Theater Review by Walter Murphy . . . .
Mischief Production has staked its claim as the king of collegial parodies. It asks audiences to suspend an expectation of professionalism with an approach that’s slapdash and silly, but always clever and entertaining. The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief’s premier show, established this approach by presenting a faux play, The Murder at Haversham Manor, by the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, an inept student drama club. Everything that could go wrong does—in grand fashion. Mind Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion, Mischief’s newest play—which opened tonight at New World Stages—is true to Mischief form: goofy, haphazard, and very entertaining. Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields (all original members of Mischief Production), it features two of Mischief’s original members in a parody of mentalists, performers who purport to read minds (to give you an idea of who they’re lampooning, David Blaine is name-checked). So if you are up for a bit of fun, come on in.
Mangler, the play, and also the character played majestically and tragically by Henry Lewis, requires audience interaction. At the performance I attended, folks were all in. As audience members enter the theater, they are asked to be part of the play by trying to open a locked safe and reveal a personal secret, signaling that participation is encouraged. Mr. Lewis’ Mangler departs from the usual smarmy magician patter to explain his pathetic failings as a person and performer. His pompous dialogue reminded one of a comic working a room—what’s your name, where are you from, what do you do? In fact, all of the “illusions” were well-known, but the audience’s willingness to play along created the craic (fun). Some of the biggest laughs were from attendees’ responses. Mr. Lewis masterfully worked the audience interactions, which were infinitely more entertaining than the tricks.
I suspect that the illusions only provided a rationale for the play’s comedy, beyond Mangler/audience jokes. There was shredding of a newspaper that confirms embarrassing details of the Mangler’s back story; requests to think of a number that was never quite right; a running gag of quickfire Jesus bits; mentally bending a spoon that goes kinda wrong; and a guillotine trick that, well, was truly a tragic illusion as the show’s title suggests.
Further proof of the suspension of seriousness was delivered by the character Stooge/Steve, played impishly, idiotically and brilliantly by Jonathan Sayer, who magically appeared when the Mangler asked for a “volunteer.” Just so there was no misunderstanding that the entire play is staged, Stooge appears first wearing a t-shirt with “Audience Member” emblazoned on it; in his second appearance his shirt says, “Alternate Audience Member”; third appearance . . . well, you get the idea. Mr. Sayer was the perfect foil for the Mangler’s pomposity, with a combination of confusion and frustration. For me, his command of a Ouija board was the highlight of the show.
The visuals—kudos to scenic designer Sara Perks, video designer Gillian Tan, and sound designer Helen Skiera—perfectly captured the slightly manic action on the stage and in the audience. At one point, as the Mangler tried to divine an attendee’s secret an assistant with a hand-held camera scurried among the seats, projecting the audience on the stage screen. Besides guessing the secret bit, each cutaway to the stage screen was a welcome reprieve from the Mangler’s pompous lecturing. Recording onto the stage screen made it easier to see embedded jokes in props. For instance, during the shredding of a newspaper, the jokes set up at the start of the show by the Mangler’s backstory landed a series of laughs with witty headlines.
It wouldn’t be a Mischief Production without technical glitches that left the performers interrupted and befuddled. Mis-timed audio cues, falling stage hardware, and the inadvertent display of the Mangler’s inappropriate browser history were classic Mischief mishaps.
Basically a two-actor show, with help from the assistant with the hand-held camera, the director Hannah Sharkey did well to keep the pace. Given the time flexibility afforded the Mangler’s interactions with the audience, the show ran for two hours (with intermission) as planned. It could easily have run longer or shorter depending on the real volunteers’ involvement. At my show, one volunteer had the actors and audience roaring with laughter as she tried to be serious, which could be the perfect reaction to a Mischief production. Try to be serious and you will end up roaring with laughter.
MInd Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion. Through March 3, 2024, at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). Two hours, one intermission. www.mindmanglernyc.com
Photos: Pamela Raith
