair-accessible seats and Companion seat tickets are available for purchase (see more details on the seat selection page when buying tickets).

 
Get additional accessibility details, and prepare for your visit with our New Victory Social Narrative.

An ASL interpreter signs a post-show talk-back inside the New Victory Theater.

Accessibility

Our facilities and programs

We strive to make our programs, performances and spaces accessible.

Interior of the New Victory Theater with stage lights in balcony

Plan Your Visit

Amenities and free activities

Dive into everything to know about seeing a show at the New Victory.

Two kids shown from behind in an at-home office as they watch a person on a computer screen speaking while holding three juggling pins

New Victory Arts Break

Explore the arts from home!

Flex your creativity and stretch your imagination.