(Posted Dec. 3, 2023) By Fern Siegel

The Mischief Theatre Company is scoring in New York. The British comedy troupe had successful Broadway runs with The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Gone Wrong and now, Mind Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion at New World Stages, where it brings its distinct blend of humor to a new arena, magic. (Happily for fans, The Play Gone Wrong is also running off-Broadway at NWS.)

Of course, Mind Mangler isn’t really a magic show, although there are some impressive tricks performed — as well as several Jesus spoofs. Henry Lewis claims to be “an expert at premonitions,” but what he really excels in, alongside his talented colleague (Jonathan Sayer), is entertainment. As a random guy, Sayer pops onstage with a T-shirt that reads: audience participant.

Lewis posits himself as “human lie detector,” a divorced man on a crazy tour, which may include Australia, to pay for the house he’s no longer able to live in. His ex-sister-in-law mucked up his theater poster, mistaking “tragic” for “magic.” But despite his personal woes, he is serious about magic. That his guesses are off the mark is half the fun. So are his interactions with a lively audience eager to get in on the joke.

When guessing where someone works, he grandly produces a card from his breast pocket that reads: Outside. 

On entering the theater, everyone is instructed to write their names and a dark secret on a card. Later, when a card is selected, the mediocre mentalist will try and guess the truth with a series of pointed questions.

The show written by Lewis, Sayer and Henry Shields, is laugh-out-loud funny. Mostly, because the sincerity of its players underscores how much they — and the audience — want the show to succeed. There are the requisite lighting effects by David Howe and heightened music by Steve Brown to kick up the excitement factor.

Directed by Hannah Sharkey, Mangler is a spinoff of the troupe’s Magic Goes Wrong performed in London's West End. It traffics in the company’s trademark physical gags, although less energetically than previous efforts. In part, because it’s more intimate — two players vs. an ensemble cast. Plus, some of the set pieces, such as bending a spoon, are predicated on humor, not technical skill.

The magic of Mind Mangler is in the performances, which are a perfect treat any time of year.

But specifically for the holidays, another off-Broadway show, An Axemas Story, billed as a “sappy new musical,” is now at the Players Theater. It sends up Christmas profiteering, capitalism, the 1980s and a twisted brand of eco-terrorism. In this case, the violence is happening against the trees of Tree Town, which are mysteriously dying.

As the disappearances multiply, Small Paul (a standout Chris Trombetta) begins to wonder if friendly Farmer Todd (John Jeffords) is involved. But long before he can confront his suspicions, An Axemas Story mocks Cabbage Patch Dolls, Michael Jackson, MTV and virtually anything reminiscent of the tacky Eighties.

Written by Charlie O’Leary, with music and lyrics by Anthony De Angelis and Patrick Spencer, respectively, Axemas Story is an anti-holiday musical. It zings Christianity without being offensive and manages, in 18 zany musical numbers, to present a point-of-view rarely addressed in holiday shows.

The ensemble cast, also starring Cat Greenfield, Jillian Soares and Atticus Shaindin, pulls off this quirky musical with energetic choreography and the ability to play multiple roles. Despite the small, black-box theater, director Mackenna Goodrich uses the space well.  

An Axemas Story is geared to those who prefer naughty to nice and want to spice up the season with a healthy dollop of irreverence. The show runs through Dec. 17.