Diqui James and Gaby Kerpel, the Argentinean creators of the similarly stunt-filled show "De La Guarda," have brought an international, celebrity-approved phenomenon back to the Daryl Roth Theatre. This time, instead of flying bodies, you see swimming bodies — bodies that you can touch through a slowly-descending plastic bubble. As the clear barrier separating them from us gets lower, we can reach up and touch and even press against what's beneath them.
We're made to focus on the scantily clad females who walk, sashay, tumble, and swim around, and then, unforgettably, form a circle lit by yellow and purple light.
It feels a bit voyeuristic. Those that take issue with the objectification of women can take some solace in Boys Night, which happens every now and then, but still: you're watching naked people in a bubble. You can't really avoid that fact.
Before this, against loud club beats, an anonymous man walks, jogs, and then runs on a huge treadmill before being shot and then brought back to life. He continues on his endless journey, avoiding objects and people thrown his way. He runs through cardboard walls, crushing everything in his path and exemplifying the show's title, which means "Brute Force" in Spanish.
After the pool part ends, three figures run in place while tiny papers fly everywhere obstructing their view. Water is sprayed in the audience, strobe lights flash, and fog covers everything. In about an hour, the display is done, and thumping club music plays for about ten minutes. The audience is encouraged to dance. And then the entire production is over.
While this all makes for a fun and certainly memorable experience, there's not much meaning to it beyond both parts of the title. It's all fun and games. It's probably amazing when combined with mind-altering substances; it feels like a rave and is designed to be something of a rave alternative. It's an awfully expensive way to be thrilled, perhaps, but if you just want to be dazzled, you could do a lot worse.
"Fuerza Bruta" is playing at the Daryl Roth Theatre (20 Union Square East) with an open-ended run. Tickets ($75) are available at telecharge.com, and $25 rush tickets are available at the box office two hours prior to showtime.
Jessica Kramer is theater editor.