Derren Brown: Secret NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (128)
See it if you enjoy magicians & mentalists with clever & challenging routines, spending time with an amiable personality, like to be wowed
Don't see it if you're looking for a show with a plot or through line, have no interest in magic or "mind-reading," don't like being fooled or perplexed
See it if you want to see a world-class mentalist and consummate entertainer demonstrate his art.
Don't see it if you don't like audience participation or need to know the secrets behind the performance or if you are expecting a traditional play. Read more
See it if you like to be amazed.
Don't see it if like me you find magic and illusionists boring no matter how good the act is.
See it if you want to see a showman performing his own version of mentalist tricks that have been done for years. He has a good delivery, entertaining
Don't see it if you really want to be impressed with new material. This was fun, but not on par with what is expected on Broadway.
See it if You want to be entertained with psychological tricks.
Don't see it if You go to the theater for theatre, not spectacle. Are jugglers and animal acts next? As a season subscriber, I am very disappointed.
See it if you enjoy shows that are mind bending, literally. It's part mentalism, part illusion, part WTF!
Don't see it if don't like one man shows that are small, intimate and designed to leave you gobsmacked.
See it if Whether you enjoy the genre or not. Derron is great as he uses the audience to show his skills and makes everyone laugh.
Don't see it if You like dramas or light comedy
See it if you love magic and illusion -- he is captivating! still thinking about how he did what he did!
Don't see it if you do not enjoy an evening of illusion and mind control!
Critic Reviews (23)
“An enthrallingly baffling one-mentalist show…Mr. Brown segues, with an Astaire-like grace, into more elaborate and improbable ruses. And he is upfront in telling you they are ruses. It’s in the second act that he seems to be plunging into the deepest recesses of his victims’ — I mean, volunteers’ — thoughts, with results that have you slapping your forehead…Throughout, Mr. Brown is calm, chatty, amiably insulting.”
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“It will be hard not to be at least a bit bowled over by ‘Secret’…Brown oozes confidence and charisma, the kind you don't quite trust but can't turn away from nonetheless…It's a combination of jaw-dropping ‘How did he do that?’ moments and inspirational speeches that veer dangerously close to the litanies of motivational speakers…What transpires in 'Secret' is enough to make even the most hardened skeptic think twice.”
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“Brown dumbfounds with a stunning colonnade of tricks, physical and psychological, limned by the sensation of third-rail danger…Brown is also acutely aware that his gifts of seduction and sleight of hand are used by con men for much less entertainment-related activities…He aims to prove the allure of chicanery by exhilarating the audience with its power…A thrilling spectacle. Especially for the die-hard doubters in the crowd, ‘Secret’ is real magic.”
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“An ex-lawyer and Olivier Award-winning mentalist whose sole purpose is to astonish, and perhaps scare the crap out of, you…The technique is to do everything possible to unnerve you by appearing to remove any possibility of audience plants while unlocking secrets of the mind with the same triumphal glee that an escape artist shows when emerging from a skein of solid steel chains and unbreachable locks. If you need to know how it’s done, you have my deepest sympathy.”
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“An astounding piece of psychological theater, and not knowing anything about it makes the experience all the more mind-blowing…The first-act finale is as thrilling and mind-boggling as any of the great curtain-closers from the entire canon of American drama…Like all great illusionists, Brown is the perfect salesman…The two-and-a-half hours of ‘Secret’ fly by…It is bound to make audiences want to see it again, if only to pay attention to different moments."
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“An entertainment that I thoroughly enjoyed...In his offhand wit and remarkable ability at coaxing behaviors out of audience members -- all while seemingly doing nothing -- he is very much a talent of today…We've been getting a lot of magic shows lately, but Derren Brown makes the others look like pikers. He practices the greatest disappearing act of all, dispelling the audience's skepticism with a wave of his hand.”
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“It quickly becomes apparent that Brown is a master at reading body language--no less than facial and vocal expressions--to manipulate the many audience-members who participate and to read their inner thoughts. Brown's patter is also built on an almost glib sort of false modesty, such as his saying, near the end, ‘This only works because we are story-focusing creatures.’...he knows just exactly how to get us all to see only what he wants us to.”
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"A hilarious and thrilling evening of mind reading and psychological illusion...The show completely blew my mind...I remain stunned...However Brown pulls off his wonders, the experience is bewildering and spellbinding. My attention never waned once. But more than that, Brown is hilarious...He manages to lampoon his participants without showing them an ounce of unkindness or disrespect."
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