NEW YORK—“What’s on your mind?” asks a banner hanging over the stage of the Greenwich House Theater for the absorbing one-man Off-Broadway show “Mindplay.” A more accurate question would be “What’s IN your mind?,” as the show examines the role memories play in our lives.
Conceived by performer, mentalist, and self-described mind reader Vinny DePonto, “Mindplay” is best described as part neurology lecture, part psychological journey, and part magic show—the latter features heavy audience participation and wondering of “just how did he do that?”
Mind control may be the concept that initially drives the show. Yet as is soon made clear, any such influence of a person’s thoughts often has its roots in their past recollections—specifically, how and when such memories are formed and exactly who had a hand in planting the ideas in the first place.
A Mesmerizing Adventure
DePonto, who co-wrote the show with Josh Koenigsberg, cuts an intriguing figure as he discusses diverse topics like ice cream trucks, the workings of the human brain, and the techniques he’s used to sharpen and define his own understanding of memory.Genial, confident, yet somewhat rumpled, DePonto is no secretive man of mystery. He’s all too happy to share his knowledge and abilities, often to amazing results. While one can discern some of his methods by watching his interactions with the audience members he invites up on stage—through their involuntary movements at certain points—exactly how he comes up with the answers to questions that haven’t even been asked is something that completely baffles and continually delights the audience.
DePonto never pretends to have all the answers, which he freely admits in both word and action. He explains that while we understand how memory works, we don’t know exactly why it works the way it does. The show devotes a good amount of time examining “memory palaces”—envisioned places where memories are carefully stored in a kind of safe zone that a person can return to whenever they want.
An overarching concept of DePonto’s narrative is how, while memories can shape one’s future, if we aren’t careful, they can totally consume us. He brings this point home thanks to a tour-de-force turn and some excellent scenic design work by Sibyl Wickersheimer. Her initial efforts might seem rather mundane, but as the show proceeds, they become completely unexpected and quite fascinating indeed.
Contributions by sound designer Kathy Ruvuna and composer Alex Harris prove integral to the production, including judicious use of telephone rings and a telling musical jingle that almost everyone will recall from childhood.
As DePonto points out early on, memories are like a cassette tape: The more you replay them, the more fragile and distorted they become. Despite how much they change from their original form, what we remember and how we remember it can have a powerful hold on every one of us. It’s how we deal with memories that is key. DePonto proves to be the perfect guide through this exploration.
