Our Lehigh Valley Roots

From the Lehigh Valley to the world—and back.​

 

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Before two runs on Broadway, television appearances, entertaining top celebrities, performing world-calss magic and traveling to more than 40 countries for performances, Jason Bishop was a teenager coming of age in the Lehigh Valley—catching movies at the Tilghman 8 and Emmaus Theatre, working at The Superior Diner, and learning magic from books borrowed at local libraries.

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Jason lived in Emmaus just up from Rodale Press and attended Salisbury Middle and High Schools, where he played soccer—poorly. His closest friends have remained the ones he met in 8th grade as a Falcon.

 

The Emmaus Public Library and Salisbury High School library helped shape his future in Magic. Jason studied every book on the subject he could find. Years later, the famed CBS "Sunday Morning" TV show filmed part of its feature on Jason inside the same Salisbury library and auditorium where his journey began.

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Jason's first show was for CONCERN, the foster-care agency that played an important role in his childhood. He also worked for years as a busboy at the Superior Diner for “Mr. Jim” and spent four years at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom. Kim Hess, his longtime partner onstage and off, also worked with him at Wildwater the year after graduating from high school.

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Jason’s education in magic continued at Ring 32 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, which then met above the former Brass Rail restaurant on Lehigh Street. Local magicians including Clive Allen, Tracey Housley and Ed White introduced him to the wider world of magic.

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White, an attorney who became a magic-shop proprietor, was particularly influential. He sold Jason tricks, shared his knowledge and consistently steered him toward becoming a better performer and student of the craft.

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Jason also watched stars of magic at the State Theatre in Easton. Some of those performers would later become friends and professional peers.

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From those local beginnings, Jason, Kim and their team of illusion assistants went on to perform on Broadway, aboard luxury cruise ships and in theaters around the world. Jason has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning and The CW’s Masters of Illusion, and has performed for celebrities including Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston, Ice-T and Charli D’Amelio.

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Their smallest colleague is Gizmo, a Yorkshire terrier with an outsized personality who has become an audience favorite and recognizable member of the Straight Up Magic company.​​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Now Jason and Kim are establishing a permanent Magic theater in a place tied closely to his formative years: the Whitehall Mall. 

Opening a theater here is more than another engagement. It is a return to the community where Jason discovered magic, met his earliest mentors and gave his first performances. Jason, Kim, Gizmo and their crew are proud to join Mark Gold and Mishorim Gold Group’s effort to revitalize a destination remembered fondly by generations of Lehigh Valley residents.

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After performing around the world, Jason is bringing the magic home.