Movement Workshop Group

Upon entering the Robert Moss Theater for a viewing of The Movement Workshop Group’s (MWG) presentation of Wanderlust, I had a flashback. It was the damndest thing. I was instantly transported to middle school, my mind compiling a montage of after-school special videos. “Why were the people on stage forming a semi-circle?” I pondered. “And why did they look like they were going to tell me to ‘just say no,’ or ‘it’s OK to wait?’”

Maybe it was the statement hair styles, unforgiving denim, and gold lame; I mean, the place looked like an incubator for the 80s (I’m pretty sure Jon Cryer’s doppelganger was the guitar player. Note: “Pretty in Pink” Cryer, not “Two and a Half Men.”) All I know is that I’m glad I returned from my nostalgic trip through the awkward years, finally reentering reality as the house lights dimmed. For this show is no after-school special. Other than being part of The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, “New York’s premiere eco-friendly, socially conscious theater festival,” the players don’t preach anything. They’re just a motley troupe of actors, dancers, and musicians doing what they love and, really, having fun.

Now, the MWG claims to produce only works of dance theater that “transport audiences and the company members to higher, more inspired psychic states.” That’s a bit a bold; I didn’t feel spiritually elevated after leaving the theater, but director Leslie Guyton and her cast have certainly created a serendipitous atmosphere. The girl in gold lame, for example, is called Cosmos, and she cavorts about the stage swirling slivers of sparkling tissue paper on Characters A, B, C, and D. She’s creating scenarios for them—happenstance introductions and “accidental” rendezvous (at least they appear to be coincidences to oblivious pawns). You know the routine: girl wakes up on a folding table, explores her surroundings like a dumbfounded Eve, all alone until her Adam pas de bourrées onto the scene from the sideline. They both go googly-eyed, love at first sight. Then, suddenly, girl meets another guy, and Adam’s cast away. But wait, that’s not all: another girl cartwheels in to propose a triangular dynamic—of lust really, not love.

Maybe that’s where the title comes from, for the Characters aren’t exactly world travelers. They never leave their known world—neither physically, nor figuratively. Rather, it’s their sexual interest that is wayward. It’s their lust that is wandering. As for love? Are the initial feelings of attraction and emotional attachment between our Eve and Adam preserved throughout? Well, I’m not going to give it away, but what I will say is that if the premise of Wanderlust doesn’t intrigue you, the music should. The songs are original and the violinist, the globetrotting Josh Henderson, is phenomenal. Why the program dubs him as “AKA Justin Bieber,” I have no idea; his talent surpasses that of the teeny bopper and he’s not creepy, which is an added bonus.

Overall, I would predict that the 20-something Guyton has a boundless future ahead of her. What’s most impressive is that the choreography and soundtrack is all from scratch. While there is a thick coating of fairy dust on this particular piece, I hope that—and I believe that she will—dare to venture into more adventurous territory for her upcoming projects.

WANDERLUST will be playing at the Robert Moss Theater from June 5th until June 25th.

For tickets please visit: http://www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com/ And for more information about the show: http://movementworkshopgroup.org/.