The Circuit ★★★★

New York City has never been more breathtaking than it is in The Circuit: An Immersive Silent Disco Ballet. It might seem strange to start a theater review with a focus on the set. But NYC is a star that demands attention in this unique production that keeps ticket buyers on their feet and running around the cobblestone streets of historic DUMBO, Brooklyn.

There’s the iconic Manhattan Bridge view from the “Once Upon a Time in America” movie poster. Oh, there’s a rose-colored sunset framing One World Trade Center and the other skyscrapers of lower Manhattan. Look over there, it’s the whimsical Jane’s Carousel shimmering like a jewel in a giant glass box.

In this 75-minute outdoor production, audience members experience it all whether rain or shine (producers say they will cancel performances only in the case of truly horrific weather). Wireless headphones are provided for each attendee and performer to follow the pre-recorded dialogue and music. Enthusiastic ushers with lighted batons direct the audience from location to location like … (forgive us) a well-orchestrated ballet.

The silent disco has been around since at least the ’90s, where booming speakers are replaced by headphones. Without them, it just looks like a crowd dancing to nothing. In The Circuit, directors Josh Zacher and John Kroft take the concept to a new creative plateau, moving their talented cast and willing audience through urban passageways and many memorable vistas in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Somehow, amidst all of these Instagram-worthy distractions, the athletic dancers and pulsating music grab your attention. (By the way, attendees are encouraged to take photos and videos throughout the performance.)

What is the show about? Writer Connor Wentworth has created a series of vignettes about romance and heartbreak, brought to life through modern dance choreographed by Zacher, who is also a co-director. Wentworth takes inspiration from Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde, a controversial 1897 play that explores the interconnected sexual exploits of a series of unfaithful couples.

True to the silent disco theme, the production starts in an imaginary nightclub underneath the Manhattan Bridge. Manatsu Aminaga sets the tone as the first performer, who asks herself, “What am I doing here?” She quickly remembers she’s looking for love, illustrated by her steamy chance liaison with Luke Swaller. But as is often the case with young love, the encounter is over as quickly as it started, and the swaggering Swaller is off to his next conquest.

And on and on it goes, with each scene leaving one heartbroken character behind only to introduce a new love interest for the next scene. All of the dancers (Aminaga, Swaller, Tessa Fungo, Fabricio Seraphin, Macy Deppe and Kaitwan Jackson) fully embody the ecstasy and angst of love, and are a joy to watch.

Tying it all together is the music, with an electronic original score and sound design by Jacob Ryan Smith. His EDM orchestration is thrilling and keeps the energy level high — for both performers and the audience, who often danced themselves as the production moved from place to place.

The Recs’ own images by Randall David Cook

A special shoutout must be given to uncredited cast members: the hundreds of New Yorkers who were just going about a pleasant Sunday evening without any clue as to what was going on around them. Their reactions (or lack thereof) to dancers being trailed by two dozen spectators wearing weird headphones are an integral part of the show. Who could forget the juxtaposition of a hijab-wearing mom and child bewildered by a frenetic lesbian couple dancing to an unheard soundtrack?

And when Aminaga returns for the show’s final scene under the Brooklyn Bridge, a young man stood behind her, leaning over the railing while staring wistfully at the glassy East River. With his back turned, he was completely unaware of the vigorous dance performance happening just behind him. It was as if he too had just been left by a lover.

These were the unexpected elements masterfully captured by The Circuit: The feeling that anything could happen here on the streets of New York City. In this case, what happened was pure magic.