Pilobolus, the world-renowned dance theater company known for its jaw-dropping physicality and theatrical imagination, is honored to open Penn & Teller: 50 Years of Magic—the legendary illusionist duo’s 50th-anniversary show—at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NY, on August 21, 2025.

“Pilobolus is thrilled to celebrate one of the greatest partnerships in history,” stated Pilobolus Artistic Director Matt Kent. “Sometimes, when you get to see behind the scenes, you lose a little fascination, and you wish you knew a little less so you could be thrilled. Not so with Penn & Teller. The more you see, the more you understand what they are doing, the more amazed you are. Penn & Teller have opened our eyes to the magic of magic, the hard work, the skill, and the love of it all. We owe the two iconoclasts a debt of gratitude.”

This show marks the latest in a series of collaborations between Pilobolus and Penn & Teller, including [esc], which premiered at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, in 2013. The work incorporated Houdini-inspired escapes that require incredible strength, flexibility, grace, and control. The daring choreography was created by Penn & Teller, Pilobolus founder Robby Barnett, Executive/Co-Artistic Director Renée Jaworski, and Artistic Director Matt Kent. Most recently, Pilobolus partnered with Teller on The Tempest at American Repertory Theater, a critically acclaimed production directed by Teller and Aaron Posner, with music by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, and choreography by Pilobolus. That project earned Jaworski and Kent a 2023 Helen Hayes Award for choreography.

Penn Jillette said, “We’ve worked with Pilobolus before. We’ve written magic tricks with them to do in their dance performances. They’ve never asked us to dance, and we don’t know what’s in store when we get together onstage at Radio City Music Hall. We should probably tell them that we never made it as Rockettes.”

Tickets for the August 21 show are available at pennandteller.com.