Review Roundup: Neil Patrick Harris-Helmed NOTHING TO HIDE

The highly acclaimed show NOTHING TO HIDE opened last night, November 6 in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues). Two of the world's most gifted sleight-of-hand artists, Derek DelGaudio (2011 & 2012 Close-up Magician of the Year) and Helder Guimarães (2011 & 2012 Parlor Magician of the Year), star in this uniquely unconventional magic show directed by Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris.

NOTHING TO HIDE is created by Derek DelGaudio & Helder Guimarães, written by Derek DelGaudio, featuring Magic Choreography by Helder Guimarães and directed by Neil Patrick Harris. The show also features Artistic Direction by Glenn Kaino, Production Design by Dave Spafford, Lighting Design by Adam Blumenthal and Music by Pedro Marques.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Charles Isherwood, New York Times: As I write these words, I sit staring at a playing card. The five of hearts, actually. There's nothing special about it: It's from a classic pack, with the familiar oil-defying coating and the ornate design on the back featuring two odd winged creatures on what appear to be bicycles. (Never noticed that before.) And yet this memento of "Nothing to Hide," a captivating evening of trickery that opened at the Pershing Square Signature Center on Wednesday night, seems to taunt and tease me, mundane though it is. I almost expect it to fly out of my hand and attach itself to the roof, or morph into the queen of spades before my eyes.

Frank Scheck, NY Post: Most of the routines are more impressive, particularly one that begins with the audience randomly choosing cards. The duo then pulls out a month-old Village Voice cover story about themselves and - tada! - it contains references to the exact same cards.

Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News: Despite the title, the ace card tricksters behind "Nothing to Hide" play everything close to the vest. Even so, they can't keep their charms a secret during this grin- and wonder-inducing little magic show. There's something irresistible about watching two sleight-of-hand artists effortlessly transform an ordinary deck of cards into 52 shades - or more - of amazing.

Adam Feldman, Time Out NY: The fancy word for the wondrous things that Derek DelGaudio and Helder Guimarães do with playing cards is legerdemain, which literally translates as "light of hand." That's a fair description, too, of these young parlor magicians' smooth and unassuming approach to showmanship. Directed by Neil Patrick Harris, an avid aficionado of illusionism, Nothing to Hideleaves you happily baffled and agape at the remarkable gifts of its award-winning creator-performers. (DelGaudio is credited with the clever writing, Guimarães with the "magic choreography.") A dazzling opening sequence-in which they divvy a deck of cards into order, building trick upon trick in a masterful display of cooperative one-upmanship-establishes their prestidigitational bona fides. For the next hour or so, it is a pleasure to relax into the skillful hands that set this duo apart from the pack

Hilary Busis, Entertainment Weekly: when the guys are in their element - which is to say, for most of the show - those quibbles hardly matter. DelGaudio and Guimarães are performing through Dec. 8; let them wow you before they make their show disappear. A-

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