Arts On Site, New York, NY.
September 12, 2025.
Through September 27, Arts On Site presents El Mentiroso, a dance theater production of entertaining and intelligent proportions that deals with such serious subject matter of abuse and attachment to family lore which varies depending on who tells the tale. Created by Mauricio Salgado, An-lin Dauber and Chelsea Ainsworth, written by Octavia Chavez-Richmond, and directed by Josiah Davis, this show reaches the nuanced depths of the human experience, in ways that leave one laughing out loud while being fully aware of the often barely perceptible line between comedy and tragedy.
“El Mentiroso is for grown-ups being bullied by childhood trauma. It’s for anyone haunted by harm. Perhaps it winks at you through the mischief of your children; pesters you in your mother’s silence, or befriends you on the toilet in the dark at two in the morning when you think everyone is asleep,” states the Arts On Site website.
If you seek to dabble in the tepid but murky waters of remembrance, this production validates the opaque nature of our minds, the tiny lies we tell ourselves to justify our “normalcy,” and the comedy we often use to cope with the most damaging experiences. Certainly, recalling the impact of childhood trauma is best served with a side of ’80s power ballads?
This show shines by unfolding in one unexpected manner after another. Intelligent in ways that almost slip by unnoticed is a marker of meaningful art, and this show pulls you into its whimsy such that you forget you are watching a man struggle with the wretched pull of his past. If one of the tenants of art is to entertain, whilst encouraging deep thinking on the part of the audience, this production succeeds brilliantly.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.artsonsite.org/elmentiroso.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
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