The Off-Broadway Theatre Review: MindPlay
By Ross
Recorded thoughts spin out, filling the Greenwich House Theater with their clarity and emotion, overlapping and replaying in a chaotic jumble. The sound represents what it must or would be like to be a person who can read the minds of those around them. The muddle of memories must be a lot to take in, I thought, just before an old rotary phone on stage rings us into focus. It’s a sharply crafted entry, as a spotlight cue, courtesy of lighting designer Christopher Bowser (Signature’s Three Houses), alongside a projected urging, delivers the first, of what will be many, willing (or not) audience participants onto the stage to play out the formulations created by Mindplay‘s star mentalist, Vinny DePonto (Charlatan). It’s quite a strong opening, chosen wisely and intricately by its master creator. And we are in, with wonder and surprise, to this generally fascinating show that tries a bit too hard to be theatrically dynamic and gets lost a tad on its historic pathway through the essence of what we have all gathered here for.
“What’s on your mind?” That’s the main question projected across the stage and is at the core of this mentalist showcase. He tells us outright that these are tricks, not magic. And although the act leans heavily on the ‘How did he know that?‘ framing, DePonto has a few other drawers to unpack for us. Created and performed with a fairly surefooted charm by DePonto, who shares writing credit with Josh Koenigsberg (Al’s Business Cards), the psychological framing coaxes us to go on a little mentalist journey with him, through the process of memory, and our more intimate connection with what it means and how it holds onto us. It’s a clever formula, to bring us into and along his own conceptualizations and personal history with how memory affected him, both in his youth and later on with the failings of his grandparents’ abilities to hold on to those memories.
On an impressively designed set, courtesy of Sibyl Wickersheimer (Netflix’s “What About Dick?“), Mindplay floats in and out of DePonto’s ability to dive into our minds and retrieve what we are thinking and feeling. Each and every time, in a variety of uniquely crafted ways, he surprises and amazes both the unsuspecting participant and us as a whole, popping balloons with recently revealed secrets, and drawing forth words and emotions from our inner sanctuaries where we hide, as directed, our memories in familiar spaces, like your childhood bedroom, or a favorite pseudo-pool hall. He takes inspiration from and tells us about Solomon Shereshevsky, a vaudevillian artist known for his powers of astounding recollection, before showcasing his own Shakespearian abilities quite amazingly. And even when the world throws obstacles up before him, like the absence of reading glasses or the presence of audience nervousness, he still manages his way through to the remembrance of the words and the Shakespearian dialogue, charming us completely with the magical magnificence of the performance.
Directed with a casual hand by Andrew Neisler (off-Broadway’s Clown Bar), Mindplay rolls out DePonto’s own unraveling history of familial angst and loving connection, attaching it to his ‘unaided’ memory unlocking, and slicing it in between each engagement with an audience member. Before the lights dim, we are instructed to fill out some forms and seal them inside envelopes that are dropped into a fish bowl on stage. No one could possibly know what is written inside them, right? One would believe. These are the personal memories and words that somehow he is going to pull ‘out of thin air’ and deliver them back to us within the framing of his show, and every one of those moments dazzles, delivered lovingly with a warm sense of nurture, safety, and care. Much like his own history that he unpacks with us.
He clarifies early in the show that there are no sneaky plants, and no friendly actors in the audience playing their required parts. I know this to be true, as I know someone who was pulled up there (and if you really don’t want to be called up, just don’t fill out the form, or catch a falling balloon). He also informs us that he doesn’t have a sneaky earpiece feeding his information, even though I don’t even know a feeder of information would be able to know the things he ends up reciting. The trickster constructs he has built within the story, inside balloons and such, add to the magical quality he unwinds before us. I could have used a bit less of the melodramatics and theatricalities he unspools centered on his grandparents’ memory loss and his own history, assisted with the tight sound design by Kathy Ruvuna (TNG’s Daughters), and the compositions by Alex Harris (The Magic of the Future). It effectively made the show more personal and connective, but at times it also distracted, feeling a bit too performative or emotionally hectic. I found it took me away from what I was experiencing, and I had to consciously work my way back into the room at times.
Yet, I understood the metaphors and the distinct purpose of his immersive storytelling tactics. He wants to take us on a journey; one filled with personality and a few personal self-deprecating jabs and jokes for good measure. He guides us into our ‘memory palace‘ and asks us to play and party with him there. “Our memories are pillars on which we base our reality,” he tells us, keeping us on our toes throughout the show. He makes our heads spin astoundingly with one particularly surprising refocus from stage to mid-audience, while also making our minds fire with all engines as we scratch our heads in amazement trying to figure out his visual artistry and tricks of the trade. Memories and Mindplay are both fascinating constructs to dig into, and DePonto delivers his framing with mindblowing expertise, rhythm, and charm, filling our heads with memorable amazing moments with the psychological tricks he has charmingly up his sleeve. And I hope I never forget it.
MINDPLAY, created by & starring mentalist Vinny DePonto, at the Greenwich House Theater (27 Barrow St). The runtime is approximately 90 minutes, without an intermission. for tickets and information, click here.
