Banner Image: Yarie Vazquez
Panorama, part of The Public Theater's Under The Radar Festival, is a very accessible piece of experimental theater. It is trippy AF and really well done!
5 REASONS WHY IT'S AWESOME
1. The video projections. The show uses complex technology (video projections combining live feeds and recorded footage) in a way that feels organic throughout, but also has plenty of moments that feel decidedly scrappy. This paradox makes for incredible theater.
2. It's very sexual. Primal desire bubbles up to the surface quite a bit in the show with several scenes involving full nudity. In one scene, actress Maura Nguyen Donohue masturbates live onstage with a bag of Cheetos!
3. Actor Eugene the Poogene huffs a balloon full of nitrous onstage. It's raw, real, and very scary to watch.
4. The diverse cast. These are extraordinary humans who are extremely passionate about their work, oozing with creative spirit in every single scene. It's really lovely to watch such gifted performers work as a team!
5. The (subtle) political statement it makes. Without referencing President You-Know-Who once, the show "rubs salt into one of the deepest – and never healed – wounds of the ‘land of the free,’ namely its relationship with borders and those who cross them,” according to the creators. It'll make even the most lefty part of you lean even left-er!
Panorama is presented by La Mama ETC and Motus Theatre of Italy with the actors of the Great Jones Repertory Company. The show runs through January 21.