Speaking of Pop Haydn:
"Whit Haydn is one of the best close-up magicians I have ever seen..."
--Merv Griffin
"Haydn has a very different and engaging manner of talking--it is infectious and the audiences loved it. He also performs his magic superbly."
--Dai Vernon (the "Professor") Genii--The International Conjuror's Monthly
"Doreen Wilson came back with raves about your performance, personality, and showmanship."
--William Preston, Past President, International Brotherhood of Magicians
"Donnerstag dann das Magic Castle, das Zentrum der Zauberkunst ! ...Der MC Pop Haydn (für die Unwissenden: MC steht für Master of Ceremonies und bedeutet so viel wie Conferencier oder Moderator) präsentierte fabelhafte Unterhaltung mit viel Sprachwitz, wo seine Seilroutine eigentlich zur Nebensache wurde. Sein Abschlus war eines der besten Ringspiele, welches ich jemals gesehen habe."
--topitmagic.de
"Lulled by his easygoing manner, his ingenuousness, people find themselves swept away by one illusion after another."
--Susan Ladd, Greensboro News and Record
"Sinatra's (Frank Sinatra, Jr.) audiences have loved his show, as well as magician Pop Haydn's, who opens for him. Whit is clever, personable and very handsome..."
--Maxine Mesinger, Big City Beat, Houston Chronicle
"Haydn has been in the business for many years, performing for numerous celebrities along the way, and it shows. his style of close-up magic is well suited to the club's environment, and last week's performance proved to be a marvel of magical skill. His smooth-as-silk manner is as disarming as his sleight-of-hand, lulling the audience into a false sense of security about their perceptions, only to completely confuse them a moment later...Anyone even remotely interested in magic should make an effort to catch his act."
--Stephen Amidon, Spectator, Magazine of the Triad, Greensboro, NC
"We are hoping another trade show will bring Pop back (to Chicago), so those that only heard about his prowess can see and admire this really fine magician."
--Frances Marshall, The Linking Ring Magazine
"I first met Pop while my wife and I were vacationing on the last voyage of the Queen Odyssey. The ship had just been bought by Seabourn from Royal Cruise Lines and the cruise was the transition to the new company. Seabourn was trying to impress the loyal Royal Cruise Line passengers that the new owners could keep up the fine reputation the ship had earned. They hired Whit as the only non-musical act to appear in the main theater and obviously had great confidence in his abilities to impress the crowd they hoped to retain for future voyages."
--Tim Quinlan, InsideMagic.com
"You aren't just a magician, you are a great actor!"
--Alan Alda
--Merv Griffin
"Haydn has a very different and engaging manner of talking--it is infectious and the audiences loved it. He also performs his magic superbly."
--Dai Vernon (the "Professor") Genii--The International Conjuror's Monthly
"Doreen Wilson came back with raves about your performance, personality, and showmanship."
--William Preston, Past President, International Brotherhood of Magicians
"Donnerstag dann das Magic Castle, das Zentrum der Zauberkunst ! ...Der MC Pop Haydn (für die Unwissenden: MC steht für Master of Ceremonies und bedeutet so viel wie Conferencier oder Moderator) präsentierte fabelhafte Unterhaltung mit viel Sprachwitz, wo seine Seilroutine eigentlich zur Nebensache wurde. Sein Abschlus war eines der besten Ringspiele, welches ich jemals gesehen habe."
--topitmagic.de
"Lulled by his easygoing manner, his ingenuousness, people find themselves swept away by one illusion after another."
--Susan Ladd, Greensboro News and Record
"Sinatra's (Frank Sinatra, Jr.) audiences have loved his show, as well as magician Pop Haydn's, who opens for him. Whit is clever, personable and very handsome..."
--Maxine Mesinger, Big City Beat, Houston Chronicle
"Haydn has been in the business for many years, performing for numerous celebrities along the way, and it shows. his style of close-up magic is well suited to the club's environment, and last week's performance proved to be a marvel of magical skill. His smooth-as-silk manner is as disarming as his sleight-of-hand, lulling the audience into a false sense of security about their perceptions, only to completely confuse them a moment later...Anyone even remotely interested in magic should make an effort to catch his act."
--Stephen Amidon, Spectator, Magazine of the Triad, Greensboro, NC
"We are hoping another trade show will bring Pop back (to Chicago), so those that only heard about his prowess can see and admire this really fine magician."
--Frances Marshall, The Linking Ring Magazine
"I first met Pop while my wife and I were vacationing on the last voyage of the Queen Odyssey. The ship had just been bought by Seabourn from Royal Cruise Lines and the cruise was the transition to the new company. Seabourn was trying to impress the loyal Royal Cruise Line passengers that the new owners could keep up the fine reputation the ship had earned. They hired Whit as the only non-musical act to appear in the main theater and obviously had great confidence in his abilities to impress the crowd they hoped to retain for future voyages."
--Tim Quinlan, InsideMagic.com
"You aren't just a magician, you are a great actor!"
--Alan Alda
"Legends of Magic"Vanish Magazine, June 2015
www.vanishmagic.com/
Interview with Artefake.com
a French online magazine
Comment êtes-vous entré dans la magie ? A quand remonte votre premier déclic ?
Un jour, j’ai vu un pasteur méthodiste faire un spectacle de magie dans un camp d’été quand j’avais environ huit ans. Il faisait disparaître un foulard de soie en le poussant vers le bas dans un cône de papier avec sa baguette magique, et quand les enfants ont crié qu’il était « dans la baguette » il l’a cassa en deux et la jeta dans le public juste pour montrer aux enfants qu’ils avaient tort ! J’ai été frappé par ce geste. J’aurais tout donné pour avoir une baguette magique comme ça.
Je suis resté debout toute la nuit, dans une rêverie fiévreuse, à essayer de comprendre la façon dont les tours avaient été effectués, est-ce que les anneaux avaient des aimants ? J’ai aussi pensé à ce que cela signifierait d’avoir de vrais pouvoirs magiques, et d’être un célèbre magicien de scène. Je ne me suis jamais concentrer à ce point sur la créativité, sur une pensée inductive, et c’était très excitant pour moi. J’ai été « accroché » par la magie depuis ce moment-là.
Quand avez-vous franchi le premier pas et comment avez-vous appris ?
J’ai commencé à m’intéresser aux livres de magie en dehors de l’école, dans les bibliothèques publiques. J’ai trouvé « une annonce » pour le catalogue Magic Abbott dans un de ces livres et j’ai commandé des articles. C’est comme ça que j’ai commencé mon apprentissage.
Mon père était allé à l’école avec un magicien bien connu de Caroline du Nord, Dick Snavely. Dick m’a ainsi présenté à Bill Tadlock, Bill Spooner, Hersey Basham, Penny Pologne, Phillip Morris et Wallace Lee. Ce sont tous mes mentors de la région de Caroline du Nord en Virginie. Bill Tadlock m’a présenté aux « habitués d’Abbott » comme Monk Watson, Duke Stern et Karrell Fox, Chacun d’eux m’ont influencé.
Quelles sont les personnes ou les opportunités qui vous ont aidé. A l’inverse, un évènement vous a-t-il freiné ?
J’ai commencé à travailler dans les rues après avoir déménagé à New York en 1968. Je faisais « le jeu de la coquille » pour gagner de l’argent. La rue m’a appris beaucoup de choses sur l’exécution de mes tours et la tenue d’un public. J’ai ensuite voyagé et joué à Jérusalem, Paris, Bruxelles, Londres et Edimbourg en 1973.
La première grande opportunité que j’ai eue a été celle de prendre « le salon de spectacle » à Tombstone Junction, un parc à thème du Far West dans le Cumberland Gap du Kentucky. A cette époque, ils essayaient de monter un spectacle de « magie programmée », avec des automates costumés aux lèvres synchronisées à une piste audio, et un magicien en direct. J’ai conduit de Knoxville (Tennessee) au Kentucky dans la neige aveuglante pour arriver à cet endroit. Ils m’ont engagé et j’ai travaillé pendant deux ans avec une illusion et un spectacle de colombe. Après mon départ, ils ont embauché Mac King et Lance Burton pour faire le show. J’ai eu la chance de travailler quatre mois par an avec un spectacle complet, sept jours par semaine, cinq spectacles par jour ; ce qui fut une merveilleuse expérience pour moi.
Le Magic Castle a été au centre de ma carrière. Jouer dans un tel endroit et être entouré de merveilleux magiciens, a influencé mon travail durablement.
Le plus grand frein à ma carrière a été « autoproduit » lorsque j’ai complètement changé de personnage et de style en 2005. Ça m’a coûté beaucoup de travail durant les quatre premières années, et c’est seulement maintenant que je commence à remonter la pente. Je pense que c’était la bonne décision, et je suis très heureux de ce que je suis maintenant. Finalement, mes difficultés financières en valaient la peine.
MORE HERE:
http://www.artefake.com/Pop-HAYDN.html
Un jour, j’ai vu un pasteur méthodiste faire un spectacle de magie dans un camp d’été quand j’avais environ huit ans. Il faisait disparaître un foulard de soie en le poussant vers le bas dans un cône de papier avec sa baguette magique, et quand les enfants ont crié qu’il était « dans la baguette » il l’a cassa en deux et la jeta dans le public juste pour montrer aux enfants qu’ils avaient tort ! J’ai été frappé par ce geste. J’aurais tout donné pour avoir une baguette magique comme ça.
Je suis resté debout toute la nuit, dans une rêverie fiévreuse, à essayer de comprendre la façon dont les tours avaient été effectués, est-ce que les anneaux avaient des aimants ? J’ai aussi pensé à ce que cela signifierait d’avoir de vrais pouvoirs magiques, et d’être un célèbre magicien de scène. Je ne me suis jamais concentrer à ce point sur la créativité, sur une pensée inductive, et c’était très excitant pour moi. J’ai été « accroché » par la magie depuis ce moment-là.
Quand avez-vous franchi le premier pas et comment avez-vous appris ?
J’ai commencé à m’intéresser aux livres de magie en dehors de l’école, dans les bibliothèques publiques. J’ai trouvé « une annonce » pour le catalogue Magic Abbott dans un de ces livres et j’ai commandé des articles. C’est comme ça que j’ai commencé mon apprentissage.
Mon père était allé à l’école avec un magicien bien connu de Caroline du Nord, Dick Snavely. Dick m’a ainsi présenté à Bill Tadlock, Bill Spooner, Hersey Basham, Penny Pologne, Phillip Morris et Wallace Lee. Ce sont tous mes mentors de la région de Caroline du Nord en Virginie. Bill Tadlock m’a présenté aux « habitués d’Abbott » comme Monk Watson, Duke Stern et Karrell Fox, Chacun d’eux m’ont influencé.
Quelles sont les personnes ou les opportunités qui vous ont aidé. A l’inverse, un évènement vous a-t-il freiné ?
J’ai commencé à travailler dans les rues après avoir déménagé à New York en 1968. Je faisais « le jeu de la coquille » pour gagner de l’argent. La rue m’a appris beaucoup de choses sur l’exécution de mes tours et la tenue d’un public. J’ai ensuite voyagé et joué à Jérusalem, Paris, Bruxelles, Londres et Edimbourg en 1973.
La première grande opportunité que j’ai eue a été celle de prendre « le salon de spectacle » à Tombstone Junction, un parc à thème du Far West dans le Cumberland Gap du Kentucky. A cette époque, ils essayaient de monter un spectacle de « magie programmée », avec des automates costumés aux lèvres synchronisées à une piste audio, et un magicien en direct. J’ai conduit de Knoxville (Tennessee) au Kentucky dans la neige aveuglante pour arriver à cet endroit. Ils m’ont engagé et j’ai travaillé pendant deux ans avec une illusion et un spectacle de colombe. Après mon départ, ils ont embauché Mac King et Lance Burton pour faire le show. J’ai eu la chance de travailler quatre mois par an avec un spectacle complet, sept jours par semaine, cinq spectacles par jour ; ce qui fut une merveilleuse expérience pour moi.
Le Magic Castle a été au centre de ma carrière. Jouer dans un tel endroit et être entouré de merveilleux magiciens, a influencé mon travail durablement.
Le plus grand frein à ma carrière a été « autoproduit » lorsque j’ai complètement changé de personnage et de style en 2005. Ça m’a coûté beaucoup de travail durant les quatre premières années, et c’est seulement maintenant que je commence à remonter la pente. Je pense que c’était la bonne décision, et je suis très heureux de ce que je suis maintenant. Finalement, mes difficultés financières en valaient la peine.
MORE HERE:
http://www.artefake.com/Pop-HAYDN.html
Interview with Paul Zollo at www.Bluerailroad.com
Words & Photographs by PAUL ZOLLO
He’s not of this world. Pop Haydn does not belong in the 21st century, but got marooned here, along with his entire Medicine Show troop, after a botched attempt to duplicate Tesla’s Coil that resulted in an electrical explosion. Along with the entire town, he landed here, in 2005, and ever since has been making his living using his cunning, his mastery of magic, and genius with a con. No one does the shell game like Pop Haydn. He’s also the inventor of the Teleportation Device, which sends matter through space, and the proud owner of the Sphere of Destiny, a crystal ball in which, it’s said, Cleopatra first looked upon the face of Marc Antony.
So knowing all this, it was thrilling to get to go and meet the legendary Pop at the Glassell Park home he shares with his wife and his library, his magic collection, and his souvenirs of a multi-centuried existence. Indeed, upon being granted entrance into his very domicile – there is it – the Sphere of Destiny – in person! Only a few miles outside of Altadena, and we are looking directly into history.
See the man perform - as he will be this very Thursday, April 4th at Magicopolis in Santa Monica — and you will understand why he is mythic among fellow magicians and fans of magic the world over. (Thankfully, there’s a profusion of Pop Haydn routines on Youtube, which you can sample for free, a great privilege for aspirant magicians, as I know well, as my son is one. And has been known to stay up late into the wee hours, poring over one of Pop’s routines with wonder and respect.)
The man performs his illusions with smooth, liquid grace, always a joy to behold. His work is as enjoyable for the ultimate trick – the thing that mystifies us and which doesn’t make sense, no matter what – but also for the easy charm, humor and elegance of a man who has honed this art for, well, for a few centuries. Born in 1849, just a few years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, down in Clarksville, Tennessee, he’s been doing this stuff for a long time. He conducts his tricks and the crowd with the precise yet relaxed demeanor of great violinist, whose Stradivarius, it turns out, is an instrument of his own design. Nothing rattles him when he’s performing – even when audience members attempt to be funny, as they often do – the man is the essence of cool, the Mose Alison of magicians.
Watch him do the shell game for example, in rhythm with rhymes he speaks like a cross between Mark Twain and the Wizard from start of The Wizard of Oz, and you see a master in action, a man in perfect control of every aspect of his performance. That he always deceives us is part of the charm; unlike other magicians who come off as too slick or even smarmy, Pop is eminently likeable. Even after he fools you, you want to hug the guy.
The son of a minister, he almost became a minister himself, and studied at a Seminary with that plan, until one of his professors set him on the path of magic by teaching him about God, as related in the following conversations.
There’s also the story that he got thrown out of the Seminary. Like the myths which surround all great magicians, there’s a mixture of truth and confabulation in every detail in the Pop Haydn bio.
There’s one version, for example, that has him born not in 1849, but 1949 – though most of the rest of the bio is right. Except instead of the volatile 1860s, he came of age in the volatile 1960s, devoted to civil rights and bettering the world. He was the first person ever in Pitt County, during the Viet Nam era, to get excused from service because of Conscientious Objector status, a very difficult distinction to earn, especially in the deep South.
In this version of his life, he is a regular kind of magician who did corporate events and Vegas shows under the name Whit Haydn, until 2005 when Pop emerged.
Whichever version you choose to believe, the truth is better than any of it. Seeing him do his thing live is a revelation. And getting to sit down with him in his kitchen, as I did on a resplendently sunny Sunday in Los Angeles, was a joy. Joined by my son Joshua who sat in silent awe of his idol most of the time until he got the tremendous privilege of advice from Pop on how best to do the Scotch & Soda effect, lost on this civilian, was a joy. We’re still not sure from which century Pop originated, but awfully glad he’s in this one now.
BLUERAILROAD: Your father was a minister, and I understand the first magic you ever saw was performed by a minister –
POP HAYDN: True.
And you were so struck by it, you stayed up all night to figure out how he did it?
Yes, I did stay up all night thinking about how the tricks worked.
Were you able to figure it out?
No, that is the wonderful thing about magic. There is no way to figure magic out, if it’s done right. But you’re gonna try.
Magic is an argument. It’s a syllogism that’s valid. It makes perfect sense. Except that the conclusion doesn’t make any sense at all. But you can’t go back and fix it, because one of the premises that you accept as true is not true. You keep getting the wrong result. And that result is that this has to be magic. Well, that can’t be right. So you go back and look at it. But it adds up to real magic. But it can’t be real magic. Let’s go over this again. You will keep ending up with the same result, because the premise is wrong. And so every magic trick is kind of like that.
We don’t have fraud in nature. The universe is not set up to fool us. If we find facts in nature, they’re usually pretty much what they appear to be. But when humans are involved, there is always the possibility of cheating and trickery. And that’s what magicians are here to remind us about, how easily we can be fooled, when there’s another human being using deception...
-- CLICK FOR MORE
He’s not of this world. Pop Haydn does not belong in the 21st century, but got marooned here, along with his entire Medicine Show troop, after a botched attempt to duplicate Tesla’s Coil that resulted in an electrical explosion. Along with the entire town, he landed here, in 2005, and ever since has been making his living using his cunning, his mastery of magic, and genius with a con. No one does the shell game like Pop Haydn. He’s also the inventor of the Teleportation Device, which sends matter through space, and the proud owner of the Sphere of Destiny, a crystal ball in which, it’s said, Cleopatra first looked upon the face of Marc Antony.
So knowing all this, it was thrilling to get to go and meet the legendary Pop at the Glassell Park home he shares with his wife and his library, his magic collection, and his souvenirs of a multi-centuried existence. Indeed, upon being granted entrance into his very domicile – there is it – the Sphere of Destiny – in person! Only a few miles outside of Altadena, and we are looking directly into history.
See the man perform - as he will be this very Thursday, April 4th at Magicopolis in Santa Monica — and you will understand why he is mythic among fellow magicians and fans of magic the world over. (Thankfully, there’s a profusion of Pop Haydn routines on Youtube, which you can sample for free, a great privilege for aspirant magicians, as I know well, as my son is one. And has been known to stay up late into the wee hours, poring over one of Pop’s routines with wonder and respect.)
The man performs his illusions with smooth, liquid grace, always a joy to behold. His work is as enjoyable for the ultimate trick – the thing that mystifies us and which doesn’t make sense, no matter what – but also for the easy charm, humor and elegance of a man who has honed this art for, well, for a few centuries. Born in 1849, just a few years prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, down in Clarksville, Tennessee, he’s been doing this stuff for a long time. He conducts his tricks and the crowd with the precise yet relaxed demeanor of great violinist, whose Stradivarius, it turns out, is an instrument of his own design. Nothing rattles him when he’s performing – even when audience members attempt to be funny, as they often do – the man is the essence of cool, the Mose Alison of magicians.
Watch him do the shell game for example, in rhythm with rhymes he speaks like a cross between Mark Twain and the Wizard from start of The Wizard of Oz, and you see a master in action, a man in perfect control of every aspect of his performance. That he always deceives us is part of the charm; unlike other magicians who come off as too slick or even smarmy, Pop is eminently likeable. Even after he fools you, you want to hug the guy.
The son of a minister, he almost became a minister himself, and studied at a Seminary with that plan, until one of his professors set him on the path of magic by teaching him about God, as related in the following conversations.
There’s also the story that he got thrown out of the Seminary. Like the myths which surround all great magicians, there’s a mixture of truth and confabulation in every detail in the Pop Haydn bio.
There’s one version, for example, that has him born not in 1849, but 1949 – though most of the rest of the bio is right. Except instead of the volatile 1860s, he came of age in the volatile 1960s, devoted to civil rights and bettering the world. He was the first person ever in Pitt County, during the Viet Nam era, to get excused from service because of Conscientious Objector status, a very difficult distinction to earn, especially in the deep South.
In this version of his life, he is a regular kind of magician who did corporate events and Vegas shows under the name Whit Haydn, until 2005 when Pop emerged.
Whichever version you choose to believe, the truth is better than any of it. Seeing him do his thing live is a revelation. And getting to sit down with him in his kitchen, as I did on a resplendently sunny Sunday in Los Angeles, was a joy. Joined by my son Joshua who sat in silent awe of his idol most of the time until he got the tremendous privilege of advice from Pop on how best to do the Scotch & Soda effect, lost on this civilian, was a joy. We’re still not sure from which century Pop originated, but awfully glad he’s in this one now.
BLUERAILROAD: Your father was a minister, and I understand the first magic you ever saw was performed by a minister –
POP HAYDN: True.
And you were so struck by it, you stayed up all night to figure out how he did it?
Yes, I did stay up all night thinking about how the tricks worked.
Were you able to figure it out?
No, that is the wonderful thing about magic. There is no way to figure magic out, if it’s done right. But you’re gonna try.
Magic is an argument. It’s a syllogism that’s valid. It makes perfect sense. Except that the conclusion doesn’t make any sense at all. But you can’t go back and fix it, because one of the premises that you accept as true is not true. You keep getting the wrong result. And that result is that this has to be magic. Well, that can’t be right. So you go back and look at it. But it adds up to real magic. But it can’t be real magic. Let’s go over this again. You will keep ending up with the same result, because the premise is wrong. And so every magic trick is kind of like that.
We don’t have fraud in nature. The universe is not set up to fool us. If we find facts in nature, they’re usually pretty much what they appear to be. But when humans are involved, there is always the possibility of cheating and trickery. And that’s what magicians are here to remind us about, how easily we can be fooled, when there’s another human being using deception...
-- CLICK FOR MORE
Reviews of Pop Haydn's August performances at the Magic Castle:
Chloe Veltman
Chloe Veltman:
"...Pop Haydn, my favorite performer from last night’s lineup at the Castle, undertook a wonderful routine using a weird contraption that looked like an old-fashioned transistor radio.
The improbable gadget has flashing lights on it and made an ear-splitting squeaking sound when the venerable magician turned the dial on its front.
The prop fitted in well with his ludite-centric theme and served as a wonderful device for performing the main illusion — the transmission” of a soggy dollar bill, attached to the end of a long antenna which protruded from the device, to the inside of a lemon! I wish more magicians could be equally creative." -- Chloe Veltman
http://www.artsjournal.com/lies/2011/08/enough-with-the-card-tricks/
Chloe Verltman is a 2011-2012 Knight Journalism Fellow at
Stanford University. A regular contributor to The New York Times, The Los
Angeles Times, BBC Classical Music Magazine, American Theatre Magazine and many
other media outlets, Chloe is also the host and executive producer of VoiceBox,
a weekly public radio series all about singing on KALW 91.7 FM (www.voicebox-media.org).
Check out Chloe's website at www.chloeveltman.com
"...Pop Haydn, my favorite performer from last night’s lineup at the Castle, undertook a wonderful routine using a weird contraption that looked like an old-fashioned transistor radio.
The improbable gadget has flashing lights on it and made an ear-splitting squeaking sound when the venerable magician turned the dial on its front.
The prop fitted in well with his ludite-centric theme and served as a wonderful device for performing the main illusion — the transmission” of a soggy dollar bill, attached to the end of a long antenna which protruded from the device, to the inside of a lemon! I wish more magicians could be equally creative." -- Chloe Veltman
http://www.artsjournal.com/lies/2011/08/enough-with-the-card-tricks/
Chloe Verltman is a 2011-2012 Knight Journalism Fellow at
Stanford University. A regular contributor to The New York Times, The Los
Angeles Times, BBC Classical Music Magazine, American Theatre Magazine and many
other media outlets, Chloe is also the host and executive producer of VoiceBox,
a weekly public radio series all about singing on KALW 91.7 FM (www.voicebox-media.org).
Check out Chloe's website at www.chloeveltman.com
From "RemarkableMagic.com"
Nick Lewin
Nick Lewin:
"A visit to the Magic Castle last Thursday gave me the privilege of catching 'Pop' Haydn performing in the Palace of Mysteries. What a great job he did!
I have known 'Pop' for quite a few years now but this was the first time I had seen him performing in his "Pop" persona.
It is very, very clever and a real crowd pleaser.
His 19th Century character who seems strangely stranded in another time zone is unique and beautifully thought out.
Haydn's 20-minute set explored the limits and extremes of his teleportation device. In lesser hands it might have seemed like a duo of burnt and restored dollar bill tricks but with 'Pop' his unique props and premise turned it into something much different.
The slightly deranged twinkle in his eyes turned Haydn's performance into a series of jokes within jokes.
'Pop' is truly a consummate magician, carefully wedded to a well thought out and fully fleshed out comedy character.
In that respect, he reminded me of John Carney, another truly standout contemporary performer. I can't wait to see Haydn perform his full Medicine Show and suspect it will be something very, very special.
I will look forward to writing a full review of his show at that point.
The Palace of Mysteries has never looked better and Stage Manager Bryan Lee had it humming and functioning as the first rate jewel box theatre that it has become. Mystina and Dan Birch completed the line-up in the Palace and the entire show delighted the audience from first to last."
--Nick Lewin in Alan Watson's "Magic New Zealand" August 18, 2011 newsletter,
www.magicnewzealand.com
Nick Lewin's Blog:
http://remarkablemagic.com/2011/08/18/meeting-up-with-magicians-what-fun/
"A visit to the Magic Castle last Thursday gave me the privilege of catching 'Pop' Haydn performing in the Palace of Mysteries. What a great job he did!
I have known 'Pop' for quite a few years now but this was the first time I had seen him performing in his "Pop" persona.
It is very, very clever and a real crowd pleaser.
His 19th Century character who seems strangely stranded in another time zone is unique and beautifully thought out.
Haydn's 20-minute set explored the limits and extremes of his teleportation device. In lesser hands it might have seemed like a duo of burnt and restored dollar bill tricks but with 'Pop' his unique props and premise turned it into something much different.
The slightly deranged twinkle in his eyes turned Haydn's performance into a series of jokes within jokes.
'Pop' is truly a consummate magician, carefully wedded to a well thought out and fully fleshed out comedy character.
In that respect, he reminded me of John Carney, another truly standout contemporary performer. I can't wait to see Haydn perform his full Medicine Show and suspect it will be something very, very special.
I will look forward to writing a full review of his show at that point.
The Palace of Mysteries has never looked better and Stage Manager Bryan Lee had it humming and functioning as the first rate jewel box theatre that it has become. Mystina and Dan Birch completed the line-up in the Palace and the entire show delighted the audience from first to last."
--Nick Lewin in Alan Watson's "Magic New Zealand" August 18, 2011 newsletter,
www.magicnewzealand.com
Nick Lewin's Blog:
http://remarkablemagic.com/2011/08/18/meeting-up-with-magicians-what-fun/
Interview on WeirdReview.com:
Review of Pop's Show at the World Steam Expo:
"Just last night I saw the hilarious and clever prestidigitator, Pop Haydn in action at the World Steam Expo.
According to Pop’s business card he is a certifiable genius. After seeing his show I would have to say that
I am sure he is certifiable for many things, including Certifiably Hilarious!
His hilarious patter was tailored to the event and his interaction with the audience flowed effortlessly.
He performed some of the old greats such as the cut and restored rope (here he tosses one of the knots of the restored rope into the audience) and dollar with clever, steampunk props and storyline and kept the audience mesmerized when they weren’t laughing uproariously..."
John Collins, Weird Review, http://weirdreview.com/2011/05/29/wse3/
According to Pop’s business card he is a certifiable genius. After seeing his show I would have to say that
I am sure he is certifiable for many things, including Certifiably Hilarious!
His hilarious patter was tailored to the event and his interaction with the audience flowed effortlessly.
He performed some of the old greats such as the cut and restored rope (here he tosses one of the knots of the restored rope into the audience) and dollar with clever, steampunk props and storyline and kept the audience mesmerized when they weren’t laughing uproariously..."
John Collins, Weird Review, http://weirdreview.com/2011/05/29/wse3/
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Pop Haydn is a professional magician in Los Angeles California
Steampunk Variety Entertainment
Medicine Show Victorian 19th Century Magic
Old West Cowboy
Pop Haydn is a professional magician in Los Angeles, California