DAVID DORFMAN
Jan 19, 2025NYCB
Jan 27, 2025Review by Celia Ipiotis
In a throwback to the wacky days of underground theater of the 60’s and 70’s, the anti-establishment all-female troupe Project NYX (led by Kanna Mizushima) from Japan smashed together absurdist theater, loony cabaret routines, magic acts, circus arts and a spattering of music and dance into Duke Bluebeard’s Castle. A fierce all female troupe with the exception of the male magician, spiced up the traditional story of Bluebeard and the death of his 7th wife along with the six others before her.
Splashed against a background of candy colored costumes and hallucinogenic wigs by Asuka Sassaki and a flexible set by Satoshi Otsuka that includes 7 white doors and mirrors; the plot twists duck in and out of the fanciful theatrical setting. Flipping between the actual production and the backstage banter, this wonderfully messy show twists goofy camp bits out of a gothic styled horror story.
At the onset, the magician, Syun Shibuya in a sleek tuxedo, wows the audience with his ability to correctly guess playing cards being held, make people vanish and doves multiply. Another cool magic act occurs when the actors’ clothes switch from one outfit to another in the blink of an eye.
A mystery death (or not) penetrates the storytelling that passes from Wife 1 all the way through the final Wife 7. The energetic Korean-Japanese director Kim Sukin injects nonstop energy into the loopy plot that is continuously interrupted by a torch song, trapeze act by the lithe Miho Wakabayashi, magic tricks and all manner of other asides. Running a little under 2 hours, the mere giddy energy of the female ensemble is enough to lift you back to days of youthful experimentation and fearless explorations into fractured theatrical devices.
EYE ON THE ARTS, NY — Celia Ipiotis
