UNREAL CITY

An escape room times 10. Loved it. Best time I've had with complete strangers since I was stuck in an elevator at a J.C. Penneys as a teenager and we had to crawl out of the ceiling. Seriously, it was awesome.... full review

I loved this show. The scope and ambition of this thing is astounding, and the way Eliot's words are used in the service of a commentary on politics and socio-economic injustice and class conflicts is beautifully done. This is a show that will continue to haunt me.... full review

Needs more structure and storyline. Things were vague and unclear. There were moments where we were just standing for long periods of time without instruction or knowing what to do. Members in my group were clearly becoming annoyed. The final "task" was pointless for us because no instructions were coming through over our headphones. We just stood there confused until it was time to leave.... full review

"Unreal City pulls off the neat trick of making a familiar neighborhood feel like a wholly different and disturbing place." http://fringereview.co.uk/review/hollywoodfringe/2018/unreal-city/... full review

This production was logistically ambitious and the risk paid off! It's one of those things where everyone involved has a different experience, warranting repeat visits and promoting lots of "water cooler style" discussion after the show. You are encouraged to take a more active role in the show, though if you prefer to sit back and let others lead you can do that, too. It made me think about how much of society is dependent on our adherence to customs and playing our various roles. Fantastic work from everyone involved!... full review

I cannot imagine how much work and coordination must have gone into producing this show. Audience members are transported to another time (though it is not entirely clear *which* time that is) and will travel to many different locations (wear walkable shoes!). Each audience member will have a unique experience, as you can choose to follow any of the many cast members through their story. All the cast members I interacted with (Lyle Friedrichs and the actor who played Mungo in particular) were excellent. Overall, the show leaves you with more questions than answers. This is not a bad thing. The world is unapologetically original and complex. After the show, we sat with other audience members for a solid hour discussing our experience. Bravo t... full review

If there was an award for the most ambitious production at this year’s fringe, Unreal City would steal the trophy. I think everyone should check it out because I mean damn...they got a cast of like 30 folks out there in the streets of Hollywood busting their asses to create an entire landscape of story! Of course there are different tracks you can take on your hour+ adventure and I regret that so many of those performers I missed... but hey, that’s the nature of the beast. I will say most of the actors I did encounter were fully “immersed” in their roles and admirably committed to world of “the Wasteland.” I also must give a special shout out to the acting work of Carl Weintraub who can also be seen in Best of Inkfest’s A Familiar Audience. ... full review

This is a great idea that is sadly poorly executed. We're told that there's a Hollowman that is disloyal to the queen but then this is never brought up again. In fact most everything that was brought up in the orientation and beginning was never referred to again. The text consists of literature (I spotted t.s. elliott and Shakespeare) which means the language is dense making it difficult for us to follow along and understand our purpose, which also means I zoned out a lot because I couldn't hear nor understand what they were saying. There's also a lack of attention to detail throughout including costumes, props, and settings. The timing and technology also needs to be greatly improved. We stood in a hallway for about 10 minutes watching a c... full review

This, you could tell, was a Herculean undertaking. The biggest problem was our show was plagued with problems. I won't say it didn't seem rehearsed, but the whole thing felt like they only ran it once. I just felt like, for the amount of hype behind this show and the ticket price, I felt cheated. I kind of expected somewhat of a full story but ended up leaving more confused and frustrated then when I began. From the esoteric and unnecessary surveys, to the unintelligible, high-fallutin banter of the cast, to the tech that didn't work and the scenes that relied on it failing as a result, to almost being hit by a car as we were told to jaywalk by the leader of our group, this whole thing was very poorly executed. This show needed a bet... full review

I have SO many feelings about this, and that alone is a positive thing, even if some of the thoughts and feelings are constructive. I want to start out by saying that my Unreal City experience ended with a twenty minute conversation on a street corner with a bunch of strangers (all debriefing about our various experiences) followed by a great chat at the taco truck with another group of folks who'd done a later showing. The fact that a big group of strangers all felt compelled to talk about our experience should be considered a massive victory. PRO TIP: If you're working on a fringe show, go to this show, hang out and chat after, and say the magic words: what show are you working on. ...this is a DREAM setup, especially if you're no... full review