EMA REVIEW: Kayfabe – A Puppet Wrestling Entertainment Spectacular ***** Delicious

Puppet vs Humans

By Paul Atreides

Author, playwright, and Theatre critic at EatMoreArtVegas.com

paul-atreides.com 

You never know what to expect when a production is going to mix live actors with puppetry. It’s always a surprise to be pleasantly surprised as I was with Kayfabe – A Puppet Wrestling Entertainment Spectacular now playing at Vegas Theatre Company.

From the imagination of Josh Rice comes this magical mixture of multi-media. Rice wrote and directed and stars as the Announcer. There’s original music by Chad Bradford, there’s choreography, there’s projection, there’s…well, it’s got it all.

It’s sort of audience participation – immersive theatre, if you will – in that they want you to cheer or boo as the mood strikes. The small crowd last night enthusiastically too part, yet it wasn’t overbearing or drowning out the actors.

The play opens with a dance number that might take you back to the 80s Dancercise craze, then segues into an extraordinary puppet, Dr. Kiss, routine controlled by three very skilled actors. As “Puppet vs Humans,” Madeleine Dauer, Rowan Magee, and Andy Manjuck are perfectly coordinated in the movements, and by the end of the routine they have you actually feeling sorry for, and rooting for, this poor little marionette.

The wrestling matches are refereed by Ashley Winkfield, who further pulls you into thinking it’s all very real, which is a callback to the term ‘kayfabe’ – wrestling’s term that it’s all scripted but it’s supposed to suck you into believing it’s not.

The entire cast has managed to do just that.

If I have tiny quibbles, one would be Rice’s announcing. There are points when his speech is delivered so rapid-fire you lose the words. But, by golly he’s got the delivery and flare down pat. The other is that the sound isn’t in sync with the live feed when the “backstage interviews” are projected. It can be quite distracting. I suggest focusing on the actor on the stage rather than the overhead screen.

The other production values are well done. The set consists of a tiny wrestling ring and the projection screen. Yet the actors make use the entire stage. Rob Lariviere’s lighting, coupled with the sound effects, adds to the atmosphere.

Kaybfabe debuted at Dixon Place in New York for a very short run last summer. But this is the way new plays are developed now. It’s like the old out-of-town tryouts of yesteryear, except they no longer take place in Philadelphia, Chicago, or New Haven, Connecticut.

This delightful immersive theatre is suitable for the entire family. Grab the kids and go have some fun before it moves on to the next city.

What: Kayfabe

When:  8 p.m. Friday and Saturday through April 19

5 p.m. Saturday

Where: 1025 S. 1st St., Suite 110

Tickets: $32.24, Fees included (www.theatre.vegas)

Grade:  ***** Delicious

Presenter: Vegas Theatre Company; Producer: Josh Rice Productions; Director: Josh Rice; Set Design: Josh Rice; Light Design: Rob Lariviere; Stage Manager: Emily Greirson