Summer is ending, school is blissfully back, and we continue to stumble our way towards the end of the pandemic that has upended our collective sense of sanity and self over the past 18 months.
In & Of Itself
If you missed it when it came out earlier this year, now is a great time to watch Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself on Hulu. A one man man show from a 37-year old magician, directed by creative legend Frank Oz, In & Of Itself cannot be easily explained:
The show ran for nearly two years between New York and LA. Stephen Colbert was so awed after he saw it, he offered to executive produce the film version that eventually premiered on Hulu in January.
Magic Without Tricks: The Art (and Sleight of Hand) of Derek DelGaudio
While the show is much more a one-act play on the nature of identity, there are some impressive magical illusions that impressed the GOAT:
After In & of Itself opened in Los Angeles, Teller went to see it. Afterward, he exhorted Jillette to go, too—partly to see the show for himself, and partly to try to crack one of DelGaudio’s tricks. To Teller’s surprise, two different tricks had left him at a complete loss, and in his quest to work them out, he instructed Jillette to disobey audience instructions. One of the show’s more elaborate turns involves a modicum of audience participation. This, Penn recalled Teller telling him, was the opportunity. If Jillette did something slightly different than instructed, they would know how the trick worked: “Because if it fucks him up, I think I know what he’s doing.”
It didn’t work. DelGaudio carried on as planned, the trick executed to perfection in spite of Jillette’s attempted roadblock. “I texted Teller after the show and said, ‘We fucked him up and it didn’t fuck him up,’” Jillette continued on Penn’s Sunday School. “And Teller texts back, ‘Wow. I have no idea.’” Then Jillette addressed DelGaudio directly: “So yes, Derek, yes, you nailed us.”
Modicum of audience participation is putting it lightly. The show packs an emotional punch in 90 minutes and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
🎙Hell & High Water - Derek DelGaudio
DelGaudio is back on the media circuit promoting a new memoir AMORAL MAN, recounting his days as a bust-out dealer in high-end LA poker games among other things.
This podcast with John Heilemann is best enjoyed after watching the show, but also covers new ground including DelGaudio's relationship with mentor Ricky Jay and the parallels between rigged games and our modern political struggles.
Hope everyone had a great summer despite the huge metaphorical turd Delta and the selfish anti-science cowards took in our societal punchbowl.
Xo,
W