I'm in Canada and I rented it from Youtube, so there's that option as well.

Went through a huge hassle to watch this from the Netherlands: got a VPN, learned how to use it, bought a US gift card to pay for Hulu, etc. I'm glad I did, as it is a unique performance. Masterfully acted, very originally written, unique interaction with the crowd, recorded well and using a poker demonstration in a way no magician has ever used it .
Having said that I also have to admit that for my personal taste it was a bit too heavy and dramatic. All I could think and feel was: man, life is hard and then we die. Which is a feeling I think most people sometimes have, but a bit one-dimensional for a whole show (for my taste, that is). I'm not talking about the reactions of the spectators here, they were completely authentic and almost made me cry a few times out of compassion. But I caught myself sighing as much as Derek, which was a bit too much for me. Again: I'm not saying this to slam the performance, just giving my personal opinion. I certainly appreciate the unique show Derek created and applaud him for doing so. I've never seen anything like it and that is a huge compliment in itself.

Absolutely brilliant!!!

How much did you pay for the whole procedure?

...

I'm not sure: either $ 25,- or nothing. The Hulu gift card was $25,-. The VPN I could try out a month for free. Same with Hulu. I'm just not sure if Hulu refunds the gift card when I cancel after that free month. But I'm more than ok with paying $ 25,- for this.

Just watched this on Hulu. Such a worthwhile watch! So inspiring to what a magic performance can be. Should be a must-watch for all magicians, even if your performance style is nothing like it.

This has made me reconsidered everything I know about magic/mentalism and how it should be performed. Absolutely brilliant!

I must be in my own world as I have not heard of this. Definitely going to check out.

I was lucky to see it live in NYC and wasn't sure the documentary would be able to capture the beauty and stunning nature of the performance, but it did! One difference between the two was pointed out by a comment a friend of mine made - she didn't see the live show, only the doc. She said "That Derek is one intense guy!" And she's right, he is, but I think a bit more of a variety of his personality came out in the live performance, small moments of charm and humor.

I must be broken.

I found this to be exploitive dirge from yet another mentalist thinking that having the ability to make people cry makes for moving entertainment. All whilst making a fat wedge of cash from it.

I'm going to make a presumptive guess that Derek Delgaudio wasn't the most popular of youths'? Perhaps not as successful with his desired love-interests' as he had hoped? Perchance found a sense of power confounding others with his new mentalist skills?

Just because you can make someone cry by hot-reading them with their personal identifying information they (in good faith) provided you when they purchased a ticket... by contacting their father dying of Parkinson's disease and then finagling him into writing a letter so that you and your investor-backed commercial enterprise can add some real 'emotion' to your show... I don't think that means that you should.

Maybe the dying old man did want to write a meaningful last letter. Maybe he felt like he should. Maybe he was made to feel like he should. Maybe him and everyone involved didn't want to their private emotional lives to be exploited for money. When I buy a theatre ticket, I don't want some entertainer, who has been priming the audience with his nightly sob-story plus crocodile tears, to then onslaught me with my own emotional baggage on a stage for a 'hit'. And then have some loser think of it as transformative.

It was so pretentious. Too melodramatic for such an unconvincing performer. This type of show is why I don't go to the theatre anymore. His poignant looks off-stage. The pregnant pauses. His quivering lip. So... fake. Those same fake tears rolling down his cheek, night-after night. Like I said, I must be broken. What on Earth was David Blaine or any of the other audience members *actually* crying at? His story? The fake emotional briar-patch he dragged them through (for money)? More likely their own emotional baggage rising to the surface whilst enduring this beating.

He even does a card-trick halfway through, attempting the same gravitas as the rest of the drudgery. I wish he had finished me off by braining me with that gold brick.

If savaging an audience with emotional content makes you feel powerful, or good at what you do, why stop at some overly-melodramatic off-stage-assistant-plus-earpiece shenanigans and just set your magic show in a reenactment of a Holocaust concentration camp? Perhaps work in a live feed from a hospital ward?

What's even more depressing than this exploitive creep profiting from his ego-stroking is the wave of other exploitive creeps he has no doubt inspired.

I have seen medium shows less nauseating than this. Now that is saying something.

Strongly disagree, but thank you for sharing.

The film doesn’t quite capture the experience of being in that room, experiencing the twists and turns with other audience members, and having Derek look you in the eyes at the finale; how could it? But I thought the film did a good job, and I’m so glad the show was documented so that I could relive that experience again.

Bernice, I find your reaction to the show totally valid. I just feel it’s a bit dismissive and cynical to what Derek and Frank Oz were trying to achieve with this show. What could be viewed as exploitive, for me at least, seemed to come from an honest place with good intentions.

I reread this NY Times article this morning. It’s a long but good read:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/magaz......gic.html

Bernice made some very interesting points. What a fascinating response to the show.

It is interesting to think that a magician can be just as emotionally exploitative as a medium (who is pretending to be psychic). But because the magician is not claiming any genuine powers - it can lead us to think we are not exploiting people. But - as Bernice astutely points out - perhaps we can still end up doing the same thing? But by the back door - so to speak. And as such - we misdirect ourselves from seeing this.

I am a big fan of this show, but Bernice has definitely given me something to think about. Cheers!

Joe Mckay

One thing I liked about the show was that the tricks were done. With no introduction or set-up. That feels more like the magic a "real" magician would do (like you would see in a movie). It meant the tricks had a lovely flow to them. As opposed to most magic tricks where 30% of the trick is often just the magician telling you about what you are about to see.

When you strip all that out - it makes the magic feel much fresher and closer to the "real" thing.

As I pointed out I had mixed feelings about this. I was hesitant to use the word "pretentious" and I ended up not doing so. Because in my mind that presupposes an intention of the performer and I knew nothing about Derek. But having read the article (thanks, Scott!) I think it is justified to call this show pretentious. If you like that or not is a matter of personal taste, I guess. It's not my taste, I'm on Bernice's side in that respect. As for Derek's "crocodile tears": I think they come from a real place. But they do strike me as a form of self-pity and looking at himself as a victim rather than true sadness. Which I found not very appealing either.

Arrrgh this is a difficult one. I didn't like it, but I haven't stopped thinking about it and the reasons why I didn't like it. I guess I just didn't buy his performance. I don't doubt that this comes from a real place but he (at least in my opinion) just over cranks it so much that it approaches am-dram territory. Is it exploitative of its audience the same way that a medium is? Maybe not, but it does tread a fine line. If its aim is to be provocative then judging by this thread it succeeded.

Well said, Sean. I recognise just about everything you mention.

I agree with many of the things Sean and Bernice felt. Of course most of us are watching as magicians. I feel like it was more performance art and monologue than magic which was very well done, well produced and to the audience that enjoys and even prefers this kind of show it was obviously very well received. I enjoyed how he framed his card set since those kind of displays can be hard to make entertaining. My wife loved the show, was impressed by his mentalism and I only like the show. I would not argue with someone who loved it.

To me your review of the show, Bernice, conveys a much more cynical view on the world then this show ever could.
Also... to stop going to the theater because you've seen a few bad performances seems absurd to me and maybe shows that your love for the performing arts maybe wasn't that deep to begin with.