Audience joins “Travelers” in an immersive comedy adventure
“Travelers of the Lost Dimension,” the latest from the OffCenter branch of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, has less to do with theater than marketing.
Billed as an “adventure comedy” and a 360-degree experience in the manner of last year’s “Sweet & Lucky,” which took over an empty warehouse on Brighton Boulevard, this bit of comedy improv is more a commercial collaboration with the new Stanley Marketplace.
adventure comedy
“Sweet & Lucky” was truly immersive theater, an engrossing storytelling effort in which audience members walked though a number of scenes and settings, solving questions, interacting with actors and following a story.
“Travelers” is more party game and promotional draw for Stanley. The “passport” or program is
full of discount coupons for retailers in the building. It’s proving a popular night out. With 45 “travelers” per 90-minute performance, the run has been extended to May 21; in fact, the franchise could run indefinitely.
Targeted to millennials, perhaps appropriate for a first date by those wary of making conversation, the show seems best suited to the under-12 crowd. Families appeared to be having the best time as the crowd was moved around the public spaces of the former airplane hangar, wearing balloons and drawing attention.
The intrepid actors — Barbara Gehring, Linda Klein and Matthew of A.C.E. comedy troupe — are best known for “Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women.” The trio performed well in a sequence of humorous sketches and improvised interactions. Their improv chops are evident as they make use of the vast space. The best pieces (a sendup of Olympics ice skating, a Jacques Cousteau parody) have nothing to do with the tissuethin storyline. The tone and technology is cutely “lo-fi,” in further contrast to the high-fidelity production values of “Sweet & Lucky.”
Bringing an arm of the DCPA to non-traditional audiences and sites is a bold move to be applauded, a high-minded intertwining of art and community life. Here’s to more experimenting in the future — with more dramatic results.
By all means, visit Stanley Marketplace, a creatively revitalized, massive structure. Have a meal, shop, have a beer. But don’t go expecting theater.