Chicago is having a kind of magic renaissance, especially of the genre called mentalism: from musical mentalist Sidney Friedman appearing somewhat regularly at Carnavale to the recent short run The Enigmatist at Chicago Shakespeare, now A Red Orchid Theatre presents Jon Tai, billed as a storyteller and magician in a month long run of a new Tai and Alex Gruhin created show in their cocoon like space. AROT is a perfect venue for this type of performance which relies on audience participation and a close up encounter with the entertainer.
The experience begins with the audience confronting a wood burned plank of rustic wood before entering the cocoon like space that directs one to write your dream, condensed to one word on a slip of paper which you are to fold in half twice and insert into a box on the stage, which is placed on a wooden pedestal in a kind of dirt pile surrounded by stones. Already we can see that this is a kind of contemplative experience, and Tai is zen-like presence who begins a loose narrative about traveling to disappear and start over.
The show features the standard mentalist fare of the audience donated dollar bill with the specific serial number that is initialed and turns up elsewhere(in this case after being torched and the ashes mixed with water and consumed). There is a wondrous bit where the audience’s thoughts about travel appear magically. And we have a truly astonishing finale where every single audience member will feel included, creating a sense of community sorely needed in our fractured tribalist world.
The shifting light and Tai’s compassionate connection with the audience brings everyone together in this shared impressionistic live journey that is filled with satisfying surprises. Tai is a mindful tour guide reading the room. There is an interesting sense of trust between audience members and performer as we go on this journey together for an hour and contemplate our dreams. It’s a show the whole family could enjoy together because the story is ageless, and it will tickle your brain trying to ascertain how did he do that? How does he know so much about us?
Road Signs is playing Thursdays through Mondays and Wednesday August 28th, through August 31, 2024 at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells Street in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. There will be talkbacks with Jon Tai after Thursday and Sunday shows. For tickets and information go to https://aredorchidtheatre.org/shows/road-signs/
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