Villa Villa

By Richard Zoglin

New York City's latest avant-garde theater phenomenon tries to prepare would-be patrons with a set of ground rules: "1) Stand. 2) Dress down. 3) Look up. 4) Touch. 5) No rules." Here's why: the audience stands in a cavernous room for the entire hourlong show, while a dozen or so performers soar overhead. Suspended on wires, they swoop and twirl, climb the walls, bounce in and out of the crowd. There's wind and a rainstorm (you get wet), strobe-light effects and pounding music. By the end, the aggressive performers have coaxed many in the crowd to boogie along, completing the hall's transformation from theater to disco. This mix of circus and performance art from the Argentine troupe De La Guarda is original, eye popping, repetitive. It lacks the wit of Blue Man Group or the elegance of Cirque du Soleil. But man, those kids can fly.

--By Richard Zoglin