Bally’s Theatre of Magic, released in 1995 and designed by John Popadiuk, is one of the most elegant and atmospheric machines of the DMD era — a table that wraps stage-illusion wonder around a genuinely mesmerizing centerpiece. That centerpiece is a rotating trunk with a magnet that can levitate the ball, the heart of a magic-show theme complete with a Tiger Saw multiball, a Magna-Save on each side, and a captive ball, all set on a beautifully art-deco playfield.

The scoring rewards a player who learns the trunk’s rhythms. Repeated left-orbit shots build combos, bonus, and a 50-million hurry-up, while spelling MAGIC on the center ramp lights locks behind the trunk for multiball. The savvy move is to collect Vanish before starting multiball, turning it into a four-ball affair. A clock mechanic ticks toward midnight — advanced by the right orbit and a skill shot — lighting an extra ball at six o’clock and Midnight Madness at twelve.

The long game funnels toward the Grand Finale, reached by playing all the modes, advancing the clock to twelve, completing a multiball, and spelling THEATRE from the left loop. There’s a rich Basement award system too, dishing out mystery prizes from extra balls to video modes. Graceful, deep, and endlessly charming, Theatre of Magic is Popadiuk at his most enchanting — a machine whose levitating trunk still draws gasps decades later.