It was a great show. Much like others have said it was largely a reworking-of/best-of performance. The real delight is listening to him speak, honestly. Forget the methods, subtleties, or machinations of the tricks themselves. His ability to frame the experience and to make every single revelation its own wonderful moment is where his true virtuosity shows itself.

I agree with the above... And I'll say for the record after seeing this show... Derren is the best living mentalist on the planet! And this show is PURE mentalism. No stunts, nothing leaning towards magic... It has some of the big production aspects his UK shows are known for, but way stripped down which I prefer. It really was an amazing show and any doubt I had that Derren in the best in the game have been erased. He is absolutely the best... brilliant actor, consummate showman, and clearly loves and respects his audiences. Incredibly inspiring for me.

I went with Robb on Saturday and I concur. It was exhilarating to see Derren live for the first time, especially in such a small venue (200 seats). Most of the show was a "best of" compilation as mentioned above, yet the show felt fresh, had flow, and a strong theme. I watched it through the eyes of a layman without analyzing methods, only enjoying the theater of it -- and it's a great piece of theater. Derren is a showman through-and-through, and the fact that he puts on that show night after night, sometimes twice in a day, is most impressive.

I had told Robb that I had a strong feeling that I would be selected for something. And sure enough, Derren picked me to be a "receiver" because he thought I'd be good at it! I was hypnotized and spent quite a bit of time with him on stage. It was a surreal experience. I didn't have to "act" like a layman because everything felt real, and he fooled me BADLY (I won't give away what I was a part of, as Derren asked us not to reveal "secrets.") I'm grateful for having experienced what it feels like to be on the other side of mind reading, especially with someone like Derren Brown.

Oh, one thing... magicians and mentalists who go to the show... PLEASE stop with the "whooping" ("Wooo! Wooo!") after every reveal. It sounds out of place, is not what normal audience members are doing, and I'm sure is annoying to Derren. It's not a Penguin Live lecture you know... Even my wife did "whoop it up" at the end of the show, but during during the show, reign it in a bit guys!

I would agree with most that has been mentioned already. Derren is clearly a skilled performer and showman. Witnessing him live you did get the sense he is a trained actor as much as a mentalist.

With that said, for me personally I felt he was a little "too" comfortable on stage. There wasn't enough excitement from him which is infectious for the audience. My wife paid me a huge compliment following the show saying, "Yes, he's really good but, you're not that far off from him." And she's just as tough of a critic of mine as I am.

Wow, I don't agree with that at all! He was dripping with charisma and energy when we saw him on Saturday. When did you go?

We went last Friday.

To his credit, it did feel like there was a halftime adjustment made and he brought it more for the second act.

Maybe he had an off night, or he's still trying to gauge the New York audience, but "not enough excitement from him" sounds nothing like the Derren Brown I saw on Saturday. He was absolutely infectious for the full 2 hours and 15 minutes. I kept looking back at the audience and I saw smiles, gasps, people sitting upright and forward in their seats, fully focused, and lots of "What the HELL?" looks. I bumped into my doctor on the way out and he said "What WAS that? That completely blew my mind!" Ironically, my doctor shares a practice with David Blaine's doctor!

Yeah it sounds like it. I would agree he did seem to be gauging what works and what doesn't.

I'm honestly thinking about going again if it isn't sold out..

Headed to see him tomorrow... cannot wait!

-Eli

One thing to keep in mind is that about half the audience consist of Atlantic Theater subscription holders. So they're coming to the show with virtually no knowledge of who Derren is or what he does. He's just part of their subscription series. So they don't know what to make of him. This is a far cry from the usual UK audiences, who know exactly who he is and what they're coming to see. In the UK, when DB makes his entrance, the crowd erupts in cheers. The night I went, my wife and I started the applause when the lights came up on him, and we were joined by about ¼ to ⅓ of the audience. I think that once the reviews in the NY papers come out and word-of-mouth begins, the energy in the audience will increase significantly.

I saw it Saturday night and it was great. I expected it to be great and was not disappointed. Unfortunately I missed the first half hour due to the midtown tunnel having only one lane open going into the city. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get into the city from Nassau County Long Island. My friend and his wife missed the whole show. Anyone traveling from outside of the city should allow plenty of extra time or better yet take a train.

Other than the difficulty in traveling to the show my family and I loved every bit of it. Derren Brown is a master at what he does.

Caught the show last night and absolutely loved it. I didn't realize it was going to be a greatest hits of sort but still very impressed. Honestly was able to cross this off my bucket list and that is priceless!
It was also interesting to see him handle minor hiccups as well as deliver punchlines with the naturalness of a first time delivery. Just an absolute top class performance.

I wish I knew more of this thread prior. Would have loved to meet some of you in person.

I'll be there on the afternoon show Saturday June 3, just in case someone else has tickets for the same date. (and I'll be seeing Derek Delgaudio the day before!)

Went tonight. My third time seeing DB live and my favourite, partly due to the small theatre. The guy is such a consummate performer.

Celeb watch: Actor Dylan Baker was there, someone said they saw Stephen Sondheim, and I THINK I saw David Mamet but not certain.

Got my ticket for tomorrow night, the same day the President returns to NYC for the first time since his inauguration. Hmm...

I loved it so much I'm going again on the 25th!

Have there been any press reviews yet?