“Life and Trust,” put together by a massive first-class creative team and an army of fearless performers, fulfills all [...] of these elements of immersive theater superlatively, as beautifully as any show I’ve ever seen in a decade of immersive theatergoing.

One can explore by wandering through what in a traditional work of theater you would call the set, but that word is too limiting for such an extensive, extravagant, exacting environment. Or one can choose to follow one of the cast of forty performers — all of whom communicate primarily through movement, not English. (The Tony-nominated team from “The Outsiders,” Jeff Kuperman and Rick Kuperman, are this show’s inventive co-directors and choreographers.)”

“These miniature tales are told entirely with movement, thanks to engaging choreography from Jeff and Rick Kuperman, the Tony-nominated brothers behind The Outsiders. They’ve outdone themselves here, and Life and Trust excels at communicating character through gait and gesture alone: There may be far too many performers to keep track of, but each dancer seems to be the protagonist of their own adventure for as long as you stick with them.

But Sleep No More, phenomenon that it is, remained monochromatic, as creepy-sexy witchcraft can only stay fresh for so long. Life and Trust, on the other hand, never dulls in its spicily inventive menagerie of styles and vibes. That’s in large part because the Conwell Tower is a marvel of looming pillars, gleaming marble, and tight-squeeze tunnels.

Life and Trust awes as both theater and environment.

The Emursive team built most of the show’s spaces over the course of years, retro-fitting the action around the architecture, and room after room—grotto, laboratory, ballroom, circus—demonstrate that apparently herculean effort. And because each space is so completely convincing and enticing, it’s possible to appreciate the grand-scale machinery—for example, how does each actor arrive in a new location perfectly timed with Taylor Bense and Owen Belton’s spooky jazz score and Jeanette Yew’s explosive lighting?—while also remaining entirely hooked by the action.

… the creators of Life and Trust have opted wisely for mood over minutiae, and who anybody is doesn’t matter once you’re immersed in a tapestry of stories that seem to unspool almost infinitely… If the price of succumbing to Life and Trust’s devilish delights is a lingering desire to see the whole thing again, that’s the kind of deal for which I’d willingly sell my soul.”

“Life and Trust,” from the “Sleep No More” producers, is as immersive and visually stunning as its famed antecedent.

“…the design and conception is so good and so wild, an extravagant and painstakingly realized visual feast…”

”There are no words spoken and a lot of dazzling, sleek movement, and fabulously designed spaces by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, and just as stunning costumes (Emilio Sosa), lighting (Jeanette Yew), music (Taylor Bense, Owen Belton), and sound (Brendan Aanes, Michael Kiley, Nick Kourtides). All combine to the clanging, haunted-house atmosphere of sexual licentiousness and seamy, wordless plotting and shenanigans.

Sometimes characters enter other characters’ scenes, and there can be amorous passion, drunken ribaldry, a fight, or stricken looks of hatred and smoldering glances—all choreographed and directed with precision by Teddy Bergman, with co-direction by Jeff Kuperman and Rick Kuperman.

Just as with Sleep No More, whoever you’ve been following in whatever state of bafflement, understanding, clue-hunting, impatience, and physical exhaustion you are in, leads to one place; here, events end in a huge main hall where, as in Sleep No More, visitors are given one last visual blast—this one propulsively physical and theatrical.”

“Life And Trust is nothing short of a revelation.

The cast brings emotional depth rarely seen, amplified by the phenomenal sound design that wraps itself all around you... What an unforgettable night.”

“As you wander the labyrinth of rooms located on the six floors, you encounter various characters who[…] often launch into choreographed movement/dancing that requires impressive agility.

The show seems obviously designed for repeat viewings, which has the […] effect of enhancing the experience for attendees… Younger people will no doubt relish the idea of going again and again…

If Life & Trust has a star, it’s scenic designer Grace Laubacher, who’s done such a superlative and herculean job creating so many different environments that you’ll find yourself humming the scenery, and the show isn’t even a musical (although it does have a nearly constant underscoring courtesy of composers Taylor Bense and Owen Belton). As you wander around, you enter offices, bedrooms, laboratories, a cinema, a boxing ring, a vaudeville house, bars, all outfitted with such an attention to detail that even there were no performers you could easily entertain yourself simply by exploring. The production is much more lavishly outfitted (which reminds me, Emilio Sosa’s costumes are fabulous as well) than Sleep No More, with the building, originally built in 1931 for a banking company, providing a built-in history.

It all culminates in an elaborately choreographed finale featuring all of the performers which has to be seen to be believed, complete with a final horrifying image that […] won’t be erased from your memory anytime soon.”

“Fans of Immersive Theater May Rejoice, as a Follow-Up to the Hit ‘Sleep No More’ Arrives at New York

”If you’re on a hot date, or hanging with your best friend, or rolling hard on molly, you may want Life and Trust to never end.”

”There was a superb boxing match that seemed to have sprung from an Ashcan School canvas. The whole thing culminates in an explosive, multi-level dance finale in which the hell-bound Conwell transforms into a Houdini figure who magically appears hooded and bound by chains in a water tank. Apparently, money is both root of all evil and an illusion leading us to death. ”

“[Life & Trust] feels maybe three times as expansive, both in thematic scope and real estate. Taking over a gargantuan building in FiDi, it smartly builds upon the area’s Gilded Age architecture by setting its story on the eve of the Wall Street crash.”

”…the scenic design by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, is stupendously rich. We seem to follow Conwell back to his Midwestern roots, filled with carnivals at the age when nickelodeon cinemas began taking over the American imagination and the mind-boggling expansion of ambition and possibility that came with it. Performers act out various scenes – all very well, and choreographed by Jeff and Rick Kuperman…”

”… with its seemingly endless inventiveness […] Life and Trust is a marvel of spectacle, and one I suspect will draw return attendants seeking significance and revelry.”

“Instead, movement and choreography dominate, with many of the show’s 40 performers exhibiting amazing litheness as they perform in close quarters with masked audience members and run up and down the Conwell Tower stairs. (Many of the roles have been double-cast, so the cast varies by performance.) Jeff and Rick Kuperman are credited as the show’s main choreographers; one of the set pieces, a boxing match, recalls their Tony-winning fight choreography in The Outsiders, slow motion and all.”

”…this is an astonishingly well-executed show. Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, credited with the show’s insanely detailed experience and scenic design, has bathed Conwell Tower in an atmosphere in which you can feel the hellish rot in your bones. Jeanette Yew’s chiaroscuro lighting design; Taylor Bense and Owen Bolton’s music; and Brendan Aanes, Michael Kiley, and Nick Kourtides’s sound design further those forbidding sensations. And under the direction of Teddy Bergman, the large ensemble’s full-bodied commitment throughout the show’s three hours is surely impressive, all the way to its big-blowout finish.
Life and Trust will certainly give you your money’s worth in spectacle, and it’s mind-boggling how much work has clearly gone into it...”

“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.

“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!”