Review: PASSENGERS at The Old Globe

You’re going to want to grab a ticket to ride this train in PASSENGERS by the group 7 Fingers at The Old Globe.  This show is a dreamy, creative, and acrobatic adventure set during the time on a train, where time moves differently as you are both in motion and limbo at the same time.  PASSENGERS is playing at The Old Globe through July 30th.

The 7 Fingers (aka "Les 7 Doigts”) is a Montreal-based company that redefines what you may think of as circus acrobatics and has the goal to tell creative, and contemporary stories in a cirque-infused performance of dance, movement, and death-defying acrobatics.  In PASSENGERS, we find ourselves boarding a train with 9 passengers, where the destination may be unknown, but it is the journey that is important. 

As travel journeys always have, there are the young and hopeful embarking on their first grand adventure, tearful goodbyes, and those annoying people that stretch out and take up all the space or won’t stop sneezing.  As the outside speeds by in dreamy muted colors, the travelers start to move and tell their story. 

The company includes Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo, Kaisha D-W, Beto Freitas, Book Kennison,  Marco Ingaramo, Nella Niva, Ellie Rossi, Andrew Sumner, and Méliejade T. Bouchard. Santiago Rivera Laugerud and Mandi Orozco are also part of the company but their parts were covered by  Kennison and Rossi at my performance.

The show is deceptive; everything is beautiful, flowing, and seemingly effortless, even as you are impressed by the amount of strength, training, and effort that has gone into making it look so easy.   People soar through the air to be caught by another, perform graceful and amazing feats of strength while suspended from only a rope or two from the ceiling, and tumble in somersaults, cartwheels, and barrel rolls to continue the feeling of a train and wheels in motion.

Put together like a puzzle, each piece fits with matching original music by Raphael Cruz and blends seamlessly from one performance into another. All are incredibly talented, but a few standouts include the ring spinning by Méliejade T. Bouchard, Kaisha D-W who is a mischievous passenger that amuses herself with her fellow passengers without their other passengers realizing what she is doing, the aerial acts of strength and grace by Eduardo de Azevedo Grillo, and the acrobatic artistry of Marco Ingaramo on a pole that left the audience gasping.

Lighting by Éric Champoux is shadowy and moody as each piece requires, but always highlights the form and function of these performers.  The videography by Johnny Ranger gives brief glances to the outside world through the windows and also picture credits at the end, which I always think is a wonderful thing at the end of a dance or movement-forward show where names and characters may not have been as prevalent in the storytelling.  The video credits also provide a nice visual reminder of how many people it takes to bring a show of 9 people on stage.

 Everyone gets a moment to showcase their skills and held our audience captivated and always ready to burst into applause.  By the end, the audience at my performance couldn't get to their feet fast enough to give them a standing ovation. As I exited the theatre a lady in front of me turned to her companion and breathlessly declared “That was thrilling!”

In PASSENGERS, the journey is what is important, not the destination, and this journey of hope, melancholy,  and whimsy is filled with grace, strength, and wonder.

How To Get Tickets

PASSENGERS is playing at The Old Globe through July 30th.  For ticket and showtime information go to www.theoldglobe.org 

Please note that this show has a unique late-seating policy for this production. Due to the nature of the show, and for the safety of the performers, The Old Globe is not able to offer late seating in the orchestra section after the first five minutes of the show. They will do their best to offer latecomers seating in the balcony.

Photo Credit: The cast of PASSENGERS at American Conservatory Theater. Photo by Kevin Berne.

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!