Jeff McBride, David Kaplan and a Special Kind of Magic at the Circus- & Clownmuseum Wien

The turn of the year 2025/26 brought the Circus- & Clownmuseum Wien a very special kind of magic: Several international top magicians who were engaged at Magic World Vienna used their free time to visit the museum and let themselves be inspired by the world of circus and clown art. At the forefront was Jeff McBride from Las Vegas — headliner of the Magic Winter Festival and founder of the McBride Magic & Mystery School, one of the most renowned magic schools in the world. Together with American vaudeville magician David Kaplan and other artists, he entered our house with visible curiosity — and within a short time, a tour turned into a spontaneous workshop.

Jeff McBride is known for combining mask play, martial arts elements and highly precise card manipulation into a unique form of stage magic. When he reached for the cards in the museum's circus space, the exhibition room transformed into a training arena: With great patience, he demonstrated how to throw playing cards through the air over long distances in a controlled manner — not as a gag, but as a deliberate technique to actively draw the audience into the magic. Soon everyone was standing side by side and trying; cards flew, some perfect, some with comical crashes — and every success and every failure brought shared laughter.

Ju Fool — Julian Swatosch, who uses every opportunity to learn something new not only as a clown but also as a magician, took particular joy in this. You could see him absorbing every move from Jeff: this time from Jeff as a card juggler, another time from David Kaplan as a master of vaudeville comedy, who brought balls, hats and small objects into motion seemingly effortlessly.

David Kaplan, known as "The Great Kaplan", brought the energy of American variety theater into the museum: He combines magic, juggling, music and dry slapstick into an unmistakable stage character that interprets classic humor in a modern way. For him, the visit was a journey through the roots of his art — from historical juggling props to posters reminiscent of the time when magicians, clowns and other performers naturally shared the circus program together. While Jeff experimented with cards, David reached for balls, hats and small objects, showing Ju Fool and the others just how much juggling and magic can overlap when timing and character are placed at the center.

Perhaps the most magical moment of the visit, however, occurred when Jeff McBride pulled out his phone and called an old colleague via Facetime: David Copperfield, the legendary illusionist from Las Vegas, who preserves one of the world's largest collections of magic props and history in a non-public museum. Suddenly, Copperfield was live with picture and sound as a guest at the Circus- & Clownmuseum Wien; Jeff showed him parts of the exhibition, told him about the history of the house, and we had the opportunity to briefly chat with David, introduce him to our work and invite him for a visit. For a museum dedicated to the history of circus, clowns and the magical arts, this moment was a special recognition — a connecting line between Las Vegas and Vienna, between Copperfield's secret Magic Museum and our publicly accessible museum circus space.

No less important were those guests who have long become good friends of the house: Thomas Otto, the German magician and host, who reinterprets classics of magic with his own ideas and personal style and regularly performs at the Palazzo and on other major stages. He moves through the museum with the calm of a colleague who knows exactly how much history is contained in every prop — and returns to Vienna time and again to gather new impulses and maintain old connections.

Similarly familiar to us is Kurt Freitag, Viennese master of the cup game, long-time president of the Magischer Circle, Austrian and European champion of magic. Formerly a master butcher, now a "magician by passion", he embodies the connection between craftsmanship and stage magic; when he stands in the museum, he recognizes many of the posters and props from his own memory. Especially on this card-flying evening, his joy was visible: Between Jeff's Las Vegas technique and David's vaudeville charm, Kurt brought in his Viennese precision and showed how deeply the local magic scene is rooted in our house.

With Andreas Sucker, PR manager of the Ehrlich Brothers, the perspective of large modern illusion shows was also present. The Ehrlich Brothers have shown in recent years how magic can become an arena event for a million-strong audience; Andreas thinks in tour schedules, lighting concepts and grand illusions — and yet stands with palpable enthusiasm before historical apparatuses and old circus posters. That someone who helps build mega-shows today returns again and again to the Circus- & Clownmuseum Wien is a strong sign to us of how closely the past and present of magic belong together.

That Jeff McBride, David Kaplan, Thomas Otto, Kurt Freitag, Andreas Sucker and their colleagues felt so comfortable with us has much to do with the atmosphere of the house. Here, historical costumes, posters and props meet a stage where clown pieces, comedy magic shows and literary-magical discovery journeys regularly take place — a living museum circus in which the boundary between history and present is crossed anew every day. When international stars of magic stand among our display cases, throwing cards, juggling, making Facetime calls to Las Vegas and visibly enjoying themselves, it confirms us here in Vienna: The world needs clowns and magicians — and our museum is a place where both find their home.

We at the Circus- & Clownmuseum Wien are grateful to be able to welcome such friends of the house again and again — their smiles and enthusiasm are the most beautiful confirmation of our work.