"Passengers" at ACT

ACT photo by Kevin Berne

 Several things struck me as odd last night when we walked into the theater to see Passengers at ACT. The first was that it was the first theater I've attended that really seems to believe we are in a post-COVID time: no vaccination check, masks optional (a fact reinforced during the recorded pre-show announcement), and the bar is open downstairs.

The second was that they've obviously done some tinkering with the ticketing system. When I bought my tickets a couple of weeks ago, I scored the last two available seats in the center orchestra section. But walking in, I saw that the section was nearly half empty. There seemed to be a pair of empty seats between each pair of patrons (except in the front rows, which appeared full), so, some kind of social distancing? But we were the only patrons in Row H, and the row behind us was entirely empty. On one hand, better sight lines, or at least the ability to shift a seat or two to avoid sitting behind someone. On the other hand, a huge number of empty seats. I guess this is how they justify keeping their ticket prices so high.

And the third thing was a note inserted in the program explaining that they've renamed the Geary Theater to the Toni Rembe Theater, after a huge, anonymous gift to the company. I guess if I'd been paying attention, there were also banners outside that had the new name. Anyway, nice to see an arts organization getting a big infusion of cash (much of which they are going to put into an endowment). The Chronicle had more information about it today.

The Show

I can't call it a play. It's not a play. It's a multi-disciplinary art performance, combining dance, music, gymnastics, and a lot of circus performances, all written, directed, and choreographed by Shana Carroll. I guess the closest thing I could compare it to might be a Cirque du Soleil show, but on a smaller scale and without the clowns to provide even a modicum of a story line. There is a theme, however. As the name suggests, Passengers is about people on trains, mostly. Among the small amount of verbiage in the show is some talk about how we're all going somewhere, or leaving somewhere. Which I guess is true, but most of us do so without the gymnastics.

The Production

It's really well done. The stars of the show are the circus acts, which are all excellent, as are the gymnastic tumbling bits. The dance is good, but not as polished as the rest. And the sung portions are probably the least-inspired portion, feeling more like a rest period or an excuse to do something else. All the while there are lighting and projection effects that are often distracting, and don't seem to add much to the performance. Ultimately I found that I needed to just focus on the current circus act at any given moment, because the dancing and tumbling and video off to the sides just seemed to be a distraction, and nothing I saw there was as interesting as the current act in the spotlight.

I guess that would be my only complaint, that the show was so busy, it detracted somewhat from the central acts. The choreography and coordination of all these moving parts is impressive, but ultimately not something I can appreciate as much as whatever impossible feat is currently happening on the trapeze, for instance.

Bottom Line

It's a good show, but sort of an odd choice for a theater trying to draw back its audience after the pandemic. It's cool and different and a spectacle, and will likely draw a different audience than your average play. But at the same time, while local theater artists are struggling to get back to work, it would be nice to see the area's largest theater hiring some of them, rather than pulling in a group from outside the area. On the other hand, if this is what puts people in the seats, more power to them.

But this is a theater blog, and I don't feel qualified to really comment on circus, gymnastics, and dance. So I'll just say it's a fun time, worth seeing. It runs through October 9th at the newly-rechristened Toni Rembe Theater.