Mindplay Reviews

Washington Post- Recommended

"...Vinny DePonto’s affinity for analog is readily apparent throughout “Mindplay,” the mentalist’s spotty but ultimately enthralling feat of mind-probing prowess now at Arena Stage. A rotary phone rings to open the show, egging on an unsuspecting audience member to step onstage and answer. A slide projector offers an unlikely insight into another patron’s memory. And DePonto uses a cassette player to broadcast some of his own (not so) guarded anxieties."

DC Theater Arts- Somewhat Recommended

"...The disjointed nature of Mindplay's two halves may not be an issue if the "play" portions could stand on their own, but they don't. Each section is thematically scattershot, jumping from idea to idea with no discernible throughline or connective tissue other than being an "exploration" of the mind. That exploration, for what it's worth, does not offer any insights beyond direct, surface-level observations: We humans sometimes regret, sometimes revel. We cherish memories and forget other ones. So true."

Talkin Broadway- Recommended

"...What DePonto is really examining and demonstrating is the process of memory itself. He wrote the work with John Koenigsberg, while director Andrew Neisler maintains the tempo of the unending flow of ideas."

Washington City Paper- Recommended

"...Many comic magicians employ the technique of pretending to bungle a trick, only to wow us later with an illusion far more stupefying than what they’d promised us initially. DePonto’s variation on this is to replace the comic bungling with something like a panic attack. His anxiety, albeit scripted, still feels genuine—and ever-so-slightly contagious. Only you can know whether you’re willing to be unsettled as part of the cost of being delighted."

MD Theatre Guide- Recommended

"...Mystifying, magical, and moving, “Mindplay” is a guided exploration of memory and the power it has to shape and reshape our perceptions—with an endless stash of astonishing surprises along the way. A uniquely crafted production, the journey begins in the moments before the curtain rises, and as the show unfolds, steadily transforms audience members into co-creators. "