Review Rundown: The One That Gets Back To Nature (6/8/21)

This week the Rundown has NINE reviews for you: from elaborate online Singaporean whodunits with “80’s soap opera energy” to classical music in cemeteries.

Don’t say we don’t bring you the world every week and then some.

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Need more? Last week’s edition HAS YOUR BACK.

After The Flood — Control Group Productions
$27-$43 per person; Littleton, CO; through June 19, 2021

Every Control Group production is different from the previous, but what’s common amongst them is their unique ability to gently guide participants to a place of introspection. After the Flood is perhaps their strongest call to action yet, dropping participants into the middle of a city park to tell the details of its rich history, then calling on them to realize their own duty to protect and preserve the land that they live on.

After The Flood brings Denver residents to a lesser known (yet totally stunning) city park, then creates space and makes time for them to reflect on its bounty and beauty. The 80-minute show consists of guided foot travel through the park with stops at 10 different locations within. Some stops invite participation from the audience, while others present choreographed movement sequences from the actors. A few spots in the show rely solely on oral delivery, and one has no performative aspect at all; you are simply meant to sink into nature and meditate on what surrounds you.

The all-natural set design and minimal costuming gives the show a cohesive aesthetic that’s appropriately neutral, earthy and raw. The interactive portions are also befitting: rhythmically rubbing rocks or drumming sticks; donning a necklace made of tree bark and inscribing something meaningful on it; vocalizing and harmonizing vowel sounds as part of a group offering to Mother Earth.
— Danielle Look

The Bride Always Knocks Twice — Killer Secrets; The Theatre Practice
$48; Online; Concluded

The strange balance of Agatha Christie whodunnit, House of Leaves style mindbender, and reflection on the way women are pitted against each other in patriarchal societies felt tailor made towards my sensibilities to the point where it felt like The Bride Always Knocks Twice was trying to cheat to win my affections. I’ll have you know, it worked; I loved it!

The whole thing is suffused with a sort of giddy 80’s soap opera energy, but the characters manage to carry the weight of history behind them as they slowly reveal their secrets and develop genuine pathos. Playing out as a combination of pre-recorded drama, a searchable virtual crime scene, and live interrogations, it managed to capture the best of each facet of the virtual theatre landscape.

Aesthetic is one of Bride’s strongest suits, combining trance-y indie pop, hip modern decor, and elaborate period costumes. The only slight difficulties arose, as I imagine they must often do in a country with multiple official languages, in some communication. A puzzle to figure out a password became difficult as we all struggled to figure out what language the password would even be in, and although I was told one of the suspects I chose to interrogate spoke some English, she would accept questions in English, but always answer in Mandarin. Nevertheless, for charm, twisting puzzles, surprising depths, and a sense of sheer style, I have to applaud The Theatre Practice. Not many shows could convince me to happily wake up at 8 AM to catch the next chapter.
— Blake Weil

Chronicle X — Nia Witherspoon presented by The Shed, HERE, and Musical Theater Factory
Free; The Shed, NYC; Run Concluded

This three-part ritual play honors the narratives of Black women in their empowerment despite their turmoil in fighting violence and grief. The audience traveled into the dawn of Yoruba people’s creation story that included the sistera, Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding.

These characters were portrayed as stunning dancers while the voices of these characters were speaking directly into the audience’s ears through silent disco headphone technology. Then we were carried through a heart-wrenching reconstruction of Diamond Reynolds story with incredibly strong voices of a live choir backed by a live band. As we were guided through the glorifying rituals of the Black Feminist church finale with Mia Witherspoon at her pulpit, the audience was led to commit to the care and celebration of Black women, launch WebXR augmented reality, and Venmo accounts from the massive QR code being projected on the wall. Overall, a 9.5/10 a near-perfect performance to break the live performance dry spell. My only wish is that my live performance endurance had been at its pre-pandemic stamina, so I was better ready to fully soak in the full-length two and half-hour show.

— Michaela Ternaksy-Holland

Experience Panic — Swamp Motel
Free; Online; Through June 13

Swamp Motel has created a pretty remarkable online puzzle train with Experience Panic. While the games never lived up to the title, causing more mild bemusement than panic, we had a good time. We finished with a breezy 20 minutes to spare, chatting and laughing our way through the puzzles, despite what the photo taken at a seemingly random interval suggests. The plot twists were slightly predictable, but the high school melodrama B-grade Riverdale vibes kept the whole affair humming along nicely. Possibly the highlight was the clever use of different web interfaces — the fact that most schools have janky custom portals becomes a plot point as you’re instructed to hack into the dinky municipal websites that dot the experience.
— Blake Weil

Hymn to the City — Death of Classical
$60–100; Greenwood Cemetery, NYC; Run Concluded

As I stood by the graveside of Leonard Bernstein, listening to five of the finest brass musicians in the world playing a selection of the composer’s iconic melodies from West Side Story, looking out past the cemetery towards the Manhattan skyline in the distance with the sun setting quietly behind it, I had a moment. One of those moments where you recognize that you are living in an unforgettable experience, right that very moment.

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Taking place in the vast Greenwood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, Hymn to the City is the latest in a series of events by Death of Classical, an organization committed to bringing classical music to a wider audience, often by using site specific performance as a means to this end. As a classically trained music teacher and immersive fan, this is a company after my own heart.

With performances by the acclaimed New York Philharmonic Hymn to the City aims to pay tribute to New York’s spirit of resilience over the last year, with musical selections to aid this journey. Hearing this wonderful music echo and reverberate amongst the gravestones as night slowly took over was hauntingly beautiful.

As beautiful as the experience was, there were occasional glimpses of something perhaps even more special. With the right set of circumstances, a well prepared actor or two, and a script to help pull the audience into the magic circle of the experience, I feel would have helped transform this beautiful experience into the sublime. It would not take many “immersive theatre” tweaks to really make this experience sing.

Death of Classical continues to develop work here in New York to fight against its namesake. With collaborations between leading orchestras and unique sites, the future of classical music has a much needed advocate that is actively working to engage with new audiences. I could not help but feel moved to my core as the poignant final strains of Dvorak’s Going Home reverberated around the catacombs surrounding me, and I am sure that I am not the only one in the audience who felt this way. Classical music still has such potential to move and captivate, and when combined with immersive theatre, it is a beautiful collaboration indeed.
— Edward Mylechreest

Metaphysical Hotline — Oil Ancestors
Free; Anywhere (Phone-based LARP); Through June 20, 2021

After weeks of putting it off so I could eat fish guilt-free, I finally watched Seaspiracy. Now, I can’t even look at shrimp and I can’t stop thinking about what I can do to avoid leaving nothing for future generations but a burning wasteland. So when I was offered the opportunity to receive a call from the future, I jumped at the chance.

Metaphysical Hotline is a phone-based live action role playing (LARP) experience created by Oil Ancestors, a project by Miami-based artist Fereshteh Toosi. The experience begins with a phone call from a medium who has devised a way of speaking with the future. I am invited to connect with a young person seven generations in the future who is living in a “post-oil economy.” I am told I must not ask any questions, only answer those posed by my descendent. The connection across time is too fragile, it seems, to bear the weight of a back-and-forth conversation.

My unnamed descendent asked me questions about my life. Did I know about Henry Flagler, and how he built the railroads with slave labor? What was a trash can? Was mine made of plastic? Have I ever seen a coral reef? Those questions were easy to answer. The harder question was “why.” Explaining the environmental impact of capitalism to someone with childlike curiosity was more difficult than I anticipated, and I found myself resorting to phrases like “that’s just how it is” and “I don’t know.”

Though I felt railroaded through the experience by my inability to ask questions or speak freely with my descendent, I understand the need to keep the conversation guided — or I might have been tempted to ask questions about hovercrafts and time-travel. As young people who have inherited the climate crisis, we so often think of ourselves as the future. To have the roles reversed and be asked to consider ourselves as the “ancestors” of future generations was an interesting thought experiment that made Metaphysical Hotline a worthwhile experience.
— Cheyenne Ligon

Persou — One Whale’s Tale
$35–70; the cell theatre, NYC; Through June 12

Torrential rain in NYC is probably my least favorite thing in the world when I need to be out and about during it (under the covers with my cat however, I happily tolerate it), so arriving at the cell during the massive storms last weekend did not leave me with high hopes, but once the doors opened, that all changed. Guests were welcomed in and temperature checked by guides dressed in ancient Grecian fashion and were then invited to participate in a hand cleansing ritual using orange blossom water. Once cleansed, I was then free to roam the space which encompassed the first floor of the cell decked out in flowing fabrics, lush greenery, and a ritualistic grave for Persephone in the center with the goddess currently interred in it.

Through the evening characters from ancient Greek mythology help us mortals understand what it’s like to be a god and the sacrifices they must make. In particular, we learn from Demeter, Persephone’s mother, who describes how painful it is to repeatedly mourn a child (an unwelcome side effect of being the queen of the underworld). Demeter takes us on an adventure to end the pain of winter and thus keep Persephone alive which ends up working out less than well, as per usual with god/goddess antics. Although things don’t end as we had hoped, they don’t end badly either. At the end of the piece, the mortal audience is posed the question of considering how it is that we fit into the world as it is instead of changing it to fit around us, which feels quite apt as we transition back into life together. Although things didn’t work out how Demeter thought they would, the universe still gave everyone what they asked for, so all’s well that ends well I suppose.

Overall, I found Persou to be a lovely first venture back into the immersive space. I felt well taken care of and really enjoyed the thoughtfulness behind all the elements at play. The environment was beautifully constructed, the performance made great use of the space, and the actors and content were engaging. The inclusion of some of my favorite immersive traditions like hidden treats and a parting souvenir were a perfect cherry on top, resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable experience. When all is said and done, we eat, we drink, and we dance in the rain, transforming a dreaded wet night out into a much needed moment of temporary community magic after a period of isolation.
— Allie Marotta

Psychopomp — We Players
$130 for two; San Francisco; through June 27th

Each encounter along the way I was brought face to face with mythical figures and creatures who have guided humans through the liminal for centuries. Some told their stories in theatrical monologues, some through dance and movement. Some figures I recognized immediately. Some I still haven’t figured out. The cast was small, but there were no weak spots, and standouts included our nautical guide across the River Styx, as well as a particularly eloquent feline who succeeded in making his exposition on quantum physics feel as spiritual and enlightening as the zealous religious cries of Anubis. Each stop represented a different way we as humans have understood the natural world and our place within it. And when I stepped off the path and back into the parking lot, I felt like they had succeeded in that task once more.
— Brian Resler from his FULL REVIEW

Submerged — Circus Foundry
$50 per person; Denver, CO; through June 27th, 2021

Submerged begins the moment you walk through the door. The standard COVID-19 safety questions and procedures are there, but hidden amongst various interactions and “pre-screening questions” from the lab assistant who will soon escort us to a mad scientist’s time traveling machine for an experiment.

The story is easy to follow and not too complex: we time travel into the future where all beings live underwater because the sun is too intense to live at the surface due to global warming. The premise was just plausible enough that it was easy for us non-actors to lean into and play along. Our mission is also simple: to find the three missing parts we needed to get the time machine to send us back to 2021.

This production is 70% acting, storytelling and improv; 30% circus acts — and the formula works. The physical environment is also a crucial element of what makes Submerged so fun. It takes place at Allegory, an art gallery with an attached building full of open concept space for artist studios. The exploratory nature of wandering through a mysterious, maze-like building is exciting and unpredictable!

The show’s puzzle elements have both the effect of increased interactivity and the illusion of agency. In the end, the show progresses whether you solve the puzzles or not, but it feels damn good when you do, and instills a sense of urgency and responsibility along the way.

The entire experience had a fun and playful vibe to it, even if everyone we met in our journey found us to be highly suspicious. We oohed and awed at the captivating circus performances, but it was ultimately the ways in which the actors interacted with us that made the show so endearing.
— Danielle Look

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