About This Show
“The most innovative use of bubble wrap I’ve seen in a long time… Masfield & Co., adroitly and humorously dissect the humdrum rhythms of the workday… a promising debut” — Andy Horwitz, cuturebot
Remaking the Chocolate Factory’s basement space into a slapdash boardwalk theater at the turn of the 20th century, replete with gas lamps and Rube Goldberg-inspired circus contraptions, Old Tricks features a trio of seasoned vaudevillians (an escape artist, a clown and an exotic live mermaid) who sacrifice body and soul to dazzle the audience with feats of strength, contortion, a striptease and a deadly duet with a bed of nails. Spurred on by a mysterious machine that can translate the audience’s every desire, these sadder-but-wiser girls kick up lively song-and-dance numbers (accompanied by human-calliope Sarah Gancher on glockenspiel, violin, percussion, and music box), turning all the Old Tricks in the book to show their audience a good time… even if it kills them.
Led by director/choreographer Sarah Maxfield, Red Metal Mailbox is a dance-theater performance collective founded in 2001. Previous works include Space Karaoke by Obie-Award-winner Kyle Jarrow (The Tank), Fractal Remainder (West End Theater), Study for Einstein’s Dead and So Are You, a love letter to betsy ross (DTW’s 40 Forward), Safety Pop (Philly Fringe & Triskellion Arts), Something Borrowed (PS 122’s Homeroom series), and The Flower Arrangement (Red Room).
Appropriate for all ages.