MUMMENSCHANZ: you & me NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (68)
See it if you enjoy mime-type performances.
Don't see it if you don't like audience participation.
See it if If you love whimsy and have a vivid imagination
Don't see it if You do not like silent theater, and minimal staging
See it if We took my friend's grandchild to his first theater experience! What a delightful first!
Don't see it if you do care for children .... the audience was full of kids!
See it if you're looking for something "new", not the usual drama or musical. Excellent receptive audience packed w/kids as young as 95 & as old as 5!
Don't see it if you can't handle giggling kids, &/or oohs & aahs & aaws from seniors (plus everyone else in between) enjoying & laughing their asses off. Read more
See it if you enjoy clever, whimsical and playful wordless physical puppetry sketches. At times it feels magical and other worldly. Fun!
Don't see it if you are into realism and crave sound with your theater.
See it if you'd enjoy 90-min of whimsical moments that speak to ur childlike sense of wonder, esp if u enjoy seeing what different objects can become.
Don't see it if you have a hard time being in the moment w/ no story , soundtrack (it's silent), or drama (it's lighthearted). You want a fast-paced show. Read more
See it if you enjoy mime and "physical theater," you have attentive kids aged 8-12, or if you would like Symphonie Fantastique with no sound.
Don't see it if you have a short attention/concentration span. This show works best if you take a deep dive into it, achieving an almost meditative state. Read more
See it if You'd like to see skillful human puppeteers make images, creatures and clever beings out of, well, whole cloth.
Don't see it if You need music throughout, spoken words or are expecting a standard dance performance or a play. It's fun, but repetitive & a little dated.
Critic Reviews (9)
“Mellow and breathlessly inventive...A collection of classic, often amphibious routines, and a few new ones...Wordless and mostly silent...Sometimes it’s easy to see how the human performers manipulate these materials; sometimes the postindustrial creatures seem to move without any human help at all...At its best, the show is a tribute to the ludic impulse...to make a branch or a puddle or a chunk of chalked up pavement into some new thing, some new world."
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“That the pre-school and early-elementary set would respond so strongly to non-verbal entertainment may seem a given, but many of their parents, not to mention the majority of adults who came without children, seemed just as charmed...For all the clever choreography involved here, there is a sense of the contemplation and reflection we associate with stillness...Older fans who remember its first incarnation may find some of the pleasures in this production quaint ones.”
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"Another highly imaginative, enchanting show that magnifies the world with childlike wonder...A visual and cerebral feast for those of us who relish the experience of pareidolia (seeing faces in random objects)...The timelessness quality of Mummenschanz's work comes from the fact that they draw inspiration from the mundane, as children do; yet timelessness is also timely in 'You & Me'...Entertainment at its finest because it brings people together."
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"I observed little change from earlier presentations. Though this show is billed as 'new.' practically nothing IS, but for 5 second spots like visual haiku. I found this extremely disappointing both because images without activity/character lack sustained interest and because such fertile imagination should have evolved...If, however, you’re new to Mummenschanz or have children who would be, its human puppetry can still captivate."
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“The sounds of silence are beautiful in a spectacular new show by the playful team of Swiss puppeteers...The troupe uses clever movement and lighting to create poetic images that ‘tell a story’ in short vignettes, all without uttering a word...These shape-shifting figures are visually unique and can range from funny to sad to poignant...The troupe continues to do really special work and it’s always a delight to see.”
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“The long-running troupe that specializes in ‘sculptural puppetry and visual antics’ has mounted yet another show done without a soundtrack, and you probably won’t miss the noise...It weaves a spell...As onstage images continually change—and an egg keeps growing—the ‘Mummenschanzers’ seems to be saying that with the slightest provocation, something immaterial can become major and something alarming can become beautiful.”
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“A visual art form performing without background music or even sounds...it is entertaining and draws the audience into its magical world...The various creatures and shapes morph and change before our eyes in some of the most astonishing ways...The objects inhabit elements of humanity, making them quite relatable...All very strong performers...While the show is entertaining...there is no overall through-line or arc, so it ends up coming off a bit random and somewhat unsatisfying."
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“80 minutes of utter weirdness. It was like someone took all the noise out of ‘Stomp’ and replaced it with metaphorical symbolism...There was no soundtrack...Mild laughter broke the awkwardness, but it was fleeting and far between...At times, I was beyond bored...During other portions of the show, I had an absolute blast...If you don’t remember this troupe from when you were younger, it may be a hard sell. Still, it was an experience I will never forget.”
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