You guys, I went to the weirdest damn party. Well, it wasn’t a party, but more of an intimate get together at my friend Victoria’s apartment. She invited a few of us over for snacks, pizza, conversation, and casual catch-up. What I ended up getting was an awkward night where she lamented her husband’s death, we played word association games, and one of her invited guests suddenly had repressed memories bubble up, resulting in everyone storming off and all of us being asked to leave. On top of that, I didn’t get any pizza.

What I had actually been privileged to be a part of the first act of a brand new immersive three-act piece of theatre entitled Captivated. The first fully immersive production from They Played Productions, Captivated lays the foundation for a seemingly innocent world of troubled souls hiding behind the artifice of casual friendships during a breezy evening get together.

Victoria (Stepy Kamei)

I had received a rather flower invite from Victoria via email prior to the get-together…

Fine. I knew Vic lived in Noho, and I was already in the area so I was excited to see her. The consummate planner, Victoria was a successful Psychiatrist pal that I had not seen in a bit and it was a good chance to reconnect. I arrived at her apartment and the bubbly yet bookish Victoria (Stepy Kamei) came down to greet the other guests and myself. She took us up to her sparsely decorated apartment and welcomed us with chips and salsa and any drinks we would want.

Then somebody asked about her husband. Oh dear, bad move. Yeah, he had died recently, leaving Victoria to move on with her life, hopefully. I hate those awkward moments at parties. No matter, though. Soon Victoria’s friend Ely (Erik Blair ) arrived with his wife (Asia Ring). Wait. Wife? “Oh! Ely, when did that happen?” Victoria asked bringing the party to yet another screeching halt. That was when I decided to get more vodka.

Captivated Chapter One: Justine was a remarkably engrossing tale of the unspoken.  A party of seething secrets and hidden agendas that hang like fetid fruit, waiting to be plucked by the nosey guests. As the play continued different guests would be broken off, taken for a car ride to get more pizza, or in some cases be asked to help with the crudités like I was. Here, I was asked by surprise guest (Josh Ritz), Ely’s personal assistant, to help cutting sausage and cheese as he filled me in on his past with Ely’s new wife.

As was stated at the outset, the party did not end all that well, but that wasn’t until we as an audience, had made a number of disturbing discoveries through one-on-one interactions, discussions in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, balconies, and foyers. We were encouraged to explore and eavesdrop. We were provoked to interact and converse in an effort to mine for revelations and it was fun as hell. How often is it that you actually get to be that fly on the wall when things go horribly wrong at a party? So uncomfortable, so good.

Written and directed by Eric Blair, who plays Ely in the show, the script is solid, yet flexible enough to allow glowing improv from all actors involved. The stand out for me personally was Kamei’s troubled Victoria, who was attempting to keep her wobbly world from toppling over during a party that just kept going from bad to worse. The setting Using an actual apartment, was an interesting one and it worked for the most part. The only issue is that when immersive theatre uses such a common setting as this, the audience must work harder to suspend disbelief and really fall into the world. This can be aided by performances that cut with the harsh edge of reality. I think that as the capable performers get used to their roles, the pretense will be less discernable and the scene easier to give into.

They Played Productions, was launched by entertainment veterans Erik Blair and Thea Rivera and they should be damned proud of their first immersive effort. It is ambitious and complicated, yet intimate enough to have a singular impact on each audience member. We are eager to see where the story leads from here and encourage you to go should Victoria invite you.

DATES AND TIMES:

March 16-18, 23-25, 30-April 1

Showtimes: 7:00PM, 8:30PM, 10:00PM

Price:

All showtimes $30.00 per person

Tickets for CAPTIVATED are available through their website HERE