Alexis
Soloski

January 21, 2015

A show unlikely to please the shy, the claustrophobic or those with weak calf muscles, Mrs. Mayfield’s Fifth-Grade Class of ’93 20-Year Reunion takes place in an apartment on the fifth floor of an East Village walk-up. Whose apartment? Unclear, though certificates on the walls congratulate her on her mastery of ear candling and reiki. Sweet and boisterous, this site-specific, immersive performance by Caps Lock Theater casts the members of its audience as fellow reunion guests. “Whether you’re 18 or 80, you are 30 years old and you were in Mrs. Mayfield’s fifth-grade class of 1993,” a sheet of printed rules explains. The host, Amanda (Diana Oh), recently single and unemployed, has decided to get the old pre-tween gang together for an evening of booze, reminiscence and “Whoomp! (There It Is).” On arriving, you can choose a green name tag, if you want characters to talk to you (the interaction is pretty gentle), or a red one if you don’t. Beer and wine are available for $5 to help you get into the party mood, and so is free chili, though I saw only one audience member partaking. She seemed to enjoy it. The director, Leta Tremblay, stages scenes in every room of the apartment and on the roof, too — often simultaneously, so you have to decide which to follow. Whatever you miss is likely to be clarified later. And the space is small enough that you can probably position yourself to listen to two scenes at once.