By Fern Siegel (Posted 1/14/25)

Mentalism is a kind of magic, a performance art that explores psychology and memory. Vinny DePonto is devoted to the study of memory — how it works and the tricks it plays on us. An excellent mentalist, he is adept at mining body language, emotional IQ and subliminal communication. This is a refined skill-set — and he neatly turns it into “wow” moments of entertainment.

Now off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theater, Mindplay employs all those elements and adds a bit of theatricality.

Sibyl Wickersheimer’s set design is a desk and a rotary phone, fronting a large filing cabinet. The show opens with a ringing phone, as the lights focus on a sole audience member meant to answer it. As she’s given instructions, DePonto appears.

He explains that Mindplay is a participatory show — and for the next uninterrupted 90 minutes, we are taken on a journey of memory and moment. DePonto explains the intricacies of how memory and the brain work. He even gives a shoutout to Solomon Shereshevky, a Russian vaudeville performer with synesthesia, a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sense involuntarily evokes experiences in another. Shereskevky was so extraordinary, he memorized the works of Shakespeare.

While DePonto doesn’t claim that level of accomplishment, his spot-on answers are amazing. It’s not just that he selects random people, picking cards out of a bowl, to come on stage. It’s DePonto’s ability to read their thoughts so specifically that leaves the audience stunned. And like all good entertainers, he injects visuals, props and dramatic sounds to enhance the big reveal. “How does he do it?” people exclaimed after the show. That sense of wonder propels Mindplay.

The lighting and sound design by Christopher Bowser and Kathy Ruvuna, coupled with the diversity of tricks, augment the illusion of memory prowess.

DePonto also adds a personal element, which in small doses is touching and moving. But reining in the familial overshare would keep the pacing brisker. Still, his craftsmanship is impressive, as is his personal warmth. Running through April 20, Mindplay is an intimate and memorable show. Don’t miss it.