Optional face painting, servers in space costumes with colorful alcoholic shots, glow stick jewelry, and a fabulous drag queen is what awaits you at The Orion Experience at XL Night Club. That’s only the pre-show entertainment. Then the door opens and you go on board a spaceship that will take you on an intergalactic journey of love, only to crash land in the garden of earthly delights. The spaceship is lead by Captain Orion (Orion Simprini) and his trusty robotic first mate, Lindatron (Linda Horwatt). It’s as if Here Lies Love (minus the Filipina dictator) went on an acid trip and met up with Barbarella, only to encounter space vampires, and the fabulous Queen of White Lies (Sir Honey Davenport) who shoots laser beams from her press on nails. Yes, there’s even an awesome laser beam showdown between The Queen of White Lies and Lindatron. There are muscular, easy on the eyes, aerialists who perform surprising acrobatic feats, while decked out in a glittered leotard. Now, this all may sound ridiculous, but it’s the most fun I had in a night club in a while. Despite the sound design, which needs work (I couldn’t hear some of the lyrics), their buoyant hooky tunes are reminiscent of 60’s pop, and modern dance-rock. Having seen an array of immersive theater lately, the performer’s ability to move the audience around was effortless. Usually this sort of thing is done by the theater’s House Staff.
There’s not much to be said about the plot as it is very thin. However, in this case, all that matters is what happens around you. Conceived and directed by Travis Greisler, The Orion Experience is a great way to start your night. ‘Children of the stars unite,’ and bring your, comfortable, dancing shoes because The Orion Experience is fun for all ages.
The Orion Experience is currently running Off-Broadway at XL Nightclub in New York. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit theorionexperience.com.
