Mesmerizing magic at RPI

The Union Programs and Activities Committee organized an open house for students and alumni on Saturday. A performance by the RPI Pep Band, freebies at Father’s Marketplace, Panera, and Ben and Jerry’s, as well as a reunion show in Mother's Wine Emporium, were among the events that took place. However, the highlight of the day for many was Steven Brundage’s performance in the McNeil Room.

Brundage amazed students with his incredible Rubik’s Cube magic tricks and other original tricks, some of which earned him a top 12 finalist spot on America’s Got Talent in 2016. Brundage began the show with some of his signature Rubik’s Cube tricks, including placing audience-shuffled cubes into seemingly empty brown bags and pulling them out solved, to the astonishment of the crowd.

One of his more memorable tricks began when he invited a volunteer in the audience who had a hundred dollar bill to join him on stage. Upon Brundage’s request, the volunteer signed his name on the bill in red marker and reluctantly handed Brundage the bill. To his disappointment, Brundage shredded the bill in front of the audience. This didn’t last long; Brundage swiftly presented an identically signed bill, buried inside a freshly cut orange.

Towards the end of his performance, Brundage tried solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded in just 72 steps but was unsuccessful. However, he pulled it off seamlessly in his second attempt.

For his final trick, Brundage solved six cubes, blindfolded, each in just 50 seconds. At first, it seemed like he was unsuccessful again because each cube looked unsolved from the audience’s point of view. Before leaving the stage, he closed by saying that the great thing about each of his shows is that they’re all unique—no two shows ever go the same. He then flipped all six cubes over revealing that they were arranged to spell “RPI” in red and white. The audience gasped, then cheered and clapped as Brundage gracefully left the stage.

Throughout the entire show, people were engaged, enthralled, and enraptured. Brundage’s charisma and passion for magic—one that was lit early in his childhood—was palpable and inspiring. Needless to say, the students and alumni left the Union with a brighter spark in their eyes than when they came.