Ellen Dostal – Broadway World
Geffen Playhouse has found its own unique key to navigating the dark days of 2020 — and still maintain that art is alive and well — with its highly successful Stayhouse series of interactive performances. These virtual offerings allow for several productions to run concurrently, rather than being limited to consecutively scheduled dates on one of the Geffen’s two live stages. That may be one of the very few benefits of making art during a pandemic but hey, we’ll take it.
The Geffen’s follow-up to THE PRESENT is THE FUTURE, a smart new production, once again written by Guimarães and directed by Frank Marshall, that highlights Guimarães’ ability to weave illusion and storytelling into a satisfying theatrical crowd-pleaser. With the indisputable skill of a master illusionist and the understated style of an artist who takes his desire to bring wonder into the world seriously, Guimarães handily draws us in, even from behind a screen in the comfort of our own homes.
Erin Conley – On Stage & Screen
Off the unprecedented success of their first virtual production, The Present, the Geffen Playhouse is doubling down on magic. And it makes sense—The Present sold out 251 performances, plus an additional 6,000 tickets for the closing night alone, when the audience was greatly expanded beyond its usual intimate number to allow more to experience magician Helder Guimarães’s impressive and mystifying feats. With The Future, it seems lightning has in fact struck twice. Once again written and performed by Guimarães and directed by Frank Marshall, The Future is a successor to The Present in name only. The stories are not connected, and those who missed the first production will appreciate this one just as much.
Now running through March 14, 2021