AND THE MONEY KEEPS ROLLING IN (AND OUT) // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "MONEY LAB"

BY MATEO MORENO

Walking into a show produced by Untitled Theatre Company #61 you never know what exactly you're going to get. You know it's going to be a smart endeavour, that it will mold things you've seen on stage with things you haven't, and that it's going to fill you (at least if you're like myself) with the simple joy that good theatre should always bring you. Conceived and Directed by Edward Einhorn, MONEY LAB: AN ECONOMIC VAUDEVILLE comes at a perfect time. Who isn't worried about their dollar and how it's spent, what it's being spent on, and if they should part with it in the first place? Einhorn has crafted here a show that's part Vaudeville, part Economics lesson (in the most entertaining way), and part experimental theatre. If you can wrap your head around that, dear readers, follow me down the rabbit hole of commerce.

Each night features different acts (all listed on their site) and I'm sorry to say that the show is closing this weekend and that I'm just now seeing it, because I would have loved to see how everything shapes up watching it on a completely different night. On my night I was treated to the following: The Charming Master of Ceremonies Mick O'Brien brings us into the world of Money Lab and introduces us to the evening’s proceedings. He explains that the blue and red chips we hold (which audience members buy on their way into the theatre) can be used to purchase items during the show. They can also be traded for several other things throughout the course of the evening as well. You can buy food, drink, or art at the concessions booth run by Corinne Woods, or head to the Exchange Table and have a chat with Gyda Arber. Mick also lets us in on how our "money" is fluxing though the evening due to our own interests in real time. It really is a fascinating small steps into economics mixed with live performance. There was even a moment where the audience all pooled their chips together to fund a donated performance by one of its featured stars Stephanie Willing. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've just invented Kickstarter," bellows MC O'Brien. And then the money (or chips) kept rolling in. A beautiful thing I tell ya.

The vaudeville sections I saw on my night were all splendid. Award winning storyteller Steve Zimmer tells a very entertaining story about The Fed and Alan Greenspan. Alan then shows up himself a bit later in the evening (in the guise of actor Lynn Berg and written by Michael Fanelli) telling the audience the difference between money and worth, ending on an appropriately uncomfortable note. Finally, Patrice Miller choreographs a bold and beautiful dance piece called "Dead Cat Bounce" (featuring dancers Dina Rose Rivera, Stephanie Willing, and Laura Hartle) set to a video mash up of the 2008 financial collapse. That alone, in its simple wonder, was the most provocative moment of the evening. If you can drag yourself from the couch of money worries into the downstairs theatre at HERE, I can guarantee you a great time. Hell, you might even learn something. However, if you have the attention span of a knat, or say are like the family of five that sat behind me the other night and enjoy letting your kids run around and talk in full volume inside a theatre that is not located inside your home, stay in front of your TV and watch reruns of "Anger Management." But for everyone else, come on down to Soho. Mick and the gang are waiting for you.

MATEO'S GRADE: A

Conceived and Directed by: Edward Einhorn Featuring: Mick O'Brien, Gyda Arber, Corinne Woods, and a rotating cast of characters Choreography by: Patrice Miller For tickets: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/943751

FINAL THOUGHTS: Another intriguing piece of theatre that continues to cement Untitled Theatre Company #61 as a leader of top notch experimental theatre in New York City. Keep it coming guys. Keep it coming.

MATEO MORENO recently won a bet on who could hold their breath the longest underwater. He won the bet, having beat local loudmouth Jimmy "Thunderbird" Thomas with a record breaking "fourteen minutes." True, part of that time was him unconscious and the other part was him being revived, but he still counts it, and is now $20 richer. Take THAT Thunderbird! He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.