MAGICIAN Ben Seidman
FROM NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T
BRINGS REAL CON ARTISTS TO THE STAGE
March 6, 2027
Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater
CON MAN: A True Crime Magic Show uses pickpocketing and sleight of hand to pull the audience into a unique con every single night,
and answers the question: Why do we fall for lies… even the ones we see coming?
Tickets on sale Friday, August 28 at 10:00 AM
[Cincinnati, OH] – Ben Seidman designed and taught magic for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the latest installment in the Now You See Me franchise. Now, he’s bringing that same expertise to the stage, with live cons and stories of real criminals. CON MAN: A True Crime Magic Show plays the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 6, 2027, at 4:00 PM & 8:00 PM, presenting actual scams to explore the psychology behind them and investigate why even the smartest people can make the best marks. The show is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2026-27 CAA Presents Season.
Tickets go on sale Friday, August 28 at 10:00 AM at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-2787 [ARTS], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. For group sales (10 or more), call (513) 977-4155. Prices include all applicable fees and taxes and are subject to change.
Seidman spent years studying con artists, learning how they control your attention and manipulate your reality. In CON MAN, he weaves those same tools with sleight of hand and misdirection to create a singular, mind-blowing experience. From card cheats to con men, from pickpockets to mind readers, every angle of modern deception will be explored, building to a see-it-to-believe-it finale.
“One simple lie can open the door to an entirely new reality,” Seidman says of CON MAN. “The show is a playground to explore the role of deception in all of our lives… whether we’re aware of it or not. Also… it’s just a really fun magic show,” he added, smiling.
Audience members aren’t just watching. They’re the marks in real-life, real-time cons… but without all the messy stuff, like losing their life savings.
CON MAN has been eighteen years in the making, growing out of a question Seidman continually encountered in his work as a professional magician: Why do people fall for something even after they’ve been told it’s a trick?
“In most magic shows,” he says, “deception is just a tool. In Con Man… deception is the premise.”
For more information, visit https://conmanshow.com/.
About Ben Seidman
Ben Seidman is a magician, comedian, theatrical pickpocket, and creative consultant whose work is built around sleight of hand, psychology, and deception. He designed and taught magic for the cast of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Seidman is known as the “sleight-of-hand and pickpocketing expert” from WIRED and Vanity Fair after starring in each of their expert-reacts series with millions of views. He appears on Netflix’s Brainchild, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Vanderpump Rules, and several Travel Channel specials.
Seidman was Resident Magician at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Princess Cruises named him Entertainer of the Year, and he spent three seasons consulting on A&E’s Criss Angel Mindfreak.
Cincinnati Arts Association SPONSORS
The Cincinnati Arts Association is supported [in part] by an investment of public funds from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.
Season Sponsors: AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), MIAMI UNIVERSITY, ARTSWAVE, LOCAL 12 WKRC-TV, PROCTER & GAMBLE, TRIHEALTH
SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS: 21C Museum Hotel, altafiber, Bahl & Gaynor, CityBeat, Harlan Graphics, Heidelberg Distributing, Kinley Cincinnati, The Party Source, Pepsi, Summerfair Cincinnati
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CALENDAR INFORMATION
WHAT: CON MAN: A True Crime Magic Show
WHEN: Saturday, March 6, 2027 – 4:00 PM & 8:00 PM
WHERE: Aronoff Center – Jarson-Kaplan Theater
PRICES: Start at $45.25, inclusive of all fees.
INFO: Ben Seidman designed and taught magic for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the latest installment in the Now You See Me franchise. Now, he’s bringing that same expertise to the stage, with live cons and stories of real criminals. CON MAN: A True Crime Magic Show presents actual scams to explore the psychology behind them and investigate why even the smartest people can make the best marks.
TICKET INFORMATION – on sale Friday, August 28 at 10:00 AM
- www.CincinnatiArts.org
- (513) 621-ARTS [2787]
- Aronoff Center Ticket Office
- For group sales (10 or more), call (513) 977-4155
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 