Review: “Sleep No More” after an immersive “Macbeth”, set in a 30’s hotel

When you check into the McKittrick Hotel, wear comfortable shoes and don’t bring any luggage – neither suitcase nor expectations. During the three hours of wandering five floors of an immersive production inspired by ‘Macbeth’ and set in the 30s, anything can happen. It might become a life shaping experience or it might annoy you like being cramped in the subway during rush hour. My companion and I fell on opposite ends of the spectrum. But a strange thing happened; leaving the show I felt disappointed, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.  

           photo by Robin Roemer

“Sleep No More”, produced by Punchdrunk and Emursive, came to the Chelsea gallery district in March 2011 and is based on the original 2003 London production. Critically acclaimed and beloved by the audiences, “Sleep No More” is directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle. The vastness and variety of the 100,000-square-foot space, designed by Mr. Barrett, Livi Vaughan and Beatrice Minns, is truly impressive. The five floors of the dimly lit and hazy former warehouse are filled with dozens of sets executed with whit and attention to detail. There is an entire street with small shops on the both sides, a cemetery, a cabaret, a grand ballroom with mezzanine, a hotel lobby, a forest, and lunatic asylum. Add to it countless passages and hidden rooms, and you might get lost just by reading it.

After you arrive, they give you no map, minimal instructions, and a mask that you are obligated to wear during the entire time you are in the hotel. You are not allowed to speak and are encouraged to part with the members of your party. “There is no right or wrong way to experience it. Find something you like and follow it for a while” – says the Charon-esque elevator attendant as he opens the door on the fifth floor. A small crowed of masked anonymous audience members spills out to the maze of the rooms. Enhanced by the music design of Stephen Dobbie and lighting design by Felix Barrett and Euan Maybank, the space itself leaves a deep impression. You can spend days inspecting rooms for clues and impressive artwork. A nursery with a flock of beheaded baby dolls suspended in the air was my personal favorite.

Unexpectedly, actors emerge and start their scene, wordless and impeccably choreographed. But more often than not, the appearance of the actor would be announced by the footsteps of dozens of audience members chasing them. One might think that in a multiple-story set where action occurs simultaneously in multiple locations, the crowd should be, more or less, equally dispersed. But I often found myself in a situation where the audience is so densely stuffed in a room that I, not only couldn’t see the actors well, but also was also elbowed and stepped on. Being part of a silent, anonymous crowd of “angry ducks” spoiled it for me. After a previous immersive theater experience, Then She Fell, which takes only 15 audience members per performance, it was hard to let go of the anxiety, evoked by the obscured view and absence of a guided narrative.

Supposedly there is a story and if you follow the character, he or she will tell you theirs. But the set of “Sleep No More” is built in a way, which allows the actors to disappear into the darkness and haze really quickly. Sometimes they can single you out from the crowed and pull you in some tiny room for a one-on-one scene. I got this tempting offer from a character that appeared to be a taxidermist. He carefully inspected my arm and my clavicles, after which he removed my mask. For the first time my restlessness settled down and I gladly accepted an offered gumdrop. I felt like Alice, who just sipped from the “drink me” bottle. The taxidermist quickly recited lines from (I suspect) “Macbeth” right into my ear, put my mask back on and quickly delivered me to the middle of a bloody orgy scene lit by strobe lights.

This moment was quite memorable, although it still felt sporadic without an underlining narrative context. The experience is meant to be a puzzle,s but I got too few pieces to put a picture together. My companion gave up on chasing the action pretty quickly and spent a lot of time just sitting in one room, soaking in the details and the action coming and going around him, similar to a traditional theater. There is no right or wrong approach, they say. You have to be curios yet calm, move at your own pace and allow the experience happen to you. Everything you see, hear, taste and touch might eventually fall together. Well, it didn’t happened for me. As much as I appreciated the grandiose scale of the sight, the haunting atmosphere and some individual scenes, I didn’t get the sense of a coherent “story”.                    

McKittrick Hotel is located on 530 West 27th Street, Chelsea; (866) 811-4111. For more details and tickets visit sleepnomorenyc.com. 

Review: ‘Cats’ on Broadway,

living junk yard museum of musical theater 

The revival of the 1981 musical, "Cats", opened on Broadway in July 2016 and there were two reasons why I went to see it recently. Though I’m not particularly a fan of musicals, I was still curious to check out the fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history (18 years!); the one that my mother saw in London when I was a baby. The other reason was the $40 lottery tickets available online. While taking my chances on "Hamilton" every day, I thought "Why not?" and tried for "Cats" as well. It was worth $40 without a doubt. Would I pay more than that? Probably not. Only if I were looking for a show to go to with kids, and that would be the third good reason to see it. 

photo by Richard Termine

The musical "Cats", directed by Trevor Nunn, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on the collection of poems by T. S. Eliot, "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" (1939) and mostly consists of individual numbers, each devoted to a particular cat. The cats are from the Jellicles tribe and gathered for the Jellicles Ball, by the end of which one feline will be chosen to "come back to a new life". The plot line seems forcibly attached to an otherwise neat cat showcase, but, on the other hand, it provides us with the character of Grisabela and her hit song "Memory", which Mamie Parris performed in a rather unmemorable way.          

The busy scenic design by John Napier, who also designed costumes for the show, consists of oversized trash items and extends all the way up to the mezzanine. It looks as if a Claes Oldenburg retrospective exploded on stage and is very appealing in it’s “carotoonishness”. Oversized props, such as a giant mop, giant basketball and costumes of mice and dogs assembled from trash appear on stage as well. During some numbers, members of the ensemble climb the ladders and appear amongst the audience in both the mezzanine and the orchestra. The lighting design by Natasha Katz employs the same principle of including the audience in the action by strings of lamp bulbs reaching all the way to the back of the theater. 

The show features more than two dozens cat characters, each with their distinct personality, which is reflected through their costume, makeup and movement. The choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne is a mixture of different styles: some cats are dancing ballet, others are tap dancers and so on. Musical numbers range from pop to jazz, from rock to hymn-like songs. There are plenty of charismatic cat characters played by talented performers so the show never gets dull but there is a film of tiredness on the entire production.

It seems to me that musicals, which are just about demonstrating actors’ skills and a few old theatrical tricks, can no longer satisfy the audience. In other words, don’t go to see “Cats” if you are interested in modern musical theater. But if you want to go back in time and find out what was cool 30+ years ago, this production is just for you. I can imagine how people who have seen the musical during its original Broadway run from 1982-2000, and now have kids of their own, can be nostalgic and want to share the experience of their youth with their offspring. This opportunity is precious and I would encourage you to do so. But when the fog of nostalgia fades, what are we left with?

“Cats” runs in the Neil Simon Theatre at 250 W. 52nd St. More information and tickets are available online.