Chicago · by invitation

Chicago's Most Mysterious Person.
Invite him in.

Private evenings of mystery, staged in your home.

Nolan in a bowler hat standing in a dark wooden doorway

The threshold

Chicago, 2026

I'm not a magician. I don't do tricks for applause.

I've spent my life learning things most people never get close to: how a card cheat wins, how a pickpocket chooses, how a stranger can know what you're thinking. I learned them in New Orleans, Guam, Korea, and Malaysia. Now I live in Chicago, and I bring them into homes like yours.

Nolan performing in a living room

Who is he

The long way to Chicago

I

New Orleans

Where my uncle showed me the first thing I couldn't explain.

II

Guam

Where I learned to read a room because there was nowhere else to look.

III

Korea & Malaysia

Where I learned the rest from people who don't teach it.

IV

Chicago

Where I stopped running and started inviting people in.

Nolan in Chicago

The shows

Three ways to let him in

Nolan in a bowler hat

The Parlour Show

from $750
Lights on. Cards on the table.

Cards that cheat for me. Watches that leave wrists. Thoughts I shouldn't know. Up close and in your guests' hands, around a table or through a party on its feet.

About 60 minutes · 10 to 30 guests
Nolan fanning a deck of tarot cards

The Stranger

from $2,500
A guest only you invited.

He arrives as one of your guests and knows things he shouldn't. Later, the lights go down and The Passage begins. Only you will know he's coming.

A full evening · 8 to 16 guests

The Stranger

Only you will know he's coming.

Nolan in a bowler hat, half in shadow

At your dinner, your cocktail party, your anniversary, your guests will meet a stranger. He knows things he shouldn't. When they ask who he is, he'll tell them they'll find out soon enough.

Every Stranger evening begins with a private conversation between you and me. You tell me about your guests: who they are, what they carry, what they'd never expect a stranger to know. Then I disappear into the plan.

Later in the evening, the lights go down, and the stranger tells them his story, from New Orleans to Chicago, woven through with the story of your night. Every chapter comes with proof they can't explain.

Act one

The Stranger

The turn

Lights down

Act two

The Passage

You provide a seat at your table, a meal, and your silence.

Give someone a stranger for their birthday. They'll spend the night wondering who invited him. You'll spend it watching them wonder.

A full evening. 8 to 16 guests. Designed with you, down to the last detail.

Which evening is yours?

The Parlour Show

If you want your guests amazed.

The Passage

If you want them drawn in.

The Stranger

If you want them to never forget who came to the party.

Not sure? Tell me about the night and I'll tell you which fits.

Questions hosts ask

 

Do my guests know?

No. That's the point. You'll introduce me as a friend, or not introduce me at all.

What if someone recognizes you?

Then they'll spend the evening wondering what I'm doing there. It works either way.

Does it have to be a dinner party?

No. Dinner, cocktails, a birthday, an anniversary. If your guests are gathered, I can be among them.

Is it scary?

No one is frightened. A few are unsettled. They usually enjoy that part most.

How do we plan it?

One call before the evening. You tell me about your guests. I take it from there.

Chicago's Most Mysterious Person
Member, Academy of Magical Arts