In and Of Itself Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"...DelGaudio, a two-time winner of the Academy of Magical Arts' Close-Up Magician of the Year award, is in his 30s but looks younger, with a round face and an aura of melancholy, like the lonely child who figures in the bittersweet, deeply personal anecdotes he weaves among his machinations. He's often self-deprecating, even hangdog."
LA Weekly- Somewhat Recommended
"...The show could benefit from more forthrightness, actually, as well as more magic, which is where the concept falters. At 65 minutes (and ticket prices in excess of $100), In & Of Itself, whose name evokes a certain Inception-like circularity, leaves you just kind of expecting ... more."
ArtsBeatLA- Somewhat Recommended
"...Derek DelGaudio's show is a pleasant, if brief, diversion but as a magic show it's not all that remarkable."
ArtsInLA- Somewhat Recommended
"...Derek DelGaudio's world premiere In & of Itself proves him to be a captivating performer and a mesmerizing illusionist. He is not quite yet the philosopher he purports to be, but kernels of interesting ideas weave through the piece-such as making personal pain disappear like a house of cards."
TheatreMania- Recommended
"...Derek DelGaudio is a masterful storyteller. He fills minds with anecdotes and perplexing tales then blows those minds with simple but astounding feats. No matter how much one wants to know how everything has been achieved, one cannot help but enjoy the thrill of the mystery. And that's the real magic."
Total Theater- Recommended
"...These specialists have put together a quirky kind of magic show, one whose basic comic spirit has an aura of darkness and mystery (conveyed by DelGaudio in his sketch about a man addicted to the dangerous game of Russian Roulette). There is also a fair bit of talk about existential matters: "every secret has a unique weight," commented DelGaudio at one point. The performer also kept urging the audience to ask itself "who are you" and "what will all this mean tomorrow." The key theme of identity is hammered home at the climax of the show when, with dazzling legerdemain, the stage turns into a giant mirror in which the audience is confronted with a reflection of itself."