By Matthew Wexler
If Harry Houdini hasn’t escaped his grave, he may be turning over in it after setting eyes on Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins, a new “theatrical escape experience” playing Off-Broadway at Stage 42.
Narrated by Vice (an uncomfortably stiff Steph Payne, who could pick up a trick or two on audience engagement from magician-comedian Lucy Darling), audiences watch Lord Nil conquer his biggest fears, like being chained in a sealed water tank or sawed in half.
In one olfactory display of bravado, Lord Nil’s wrists and ankles are chained before his back-up dancers place him on a spit over an open flame (proven real by some toasted bread, a few slices of bacon, and maybe a pork chop).
Herein lies the dry rub. Lord Nil made it to the quarter-finals of America’s Got Talent, Season 13, and loyal fans eagerly anticipate seeing the escape artist in real life. And while nobody expects a high-brow dramatic interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins, Marta Lucata (concept and script) and director Alberto Oliva fail to stir up any sense of thematic urgency.
And when Vice calls forth “my henchman, Lord of Evil … Erik!” to underscore the proceedings with mediocre electric guitar riffs, the evening goes off the rails faster than Lord Nil can escape a smoke-filled revolving maze.
A bit of audience participation while Lord Nil is likely catching his breath off-stage resembles a low-rent game on The Price Is Right. Only the high-caliber dancers give the show the momentum it needs in between escape acts.
If Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins hopes to make it out alive after its proposed Vegas transfer, it’ll need to amp up its production value and forge a more visceral connection between the escape artist’s impressive acts and the vices for which the show is named.
Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins plays Off-Broadway at Stage 42 through August 31.
‘Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins’ takeaway
Lord Nil isn’t the first to find inspiration in the Seven Deadly Sins. Austin McCormick’s Brooklyn-based burlesque troupe Company XIV created its own version, Sevn Sins, which played to sold-out houses, enticing audience members to indulge in a unique form of cirque, burlesque, and dance. Here’s a peek:
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