'Infinite While It Lasts' Review: An Immersive Experience For Artist Vinicius de Moraes

In a dimly lit wine bar on the eastern edge of Manhattan, a troupe of seven unabashed performers are steaming up the room with the spirit of Brazil. Infinite While It Lasts is an immersive sensual experience in which passion triumphs over pretension.

Produced by the Brazilian theater company Group.BR and directed with élan by Debora Balardini, Infinite pays tribute to Rio’s prominent poet and playwright Vinicius de Moraes. Best known as the lyricist of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Girl from Ipanema” and as the playwright of Black Orpheus (the basis for Marcel Camus’ cinematic reconceptualization of the Greek legend set against the backdrop of Carnival), Moraes has been celebrated as a Brazilian folk hero for bringing Bossa Nova to the masses. To this date, no definitive translation of his poetry has been published in English.

With a live band, choreographed movements, and a script entirely composed of Moraes’ words, Infinite gives voice to the somber and orgiastic joys of love in an energetic and fitfully pleasurable 75-minute piece. Performed in Portuguese (with subtitles projected on screens to limit the language barrier), the script stitches together Moraes’ poems and lyrics to evoke a mood, rather than adhering to a narrative structure. The overall effect is akin to entering an offbeat and otherworldly absinthe-fueled private party

When they’re not gyrating or rubbing pages of poetry up against their bodies, the dedicated ensemble take turns seducing each other and members of the audience; three performers—Sandie Luna, Cacá Macedo, and Fabio Dias—are particularly captivating.

Nublu, the unassuming venue, serves as an ideal space for this intimate experience. Enjoy traditional Brazilian appetizers before the show, have a cocktail, cozy up to a stranger, and let go, as the music transports you to a warmer world where the pursuit of love is everyone’s primary preoccupation. After all, in the words of Moraes, “a city without public lovers is not a real city.”

Infinite While It Lasts from Andressa Furletti on Vimeo.

Infinite While It Lasts plays nightly this month at Nublu (located at 62 Avenue C in Manhattan). From November 14 to November 24: doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m. Two Sunday Matinees on November 24th at 2 p.m and 5:30pm; and no performances on November 18th and 19th.

Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.