“Theater of the Mind”

***** I was unable to attend the opening night of the”Theater of The Mind” presented by The Goodman Theatre, a one of a kind, immersive theatrical experience that is taking place several blocks from the Goodman, in the Reid Murdoch Building, located at 333 N. LaSalle Street. Jane and I parked on LaSalle, not knowing about the parking situation ( which I will cover later) and strolled over the the Murdoch building.

We entered the building entrance, which is clearly marked, so you cannot miss it. The lobby is set up with a shop selling souvenirs, a check-in with lockers, a refreshment area, waiting area and another “holding Area”. There is also a sort of timetable indicating your “group” time and how many minutes before you START!

 This is far from traditional theater, but one can tell that it has been designed to make one dig deep into their mind and based on what our experience was, I am pretty sure that this the can  run in this city for a very long time. It will probably become a tourist “must see” items like the Navy Pier “Fly Over Chicago”, and “The Bean” at Millennium Park. (only 16 people will see each 75 minute show) .

Theater of the Mind isn’t just theater, it’s truly a theatrical revelation best described as deeply imaginative human exploration. The production is an invention of experiences from the creative mind of David Byrne. Yes, THAT David Byrne: the former front man and co-founder of the legendary band Talking Heads. If you have not followed David’s career lately, he has since built a wide-ranging career as a solo musician, theater-maker, filmmaker, visual artist and author. His projects have led to his winning Academy, Grammy and Tony Awards. And now, beyond the concert-theater work “American Utopia” and the musical “Here Lies Love”, he brings us “Theater of the Mind” which brings to life his long-standing fascination (which I share) with the relationship between art, science and our everyday lives.

This show is not a traditional play; it’s more of an intimate and guided trip through someone’s life (whose name happens to be David) but really the mission is to get us to focus on our own perceptions. It’s an experience that too us   through a series of rooms with David as the guide ( our “David” was Chicago favorite James Earl Jones III, who was spectacular) relating the story of a life, but in reverse. Each of us has to take on a new identity for our adventure, as we travel with David through his life. As the story begins in David’s later years and moves backwards to childhood. In this way, we the audience are both spectators and characters (each audience member given a character name who played some role in Davids life; the fun thing to do is play along as that character). Our group has a woman with a walker, and our “David” made sure that she was safe at all times. Each room presents a key moment from David’s past but brings it to life thru perception, illusion or maybe a psychological experience forcing you to continually discover whether what you see or what you experience is really what is happening. Is reality really the way it is or was?

Both Jane and I ( as well as the 14 others in our group) got into the spirit of the story with great ease and while we did not interact a great deal with the other’s, I found myself mesmerized by David and how he played off each and every one of his “guests”. By the end of the show, the impact is surprisingly emotional, deeply personal, forcing each of us to reflect on our own aging, loss and the power of actually living as a human being. What  If we had a brain transplant with all memories removed and replaced with the brain of someone else, are we still who we were? We are asked to recognize our unreliable memory teaching us to use it as a way to talk about change, loss and who we really are.  By the show’s end, we don’t just understand Byrne’s point, , we find ourselves understanding the mysteries of the brain. and begin to wonder about our own existence. On the ride home, we had much to talk about -so will you!

If you are new to theater, or not a lover of traditional theater, or perhaps inexperienced in seeing theater, then trust David Byrne. His mission seems to be to rewire how an audience thinks about theater (and life for that matter); it is for the theatrically seasoned and the inexperienced…it’s for both the older and perhaps especially for the younger.

Theater of the Mind takes place in the Reid Murdoch Building (333 North LaSalle) in the heart of downtown Chicago.

Theater of the Mind is recommended for ages 10+.

Learn more at TheateroftheMindChicago.com

Theater of the Mind Plays thru (August 30th..at least, one can hope) Tickets can be purchased at: www.GoodmanTheatre.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Theater of the Mind”.

Parking is available at InterPark Self Park-Sterling Parking Chicago located at 111 W. Kinzie. Bring your ticket for validation- $14.00