ROBIN’S SHOW RECOMMENDATION: MUMMENSCHANZ
MUMMENSCHANZ has captivated audiences worldwide, and now the World-renowned Swiss performance troupe presents a special holiday engagement in New York City featuring it’s most beloved, imaginative and humorous characters. And, it’s easy to see why they’ve been going strong since being founded in 1972. There is no other show like it, and your family will indeed enjoy. This is mime and more, taken to an original, new level.
Performed in silence and often on a darkened stage, in the comic, wordless universe of MUMMENSCHANZ, the ordinary becomes extraordinary when common materials and everyday objects–such as wires, tubes, boxes, and even toilet paper–all spring to life as fantastical characters. The result is a wonder-filled family entertainment that truly sparks the imagination of all, no matter the age.
Despite the blizzard in New York, I saw it today with my husband and seven year old son, and it was a treat. It was inventive and surprisingly interactive with the viewer. Whether engaging the audience in a game of catch or inviting them to use masking tape to design features on a cube faced performer dressed sleekly in black, you wanted to be involved and part of their whimsical world. Their spirit and creativity, not to mention flexibility, was contagious. And, talk about thinking out of the box….to them, a box took on new artistic meaning. And, the performers (all four of them) are not youngsters. They are agile, seasoned vetarans, and one member of the team took to the stage (sans costume) after the show, to answer questions and share a bit about the origin of Mummenschanz.
It is playing through January 8th at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South) in NYC. Visit http://www.mnummenschanznyc.com/. To order tickets, visit http://www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/, and use the code BWAYBOX to save money. Swiss International Air Lines is the sponsor of their worldwide tour. To see their schedule, visit http://www.mummenschanz.com/.
