Review: PASSENGERS at The Seattle Rep

While watching the opening routine in “Passengers”, currently playing at the Seattle Rep, I found myself seeing a move I knew.  We referred to it as a “coffee grinder” in my tap-dancing days and I was totally able to pull it off … when I was nine.  Also, that was the only time I watched this incredible group of artists perform anything I’d be remotely able to do.  Lucky for us we don’t have to.  We can just sit and watch with awe, and I recommend you all do!

This thrilling show from the arts collective, 7 Fingers, gives you a show that’s part dance, part cirque, part theater, part song, and all wrapped up in an air of love, laughs and longing.  Beautifully written, directed, and choreographed by Shana Carroll, we find ourselves on a train.  Once there we encounter stories of love, loss, mystery, hijinks, and even time travel as the performers fly about the stage.  The set, lights, projections, and especially the music are all perfect for creating this otherworldly tone, yet still grounded in something as normal as a train.

But it’s these nine performers that blow us all away.  Eric Bates, Valérie Benoît-Charbonneau, Kaisha Dessalines-Wright, Eduardo de Azevedo Grillo, Marco Ingaramo, Nella Niva, Mandi Orozco, Santiago Rivera Laugerud, and Méliejade Tremblay-Bouchard each take their moment to shine in a show filled with brilliant routine after brilliant routine.  We had Niva and Orozco with some stunning duo trapeze work.  Tremblay-Bouchard took us on a fabulous and hilarious journey with her hula hoops.  Then there was de Azevedo Grillo with some stunning and sexy aerial straps.  Laugerud killed with a hysterical juggling act.  And I kept gasping in fear that Ingaramo was going to plummet to his death in some incredible pole work.  And that’s just a few of the outstanding routines awaiting you.  And if that weren’t enough, add in some superb voices from Laugerud and Dessalines-Wright.  This is a show that just keeps on thrilling.

Beyond all their individual talents, which are many, you can also see how much of a team they are.  Each working with the other in lock-step unison making these insanely difficult tasks look effortless.  Seriously, do not try these bits at home without some serious training.  But the level of trust and togetherness really shines through and makes the show all the greater for it.  Plus they look to be having a hell of a lot of fun.

There’s not much more to say other that, catch this one!  You’ll have some serious FOMO if you don’t.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give the 7 Finger’s production of “Passengers” at the Seattle Rep a gasp after gasp YAY+.  This is a killer way to start off the Rep’s season and if it’s any indication, we’re in for a doozy.

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