The Magic Maker

In 1917 on New York City’s Lower East Side, Baruch Rosenfeld, following Jewish tradition, invites a beggar to join his family for the Passover Seder. Baruch’s good deed backfires. He and his wife Rebekah and their children Nathan, Jacob, and Sadie are trapped in time. They don’t age, they can’t leave their three-room apartment, dark clouds obscure the views from the windows, and the outside world believes they disappeared without a trace.

The family finds individual ways to deal with their imprisonment. Sadie Rosenfeld, the youngest, creates a rich fantasy life in which a handsome suitor escorts her to Coney Island, a wonderful place she’s never been to but always dreamed about.

A hundred years later, the apartment building is now the Tenement Museum. Esther Luna, an educator for the museum, sees Sadie at the window. Thinking Sadie is a trespasser, Esther goes to the apartment but finds it has been empty for decades. She hires Jewish magician Meir Poppers, a kishef macher, to solve the mystery of the girl at the window. 

But Meir’s efforts to free the Rosenfelds are blocked by rivals, ancient spells, and his own self-doubt. When Meir finally reaches the trapped family, he and Sadie must make decisions that will change their lives forever. Will Meir’s magic be enough to rescue the Rosenfelds from their eternal prison, and clear the clouds for good?