Birthday parties are supposed to be fun — but for parents they can also involve hours of planning and assembling decorations, the upheaval creating confusion and leaving icing on the carpet afterward.
It’s why so many New York City families find themselves swapping at-home birthday parties for memorable experiences — and one of the best parties ever is taking your child to a live magic show right in the heart of Manhattan.
And if you’re hoping to guarantee your child has a great day, then the Broadway Magic Hour will do the job: laughter, surprise, audience engagement, and memories to cherish long after the candles have been blown out. This live stage show runs on weekend afternoons at 2PM - the perfect time for a birthday party. Get there a few minutes early, and you'll even see miraculous close-up magic right at your table from a sleight-of-hand artist.
Ask any parent who has hosted a dozen excited kids in their living room: It can be overwhelming. Whether it's confetti on the floor or half-eaten cupcakes on the sofa, the “fun” moment of the day can soon be hours of cleanup.
But if you’re celebrating your kid’s birthday at a ticketed magic show, the venue does the heavy lifting for you.
At the Broadway Magic Hour, families just get ready, bring the kids, and then sit back and watch the show do the entertaining. The venue hosting the show – the Broadway Comedy Club – even has a party room (you optionally book this separately), in case you want to have pizza and cake before the show. And with the venue’s staff there to take care of everything, all you will leave with are smiles and great memories.
And, unlike a home party ending with you sweeping up glitter after everyone leaves, you can sit down and enjoy your child’s special day, and leave the cleanup to the club staff.
An additional perk of celebrating at a magic show? No need to cook and cater.
At the Broadway Magic Hour, your party can order from the kids' menu at the Broadway Comedy Club — which includes kid-friendly meals, snacks, drinks and options for parents.
From classic favorites such as chicken fingers, hotdogs, fries and more, to beverages for grown-ups, there’s something for everyone.
For kids, it’s a huge adventure traveling with their friends into the center of Manhattan's Theater District for a birthday celebration.
For many children, it is their first experience watching a live stage show in New York City — a memory that feels larger than life.
You go through Times Square, see the brightness of the lights and then head over to West 53rd Street and into the Broadway Comedy Club... and you also feel like you’re on an adventure, something that you don’t encounter every day.
It’s the sort of outing that your family and friends will discuss for years to come.
One of the things that makes Broadway Magic Hour so great for people is that children not only go onto watch the show, they also become a part of it.
Throughout the performance, magicians Jim Vines (as seen on Penn & Teller: Fool Us) and Carl Mercurio (Mohegan Sun) invite kids to not only interact from their seats, but they also bring up kids from the audience to join them on stage.
Every kid, whether or not they go onstage, feels like they saw something unique and that the magic happened in a special way that day.
And then there’s the climactic moment of jaw-dropping disbelief… the grand illusion: when one child, very lucky, floats in midair, prompting the audience gasps and every kid in the room to stare in wide-eyed wonder.
That type of interaction and magic can’t be performed in the living room.
At the Broadway Magic Hour, the whole audience participates in the illusion; your child can be there in the spotlight, doing something incredible that no one thought possible.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find entertainment that truly engages kids, teens, and parents. Too many times, “kid parties” are for the little ones, leaving parents and older kids flicking through their cell phone in the corner.
But Broadway Magic Hour is designed for the whole family. The show often gets parents, kids, and grandparents, all enjoying the magic together.
Even your teenagers will laughing, gasping and on the edge of their seats in wonder.
The reality of hosting a party at home: Parents have to work so hard to make the party a success, they barely get to take photos, or even enjoy it.
At the Broadway Magic Hour, you just have to book your seats and make it to the show.
The friendly staff at the Broadway Comedy Club handle all the logistics for you—seating your group, serving food at the table, and giving your birthday child a minute to shine.
Plus, you’ll take beautiful photos: your child on stage smiling with the magicians, their friends encouraging them, the look of astonishment when everything seems so impossible but it just happens in front of their eyes.
These are authentic, joy-filled moments that you’ll cherish for a lifetime.
One of the key benefits that the Broadway Magic Hour offers is that it offers a world class magical experience without the Broadway ticket prices.
The one-hour show has been polished from years of performances by the veteran magicians, professionally staged with high tech lighting and sound — but it’s affordable, accessible and ultra family-friendly.
Compared to hiring an entertainer to come to your home, then buying a load of party supplies and catering food, an afternoon at the Broadway Magic Hour can be very budget-friendly — and brings kudos from all the other parents who wish they’d thought of it for their kid’s birthday party.
Ask most parents what their children recall from past birthdays, and you’ll notice: seldom the presents.
What the kids remember best is the experience — the laughs, the surprise, the feeling of being a VIP.
And that’s precisely what Broadway Magic Hour offers.
And that is the best sort of birthday present imaginable.
If your child’s birthday is approaching, skip the stress, avoid the cleanup and give them something they will never forget.
Arrange an awesome trip to the Broadway Magic Hour, NYC’s #1 Family Friendly Magic Show, at the Broadway Comedy Club, located in Manhattan’s Theatre District, just steps from Times Square.
It’s an ideal blend of laughter, awe, and real wonder — and perhaps the best birthday celebration your family has ever celebrated.
Tickets and Show Schedule: https://broadwaymagichour.com