Kronzek Brings a Bit of Magic, and Deception, to the Green Room Bar in the Sag Harbor Cinema

Allan Kronzek began performing in the Green Room in January 2022, and it’s been a perfect venue for close-up magic every Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. ever since.

“Two jokers, they’re going to do a magic trick for you,” Allan Kronzek said as he showed the deck to his group of participants. “Take the jokers and put them face up on top of the deck, and I will wave my hand and they will disappear.” 

“That’s unbelievable!” Susan Adam said after Kronzek’s two-joker trick. “How did you do that?” Cathy Santacroce Worwetz laughed in astonishment, while Susan Denis examined the cards to see how Kronzek pulled off the illusion.

The trick starts with the cards spread out between the magician’s hands. The spectator is instructed to touch one card somewhere in the middle of the pack. The chosen card is turned face up, and the spectator must remember which card it is.

The deck is squared up, and the spectator cuts the deck several times, mixing up the cards. Somehow, in the deck, the jokers find the card with one joker on top of the card, and one joker right below the selected card.

Things were slow at first, Kronzek said, but now he has a huge following, and new people show up every week to see his illusions in the Green Room, located on the third floor of the Sag Harbor Cinema.

“Thanks to Deb, the place has a wonderful vibe,” Kronzek explained of the bar manager. “Everyone is friendly and willing to engage. I create my own material, and I’ve been able to workshop and refine some mysteries I’m proud of.

“I also think cinephiles — which the Green Room obviously attracts — have a special appreciation of magic.” 

Ricki Berkoski of Southampton purchased Kronzek’s book “Grandpa Magic,” and had it autographed. She comes almost every Thursday with friends. 

“Magic and movies have some fascinating historical connections,” Kronzek said, explaining that George Melies, one of the pioneers of cinema, was a stage magician before turning to filmmaking. Melies virtually invented special effects in movies — which is what magic tricks are.

Also, it was magicians who gave audiences their first opportunity to see movies by adding short films to their stage shows. This was back in the late 1890s, he said, adding, “Somehow, being associated with the Sag Harbor Cinema makes me feel connected to that history.” 

Kronzek was hooked on magic at age 8 when he got a Mysto Magic set. His parents were very supportive, and his mom would drive him to the library every week until he’d read every magic book on the shelves.

Kronzek’s father took him to the local magic shop, where he got to buy a new magic trick every month. By the time Kronzek was 14, he was performing at children’s birthday parties and was a junior member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, where he had many mentors.

After college, in the 1970s, Kronzek moved to Sag Harbor, and he began studying sleight-of-hand and the psychology of deception. No more store-bought tricks, and he began writing about magic. His first book, “The Secrets of Alkazar,” was a success and ended up in school and public libraries everywhere. Later, he began doing school assembly programs using magic to teach critical thinking.

“I loved doing this, but it came to an end during COVID,” he said. “Now, my focus is on close-up magic and creating new mysteries for the Green Room.

“It’s astonishing that magic, which has been around for more than 2,000 years, keeps evolving. There’s always something new,” Kronzek said.

Kronzek has written several books about magic, both for beginners and fellow conjurers. The most recent is “Grandpa Magic — 116 Easy Tricks, Amazing Brainteasers, and Simple Stunts To Wow the Grandkids.”

Kronzek also wrote, with his daughter, Elizabeth, “The Sorcerer’s Companion — A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter,” which became a New York Times bestseller.