My hope that the reopening of Lookingglass Theatre, featuring the world premiere of Circus Quixote, would lead me on a quest to see more of their productions, turned out to be an impossible dream.

Upon entering the building, the first thing that struck me was the spare feeling of the “vibrant new lobby,” as described by the architects.

If not for the juggling instruction going on in one corner, I might have thought that I had wandered into the wrong place.

The play itself wasn’t quite as monstrous a show as the theater’s production of Frankenstein in 2019, but I was ready to leave within the first 30 seconds, thereafter gritting my teeth and performing mental gymnastics to help me endure until intermission.

There were some laughs (not as many for me as for a few others in the sparse crowd – relatives of the cast?), though I feel like much of the humor must have been lost to me in translation. I did understand the sophomoric use of belching, but wasn’t particularly amused. If you’re going that route, go bigger.

Some of the choreographed scenes were lame, though not so the horse fantasized from a rocking chair.

The interactions with the audience struck me as inappropriate and somewhat desperate, as, all in all, I felt like I was watching a long-form improv show that was playing off of a suggestion to incorporate windmills into a scene.