Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In the genre-defying MANY HAPPY RETURNS, Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saez de Viteri revel in our shared humanity

• By drediman
• January 25, 2025
• No Comments

Last night at Playwrights Horizons’ Peter Jay Sharp Theater, I attended one of the extended Off-Broadway performances of Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri’s Many Happy Returns (the current “sold out” limited run of the show at Playwrights Horizons is being presented to audiences free of charge). In short, the piece is a memory play, told in equal measure through through dance and spoken word, in which Barnes gently reminisces — with the help of de Viteri and even some audience members — about the past, particularly her once close relationship with a handful of girl friends as a young woman.

Barnes of course provides the movement and frequent collaborator de Viteri the text. Although the premise seems straightforward, Many Happy Returns is really much more amorphous, more broadly reveling in our shared humanity and contemplating the evolving, multi-faceted nature of identity. Structurally, the show is essentially comprised of a number of dance vignettes that paint a picture of both Barnes — and by extension, ourselves — and her cherished memories. The largely synchronized, deliberately repetitive choreography — performed with rigor by Barnes and a trio of idiosyncratic dancers — is nostalgically set to the popular songbook of the 1970s and 1980s (e.g., Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers “Islands in the Stream”), in the process taking comfort in the past and highlighting the capacity of our physical bodies to carry memory.

The show’s articulate but freewheeling text seamlessly incorporates bits of improvisation — be forewarned, the production relies on mild audience interaction — which de Viteri navigates with skill and abundant wit. Although the loosely-structured piece ultimately defies description, it’s also surprisingly accessible, making sure to create an inviting environment for all audiences (All ages welcome! Free mints! The distribution of carnations!). Indeed, Many Happy Returns makes much needed space for both performers and spectators to take a deep collective breath as we start the year in this uncertain world we live in.

RECOMMENDED

MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Dance / Off-Broadway, Play
Playwrights Horizons
1 hour (without an intermission)
Through January 25