Works Like Magic 

From spontaneous sleight of hand as he strolls through the park looking for volunteers, to upscale dinner parties and even post-game performances for national sports teams, Shlomo Levinger has made what looks like hocus pocus into an art form filled with shocks and surprises. After all, who doesn’t love a good magic trick, especially when the joke’s on you?

Walking into Manhattan’s Bryant Park on a sunny summer day, Shlomo Levinger accosts a high-spirited group of five college-age boys. “Hey, I’m doing some magic for a video,” he tells them. “Would you like to see?”

These guys turn out to be tourists from Ireland. Most of them are wearing something green, and they have those charming, lilting accents. Having a stranger approach them and offer free entertainment sounds like a great add-on to their New York jaunt. “Sure, sure!” they say.

Shlomo asks for a volunteer, and a guy named Finn steps up. Shlomo asks if he’s a rightie or a leftie, and has him clench one hand and relax the other. Now he produces a black Sharpie. “You know these pens, right?” he says. “They’re permanent! The ink stays on forever.”

He proceeds to draw a little X on Finn’s palm. Then he takes his finger and rubs it against the mark, and — imagine! — the whole X lifts off like a sticker. Then he suddenly seems to shake it off. Where did it go?