Reviewed By MARIA SCIULLO
When was the last time you felt truly connected to those around you?
Maybe not sitting at a Steelers game, cheering a touchdown, or marveling at the glitz-spectacle that is the Eras Tour. Both are great, true. But such are shared experiences that don’t require any sort of acknowledgment for others. They fail to evoke a communal understanding that you and you and you are part of something bigger than yourself.
Alba did something remarkable in her Liberty Magic debut Wednesday night that was indeed magical. She made the audience care for each other.
Random strangers appeared to share intuitive connections. Others passed around a children’s toy that in no way should have been able to wind up the way it did. Through some video aids, you were reminded that life is a journey where everything has a purpose in relation to someone or something else.
In short, the show’s name, Alba In Conexiones, was all about life, trust, the limbic system, zombies, intuition, and why coincidence is often an illusion.
“People are not thinking creatures who occasionally feel,” said Alba, “people are emotional creatures who occasionally think.”
Indeed.
Alba In Conexiones kicked off the Liberty Magic 2023-2024 season, which was somewhat of a departure for the series. There were astonishing feats and some nifty sleight-of-hand, but it wasn’t enough for the audience to just observe and sometimes participate.
The Argentine magician, moving around the intimate Liberty Magic space wearing black Chuck Taylor high-tops and chunky silver jewelry, was by turns thoughtful, pensive, and often hilarious. An actress by training, Alba was quick with a side-eye, a slight head nod, or a quick beckoning to an unsuspecting observer.
And there were stories: a leaf in a storm, a boat on the lake, life continuing after death. It all served the notion that every living thing is never alone.
“Connection is life,” she said, quoting her grandmother. It’s definitely something to think about in a world where so many are separated by beliefs, fear, desires, and prejudice. Connections, or conexiones, can be precious and, sometimes, extraordinary.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Alba In Conexiones runs Wednesday through Sundays at Liberty Magic through October 1, 2023.
Liberty Magic is a project of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Tickets at: https://trustarts.org/production/87224/alba-in-conexiones
Categories: Reviews
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