If you’ve spent any time scrolling through the "Documentaries" or "Special Interest" sections of your streaming apps, you’ve probably seen a cryptic thumbnail of a man standing in front of a wall of cards. It’s Derek DelGaudio. The show is In and Of Itself on Hulu, and honestly, it is a nightmare to explain to people at a dinner party without sounding like you’ve joined a cult.
It’s not a magic show. Not really.
I mean, there are "tricks." There are moments where things happen that shouldn't be physically possible. But if you go into this expecting a Vegas-style "pick a card, any card" routine, you’re going to be deeply confused by the time the credits roll. Directed by Frank Oz—yes, the man behind Yoda and Miss Piggy—and produced by Stephen Colbert, this filmed version of a 552-performance off-Broadway run is something much weirder. It’s an exploration of identity that uses sleight of hand as a scalpel to cut you open.
The Identity Crisis at the Heart of In and Of Itself on Hulu
The premise starts before the show even begins. When people walked into the Daryl Roth Theatre in New York, they were faced with a wall of 1,000 cards. Each card started with the words "I AM," followed by a descriptor. I am a leader. I am a failure. I am an outsider. I am a mother.
You had to choose one.
That choice—that single, tiny act of self-labeling—is the entire engine of In and Of Itself on Hulu. DelGaudio spends a significant portion of the runtime deconstructing why we let the world tell us who we are. He tells a story about "The Roulette Traveler," a mythic figure who gambles with his life, which serves as a framing device for the entire evening.
It’s heavy. But it’s also remarkably simple.
Most magic specials are about the performer. They are about how clever the magician is, how fast their hands move, and how they managed to fool you. DelGaudio flips that. He makes the show about the audience. He’s not interested in your applause; he’s interested in your recognition. There’s a specific moment involving a brick that feels like a gut punch, and it has nothing to do with "magic" and everything to do with the weight of the stories we carry.
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Frank Oz and the Art of the Filmed Stage Play
Capturing live theater on film usually sucks.
It often feels static, or worse, it feels like you're missing the "energy" of the room. But Frank Oz did something brilliant here. He didn't just set up a few cameras and hit record. He edited together footage from across the show's entire run.
This is why In and Of Itself on Hulu feels so haunting. You see different faces in the audience from cut to cut, yet the emotional resonance remains identical. You see celebrities—everyone from Bill Gates to Marina Abramović—sitting in those cramped theater seats, looking just as vulnerable and confused as the person next to them.
The cinematography is tight. It focuses on DelGaudio’s face, which isn't the face of a performer trying to sell you a product. He looks exhausted. He looks like he’s lived these stories a thousand times, and each time, they cost him something. When he does the "card trick" towards the end of the film—a sequence that involves him calling out the "I AM" identities of people in the crowd—the camera lingers on the audience's reactions. That is where the real "show" is. Watching a stranger feel truly seen for the first time in a dark room full of people is a voyeuristic, beautiful experience.
Why the "Six-Step" Sequence Isn't Just a Trick
There is a sequence in the middle of the show involving a letter. I won't spoil the mechanics, because that would be a crime, but it involves an audience member being asked to take something home and return the next day.
In the Hulu version, we see a montage of these letters being read.
It’s a masterclass in empathy. We spend so much of our lives curated. Our Instagram feeds are perfect. Our resumes are polished. But when DelGaudio forces people to interact with the "Six-Step" story, the artifice falls away. You realize that everyone is struggling with the exact same question: Am I who I think I am, or am I who you say I am?
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The Logistics: How to Actually Watch and Process This
People often ask if they need to be "into magic" to enjoy this.
The answer is a hard no. In fact, if you hate magic because it feels condescending, you might actually like this more. DelGaudio is a world-class sleight-of-hand artist—he’s a former card cheat who knows exactly how to manipulate perception—but he uses those skills to build trust rather than to show off.
When you sit down to watch In and Of Itself on Hulu, do yourself a favor:
- Turn off your phone. This isn't a "second screen" show. If you miss a sentence of the narration, the ending won't land.
- Watch it with someone you actually like. You’re going to want to talk about it for three hours afterward.
- Don't try to "google the secrets." Yes, there are Reddit threads dedicated to how he does the card reveals. Finding out the "how" is like learning that a painting is just pigments and oil; it doesn't make the art better, it just makes the viewer feel smaller.
Beyond the Screen: The Legacy of the Show
Since the special hit Hulu, it has developed a bit of a legendary status among creators. It’s cited by writers and directors as a pinnacle of "experiential storytelling."
What DelGaudio achieved wasn't just a successful run in a New York theater. He created a piece of media that acts as a mirror. If you’re feeling lonely, the show feels like a hug. If you’re feeling stagnant, it feels like a wake-up call.
There’s a reason it holds a nearly perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s because it respects the audience’s intelligence. It doesn't over-explain. It doesn't have a flashy intro with explosions or a booming voiceover. It’s just a man, a few props, and a whole lot of uncomfortable truth.
The Myth of the Wolf and the Dog
One of the most striking metaphors in the show involves a story about a wolf and a dog. It’s a simple fable, but in DelGaudio’s hands, it becomes a devastating commentary on the trade-offs we make for security.
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Are we the wolf? Wild, hungry, but free?
Or are we the dog? Fed, warm, but wearing a collar?
This theme repeats throughout the special. It’s tucked into the corners of the stories he tells about his mother, his childhood, and his time spent learning the dark arts of card manipulation. By the time the final act begins, you aren't thinking about the "magic" anymore. You're thinking about your own collar.
Actionable Next Steps for the Viewer
If you've already watched In and Of Itself on Hulu and you're looking for what comes next, or if you're about to dive in, here is how to handle the "post-show" comedown.
First, check out Derek DelGaudio’s book, Amoralman. It’s a memoir that functions as a spiritual prequel to the show. It goes deep into his history with card cheating and the "shady" underworld that informed his perspective on deception. It’s gritty, honest, and lacks any of the theatrical polish of the Hulu special, which makes it a perfect companion piece.
Second, look into the work of Helder Guimarães. He and DelGaudio collaborated on Nothing to Hide, another show that challenged the boundaries of magic. While it's harder to find a filmed version of that, clips and interviews about their collaboration offer a glimpse into the philosophy of "meaningful" magic.
Third, take ten minutes after the credits roll on the Hulu special to sit in the dark. Don't immediately jump to another show. Think about the "I AM" card you would have picked if you were standing in that lobby in 2017. Most people's answer changes between the beginning of the film and the end. That shift? That's the real trick.
Watching In and Of Itself on Hulu isn't just about entertainment. It’s a rare opportunity to see a master of a dying art form use his skills to say something that actually matters. It’s about the stories we tell ourselves to survive, and the courage it takes to finally tell the truth.
Go watch it. Then go call your mom. Or your best friend. Or yourself. Just don't let the labels the world gave you be the only thing people see.
That’s the whole point.