By: Darryl Reilly
A get together between a placid woman and her droning gay male friend in a Manhattan café metamorphizes into a hilarious Tarantinoesque exhibition of violence accompanied by Frank Sinatra singing “That’s Life.” This incident occurs in creator and director Sim Yan Ying’s (“YY”) moving and entertaining collaborative performance piece, Where Are You? (New York). It’s one of several absorbing sequences exploring the show’s themes of death and grieving.
The stages of rigor mortis are detailed, when decay occurs and how many years it takes before a corpse becomes a skeleton, are all matter of factly imparted during a voice over discourse. This clinical information is matched by the cast of seven on the floor animatedly in motion, reacting to those factoids. A fierce Martha Graham-style primitive dance number set to a thrilling drum-heavy score follows. Witty and appropriate song selections are heard throughout.
The youthful and magnetic ensemble consists of Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, Guillermo Contreras, John Titus, Maria Müller, Rosalie Neal and Shannon Helene Barnes. Each of these performers exhibit alluring physical and histrionic prowess, and each is credited as a devisor of the piece.
YY, in collaboration with dramaturg Cheng Nien Yuan’s taut 70-minute treatment is realized by a program of humorous and dramatic scenes, evocative dances and confessional monologues taking place across the world. Families reacting to the deaths of loved ones, individuals telling stories of deaths of those close to them, and fantasies on the subject are depicted. Each of the vignettes, some of which are interconnected are staged and choreographed by YY for an optimum of visual and emotional impact. This is a considerable achievement on the contained playing area often populated by the seven performers in motion all at once.
Scenic designer Johanna Pan’s shimmering, gauzy and transparent curtains creatively and simply allow for swift transitions from one story to another. Pan’s costume design of dancewear and street clothes perfectly individualizes each character. Nic Vincent’s active lighting design underscores each segment’s various tones with complementary hues. Sound designer Jordan Bernstein realizes the music and effects with balance and precision. Celestial imagery and soaring abstractions are the chief components of Cinthia Chen’s subtle yet forceful multimedia design.
Where Are You? (New York) was presented by Mabou Mines’ performance initiative SUITE/Space, which provides developmental assistance for new works. The show premiered in 2019 at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, had a Mabou Mines digital production in 2020, and was presented in Singapore in 2021. This three-performance engagement was a welcome opportunity to experience its further growth. Where Are You? (New York) is a resonant, humane and richly theatricalized meditation on its universal subject, dying and its aftermath on the living.
Where Are You? (New York) (December 8-10, 2022)
Mabou Mines, 150 First Avenue, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.maboumines.org
Running time: 70 minutes with no intermission