Must See: Nothing to Hide at the Geffen Playhouse

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Nothing To Hide Geffen

Photo by Michael Lamont

Good close up magic is astonishing – bad card tricks and cheesy magicians are incredibly corny.  Don’t worry that we’re sending you to the latter, been-there-done-that magic show.  Derek DelGaudio and Helder Guimarães, who met only a year ago this week, were both named Magicians of the Year in 2011 and if you hurry, you have a great chance to see them at the Geffen Playhouse’s intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater between now and March 3  — though, as proof of this show’s success, it keeps getting extended . So – click here to find tickets.  

The show lasts a stunning 70 minutes (no intermission!) and there is a big sign outside the door of the small stage that claims that kids under 18 won’t be admitted. What the Geffen seems to mean is that because of some bad language, they won’t let young kids through the door — we suggest that if your kids are over 16, they’ll be admitted. Tickets are each over $100, so consider the price in your decision…

Derek DelGaudio & Helder GuimarãesWe were thrilled by the humor of the two young magicians – whose first trick is performed silently but who don’t stop talking for the rest of the show. They’re natural comedians and whipped this show into shape in the past few months under the direction of Neil Patrick Harris, whose love for magic is augmented by his experienced stage craft in this gem of a show. The two men are silly when they need to be, but their tricks are so polished that their cool factor trumps all.

For sure, you’ll hear plenty more of them in the future, but this stage is so small that nearly everyone in our family got to hold a card or participate in the games somehow. Best of all, the two men seem genuinely excited that their star is on the rise and that audiences think they’re great. As they say, they can’t believe that we’d turn off our iPhones and iPads to sit and watch a couple of guys play with “52 pieces of paper”.

Exactly.