Five Reasons to Get Your Tickets to “Life and Trust” Right Now

“Life and Trust,” the newest show from Emursive Productions, the team behind “Sleep No More,” officially opens at 69 Beaver St. on August 1. We caught a recent preview performance and are here to tell you: you need to snag tickets to this show. It’s a spectacular three-hour experience, taking audience members through an immersive journey full of mind-blowing set pieces, rich choreography and impressive storytelling. Here are five (spoiler-free!) reasons to book your spot TODAY.

The Storyline

This one’s for the Faust-heads: “Life and Trust” pulls inspiration from both Johann Goethe’s and Chistopher Marlowe’s takes on the story of Faust, a necromancer who sold his soul in exchange for knowledge and pleasure. It might be helpful to brush up on Faust before the show, but if you’re not familiar with it, there’s still plenty to enjoy and explore.

The Sets

The large-scale sets that make up “Life and Trust” are truly breathtaking. Audience members have the opportunity to visit lush estates, a vaudeville theater, enchanting gardens and more. The set details are painstaking, and audience members are welcome to engage with them fully, rifling through drawers, lifting up rugs, flipping through books, you name it.   

The Dancers

“Life and Trust” is choreographed by Jeff and Rick Kuperman, a sibling pair who worked on the Tony Award-winning “The Outsiders” (which also got a nom for choreography!). Their work is performed by a talented cast of 41 dancers, who unspool the plot through gorgeous, nearly dialogue-free movement. As a reminder, this show is three hours long — the performers’ stamina is as impressive as their dancing!   

You Get to Be a Ghost

This show is a truly immersive experience. Audience members have to wear masks obscuring their faces and stay silent throughout the performance. This has the effect of transforming viewers into flies on the wall. They can follow different performers around, explore the sets on their own or do a mix of both. You truly feel like an apparition moving through a dream. 

Conwell Coffee Hall

The show begins and ends in Conwell Coffee Hall, one of the coolest coffee shops in the neighborhood. Pre-game your adventure with a cocktail and take in the majestic former bank hall the coffee hall calls home. Post-show, peruse some of the hall’s Easter eggs (like the giant mural behind the teller desk), which may make a touch more sense once you’ve seen the story unfold IRL.  

photo: credit Jane Kratochvil