The Woman, Illusion (Dream Up 2017)

See it if A fun evening that smoothly & subtly examines the unconscious performance of femininity by women, their disappearance into everyday roles.

Don't see it if You don't like actual magic tricks, sleight of hand or subtly feminist shows.

Also The setup is clever, simple & as deceptive as the sleights-of-hand wonderfully performed by the evening’s wry & smooth magician, Jackson Ridd.

Dafna Gottesman, Nadia Levin & Quentin Moore are all terrific, each creating a range of characters with intelligence & humor in solid performances that show various roles women are raised to unconsciously play out.

The costumes & their invisibly quick changes by Nell Simon, are deceptively simple, a tribute to the possibilities of imagination combined with a low budget, as are Christina Tang's lighting & Jess Malcolm's sound.

Written & smoothly directed by Piper Rasmussen, the obvious but subtle yet brilliant pun here is the concept & application, literally & figuratively, of misdirection—or mis-direction or even the beguiling “Miss Direction.”

Not just the basis of sleight of hand, it also applies to how we’re “misdirected” from birth into believing that gender identity is a given, and not a mostly learned and then ingrained thing. Go... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a show with magic tricks with audience participation (I did!) that empowers women.

Don't see it if You don't like the use of card tricks and illusions

See it if you like magic shows that are broken up by small vignettes. For a show called The Woman illusion it was the men who stole the show. Magic!

Don't see it if you don't like magic, and want a well a play that flows. I looked forward to the magic breaks between takes more than the play.

Also The main male actor was very talented and animated. The vignettes didn't really flow properly, they were all over the place, and the magic was just a time kill, but enjoyable.... Read more Read less

See it if Thoughtful ideas about how women present themselves to the world intrigue you, you like magic, you're open-minded about what theater can be

Don't see it if You only like plays with linear plots, you think about women only in terms of feminist polemics, you prefer not to think about feminism

Also This very clever show starts with a magician doing real (and amazing) magic tricks. From each trick, he takes an object that he hands to an actor, and then we get a little vignette about the various ways women present an illusion of themselves to the world: writing a resume, interacting with a boyfriend, being a world leader, etc. Makes you think—a lot—without hitting you over the head. And the magic and acting both are excellent.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a cool magic show interspersed with disconnected scenes that aren't as self-aware as they want to be

Don't see it if You want a thoughtful play that actually considers intersectionality instead of just nodding at it

See it if you like magic. The show is saved by the talented magician who comes out in between vignettes.

Don't see it if you expect an absorbing theater

See it if you enjoy being entertained and mystified. I loved the magic tricks performed between the vignettes!

Don't see it if dislike magic, want something that flows, want a cohesive story