The Illuminati Ball from Cynthia von Buhler on Vimeo. 
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THEATER
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"Creative genius." - Forbes
"The kind of night that taps into the artistic foundation of what New York used to be: lavish, worth loving and completely ludicrous." - Inside Hook
"Seducing you away from your sense of reality into a more subconscious, dreamlike state of mind, where anything is possible." - Gothamist
“Lavish, eccentric, mysterious, and exclusive.” - Untapped Cities
"Von Buhler strikes a good balance between entertaining her guests and telling a story." - Paper Magazine
"Very entertaining new immersive theatrical experience from multi-talented writer and director Cynthia Von Buhler." - Time Out
Read about The Illuminati Ball in New York Post :
"An inside peek the wildly erotic New Year's Eve Illuminati Ball"
Read about The Illuminati Ball in The Sun :
"Inside The Illuminati Ball - the world's sexiest New Year's Eve Party"
"Wildly erotic" - Maxim
"Illuminates the Obscure in the Lavish, Erotic, Yet Playful Illuminati Ball." - Broadway World
Read about Cynthia von Buhler and The Illuminati Ball in The New York Times:
"Where Von Buhler's Fantasies Have Free Rein"
"A Mystery Ball Where the Illuminati Have Cloven Hooves"
"The kind of night that taps into the artistic foundation of what New York used to be: lavish, worth loving and completely ludicrous." - Inside Hook
"Seducing you away from your sense of reality into a more subconscious, dreamlike state of mind, where anything is possible." - Gothamist
“Lavish, eccentric, mysterious, and exclusive.” - Untapped Cities
"Von Buhler strikes a good balance between entertaining her guests and telling a story." - Paper Magazine
"Very entertaining new immersive theatrical experience from multi-talented writer and director Cynthia Von Buhler." - Time Out
Read about The Illuminati Ball in New York Post :
"An inside peek the wildly erotic New Year's Eve Illuminati Ball"
Read about The Illuminati Ball in The Sun :
"Inside The Illuminati Ball - the world's sexiest New Year's Eve Party"
"Wildly erotic" - Maxim
"Illuminates the Obscure in the Lavish, Erotic, Yet Playful Illuminati Ball." - Broadway World
Read about Cynthia von Buhler and The Illuminati Ball in The New York Times:
"Where Von Buhler's Fantasies Have Free Rein"
"A Mystery Ball Where the Illuminati Have Cloven Hooves"
The Girl Who Handcuffed HoudiniTheatre 80, East Village, Manhattan,
September 26 - November 10, 2018 New York audiences will be transported back to 1926 to experience a world of mysterious speakeasies, backstage intrigue, and hotel room affairs as they unravel the untimely death of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini. Based on von Buhler’s popular comic series of the same title the play follows private investigator Minky Woodcock as she uncovers secrets surrounding the final days of the world-famous escape artist. Woodcock’s investigation leads her to cross paths with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believes Houdini is not merely a magician but has supernatural powers, and Bess Houdini, who suspects her husband is cheating on her. The play will unfold throughout three floors of a historic East Village townhouse which today houses William Barnacle Tavern -- formerly Sheib’s Place, a speakeasy where the New York City Council drank during Prohibition -- and the 199-seat Theatre 80 Saint Marks. Von Buhler, who is also the production’s set designer, will transform the townhouse into a Prohibition-era time capsule. Audience members choose between being a spiritualist (believes in ghosts), a pragmatist (believes in science) and will be assigned a character to follow and then experience events through that character’s point of view. They might find themselves assisting the magician’s rehearsal backstage, sipping absinthe in a speakeasy, spying on an affair in a hotel room, witnessing an attempted murder, attending a séance, visiting Houdini in his hospital room, or viewing his body in the morgue. Replete with incredible magic tricks and authentic recreations of spiritualist demonstrations such as séances, tarot readings, and spirit photography, the production offers up a meticulously detailed slice of Houdini history, including a performance of his iconic Water Torture Chamber act, which VIP ticket holders will be invited onstage to inspect. Audience members are encouraged to come back again to follow other key players and see alternate facets of what actually led to Houdini’s fateful death. Evidence is revealed, but the truth is left up to the theatergoer to decide. |
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Ziegfeld Midnight FrolicThe Liberty Theater, Times Square, Manhattan, March - November 2015
There is a historic Broadway theater in the heart of Times Square where the ghost of a former star haunts. Step through a secret portal and be transported back to 1920 at Florenz Ziegfeld’s extravaganza, The Midnight Frolic. You’ll be given a passport, a role to play and an unforgettable experience. You’ll watch a thrilling show featuring chanteuses, lavish showgirls, risqué burlesque and daring aerialists. During “intermissions” you’ll travel to Montmartre in Paris where you’ll visit the infamous Cabaret du Néant (Cabaret of Nothingness) where you can sample drinks like “Black Death” and “Sweet Syphilis” and watch a beautiful maiden turn into a revolting corpse. Visit the Hotel Ritz where you can sleuth the mysterious death of Olive Thomas. You may even be invited to attend a champagne orgy with some of the hotel’s celebrity guests. "An evening of dark revelry” - The New York Times "Like being inside a Baz Luhrmann movie" - TheaterMania "A glorious romp" - NY Daily News "Thrilling and unique" - TheaterMania "A spangly, slithering web of dreams" - Talkin' Broadway "Dizzyingly elaborate" - Talkin' Broadway "A creatively altered universe" - Viewing NY "The darker side of the American Dream" - Where NY |
Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Bloody BeginningThe Back Room, Lower East Side, Manhattan, 2011-2016 “Frank and Mary Spano (my grandparents) came to this country from Italy during the Roaring Twenties. They opened two speakeasies in the Bronx: one masquerading as a bakery, and the other one a secret nightclub. Shortly after Prohibition ended, Frank was shot and killed on the street in Manhattan. My mother was born on the same day he died. Nobody knows why Frank was shot. Nothing was known about the killer, his motive, or a trial. Mary Spano took these secrets to her grave.” – Cynthia von Buhler This is an immersive event. Each guest will be assigned a name and role. We encourage you to explore. Unlocked doors (or revolving bookshelves) should be entered. Ignore the advice your parents gave you as children, be nosy and talk to strangers. Time is warped here; it is between 1933 (prohibition-era) – 1935. A few days before the event you will receive three emails from Frank Spano’s granddaughter, Cynthia von Buhler, with the secret password, instructions and evidence. Read about Cynthia von Buhler's research in The New York Times: "Using A Dollhouse to Reconstruct a Murder, 77 Years Later" "an ornately turned-out, unique, and well-produced experience.” - Flavorpill "Thrilling and delighting all of the senses." - The Huffington Post "The Speakeasy Dollhouse project also consists of a gorgeous book, and an immersive play, along with the handmade dolls and sets." - Gothamist "think The Dollhouse Murders meets Some Like It Hotmeets The Godfather." - Publisher's Weekly "The Speakeasy Dollhouse is an inspired and unique mission, and the period aesthetics of the set are also begging to be admired." - Bust "Don't miss your chance to see this truly unique show." - Joonbug "Speakeasy Dollhouse is an ingenious project jam-packed with creativity." - Show Business "A unique interactive play. Great theatre." - Lonely Planet Travel "The acting was superb." - WBAI NYC Radio "Speakeasy makes no jokes about the immersion." - Metro An interview in Salon, sponsored by Hendrick's Gin: The Artist Murder Investigator, Cynthia von Buhler. |
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The Brothers BoothThe Players Club, Gramercy Park, Manhattan 2014
“Edwin Booth, a staunch Lincoln supporter, was honored by the president -- and even saved Lincoln’s son Robert from being crushed by a train shortly before the president’s assassination. Edwin, the more successful actor, divided the map allowing John Wilkes the opportunity to only perform in the South, while he ruled in the more desirable North. Every book I read on the family claimed that John Wilkes was his parent’s favorite. Their mother, Mary Ann, constantly told the boys of her prophesies about their destiny, leading them to become self-fulfilling. My research has led me to believe that Abraham Lincoln may have been murdered as a result of sibling rivalry, and not because of John Wilkes’ great love of the confederacy. The Brothers Booth encourages audiences to roam Edwin Booth's former mansion in search for the truth. Utilizing Shakespearean themes, longtime conspiracy theories, and surreal vignettes, Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Brothers Booth weaves together a story of the brothers' troubled lives.” -- Cynthia von Buhler The given password is to be whispered to a newsboy on the street in the back of Edwin Booth’s Greek Revival mansion -- now home to The Players, a real-life club for luminaries of all eras from Mark Twain and John Singer Sargent to Liza Minnelli and Jimmy Fallon. Ushered via a secret entrance into the club’s opulent ballroom, the audience is swept into a splendorous scene: The November 13, 1919 gala unveiling of a life-sized bronze statue of Edwin, a legendary Shakespearean actor and the club’s founder. A newsboy announces the statue unveiling along with other breaking news: the Volstead Act has been passed and the John Wilkes Booth mummy has been stolen from the circus. Bootleg cocktails, burlesque, gambling, and live jazz are staples of the evening’s festivities. Scandals abound. The troubled relationship between handsome and impetuous John Wilkes and brilliant but brooding Edwin unravels as a series of surreal vignettes which swirl around partygoers and echo throughout the many rooms of the mansion. Because guests have the freedom of movement and to initiate interactions in the space, each experience is unique. While it pays not to be shy, even those who wish only to observe will be surrounded by eye-raising conversation, rousing music, dramatic performance, evocative puppetry, and haunting séances and spirit photography. |
CollaborateCynthia von Buhler and her Speakeasy Dollhouse team create unique immersive productions for brands and corporations. They also collaborate on integrations with liquor companies. Contact us for more information.
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