WHALES REVIEWS: NYC

- THE VILLAGE VOICE 

- THE VILLAGE VOICE 

Theater is Easy - Aiden Dreskin - WHALES

"There is a lot of information that gets passed along through the performance, but the actors never let it feel like a lecture; it's really more like a party. With instruments and props, the crew keeps the show moving along at a brisk and captivating pace, always finding the comedy in the drudgery and violence that they showcase.

The journey is depicted entirely with shadows, cleverly deploying all kinds of shapes and materials for their puppets to create a two-dimensional world that feels very textured and complete. It's a joy to see speech bubbles appear on the screen, like in a comic, even though it's attached to the silhouette of one of the actors.

The storytelling is innovative, engaging, and educational. It's not your average sixty minute one-act."

SHOW SCORE REVIEWS - 'WHALES'

"From the first seconds of entering the premise, we sensed that's gonna be a good one. We laughed and enjoyed every minute of the show + we really learned something new. "Visual effects" were very cool and clever, actors great, approach and unconventionality of the play made it a great experience all along. Hip Hip Hurray!"

"This is social activism art at its most creative!"

Minnesotta Fringe 2017 reviewS: ‘DUNGEON’

Twin Cities Arts Reader Review

-Editors Pick Award 2017 by: Hanne Appelbaum August 14th-

“This show sets your expectations on their head and gives them a spin. The use of mime, shadow puppets, and light to transform the space into their canvas is extraordinary.”

 

St. Paul Pioneer Press Rob Hubbard · Aug 6th, 2017

"New York’s Hit the Lights! does all sorts of clever things with one of humankind’s oldest art forms, shadow puppetry, creating theatrical magic with a screen, spotlight, some flashlights and small figures that grow intimidatingly large in shadow. ‘...it’s eye-popping.”

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MN FRINGE WEBSITE REVIEWS

"This is straight up the coolest show at Fringe. If you do not like this you are wrong."

 

"Hit the Lights is a company that we need to see more of in this day and age: Brave, unique, creative and special."

 

"Every moment of this show was finely honed & perfectly done. The storytelling was incredibly inventive, the music was brilliant, the transitions were seamless. I hate these guys. I want to be these guys."

 

"2017's must see. The pervasive feeling of dread conveyed by the music, the simple but unnerving aesthetic of the shadow puppetry, the sparseness of dialogue, the reliance on darkness, the creatures, the simplicity of it all... It all combines so perfectly. If you are in any way an avid fan of puppetry, or truly looking for something great that's off the beaten path, this is it. This. Is. It."

 

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"Innovation, humor, heart, a universally felt story, physicality like none other, and kick ass live music to top it all off. Hit the Lights has REALLY figured it out. DUNGEON holds you from the second the bass line starts, to the final moment of the story."

 

"This is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen on a stage. It's a well-rehearsed, perfectly scored mega righteous blast of entertainment by madly talented performers."

 

"I was intrigued with the title and the synopsis of the show, but I was not ready to be utterly drawn into this deep, beautiful production. From the awe-inspiring opening moments to the effective ending, a Fringe show has never drawn me in so deeply. My friends agreed that this show would have been worth the $22 admission fee on its own. When you add in the gorgeous Jungle Theater, this is a singularly memorable Fringe experience that I will not stop thinking about any time soon."

 

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