In their latest show, Digging in the Dark, now playing at the American Theatre of Actors, the dancers of the San Francisco-based troupe Capacitor go deep into the Earth's crust for an interpretive excavation. They perform acrobatics inside a rotating sphere, descend on harnesses like graceful and flamboyant archaeologists, and demonstrate gravity by defying it in various ways. In moments like these, the troupe finds fun and interesting ways to demonstrate difficult scientific concepts, taking us through each planetary layer in 13 separate movements. Unfortunately, the production as a whole suffers from an overly serious tone.

All of the performers are very talented, and they demonstrate t[...]