Favorite magic tricks and illusions in shows?

What are some of your favorite magic tricks or illusions you've seen in Broadway shows?

A lot in Harry Potter - especially the transformation and fight scenes.

The Beast's transformation and the Phantom disappearing at the end always stand out to me.

The candles coming up through the mist in Phantom ga e me goosebumps the first time I saw it.

Also Dreamgirls has some great costumes changes 25 years before Cinderella, particularly Effie’s rehearsal / performance sequence.

While likely the most simple of all the tricks in Cursed Child, the fact that the drawing and writing that cover the entire theatre has been hidden in plain sight for the entity of the show until the reveal really blew me away. Especially since I have seen the 2 part version. So knowing, after the fact, that I had been sitting in a room covered in such marks for at that point 3+ hours really wow'ed me in how simple yet genius it was/is.

So much of Cursed Child!

The clock gag in The Play That Goes Wrong. I know one part of it, but the other has me stumped.

Lydia rising near the staircase in Beetlejuice

I know it's so basic and old-school but the Elsa dress transformation during "Let it Go" was always a crowd favorite and elicited gasps and cheers.

A more recent one was in the recent "Company" revival pre Tick/Tock. Getting Claybourne Elder out of and back into the bed with a body-double not to mention his quick changes throughout that number was pretty impressive.

Chalk-writing scene in Matilda

I want to bump this thread to see if anyone else has any other ideas.

It was mentioned before on this thread but a lot of Groundhog Day and Cursed Child got me no matter how many times I saw the shows.

Bilbo vanishing, the balrog and so much of the Lord of the Rings musical.

Agree Cursed Child has some great ones too

Beasts transformation in the original

jagman1062 said: "The beast's transformation in Beauty and the Beast was fun, but the first time I saw it, I was in the front, side orchestra, so I was able to see what Terrence Mann was doing from the angle of my seat. It spoiled the spectacle for me. Eight years later, I took my 7-year old nephew and made sure we sat in center orchestra so he would be amazed. He was, but knowing how the illusion is performed, I just smiled.

The opening curtain trick of the 96 revival A Funny Thing... was pretty cool.

IA more recent trick that amazed me is how effortlessly Ramin made that leap from the floor to the lounge chair."

Ramin is in such amazing shape but that still amazed me too the last time I saw FG!

A lot in Cursed Child.

The Confrontation mirror in the pre-Broadway tour of Jekyl & Hyde

Not so much a trick or illusion but Sylvia's walk through the window at the end of Finding Neverland.

morosco said: "Regarding ALLADIN's flying carpet I believe the illusion is created by special motors that rapidly spin the cables that are anchored to the corners of the carpet so that they "disappear" from sight to the audiences eye. An out of sight carriage about the stage rides in tracks and it travels from stage left to stage right. I don't think the carpet is able to move upstage/downstage."

It's basically this, with obviously very specific lighting.
Take a rope or wire, hold each side and spin it really fast. You'll see (or not see) it disappear.

Phantom4ever said: "Harry Potter and some fun ones too. One that stands out for me is how they made the theater feel like it was shaking as the hands on the clock raced around? Not sure if I'm remembering that accurately."

The Time Turner effect is very, very cool and easily the most ‘high tech’ of the effects in Cursed Child, insomuch as it doesn’t involve old school theatre trickery and sleight of hand. A combination of seamless projection design to make the stage feel ‘wobbly’ and sound design of low-frequency rumbling that makes it feel like your ears are slightly muffled and creates a vibrational atmosphere. Lots of effects in the show were cool, but this was the one that made me say “Wow.”