CV Independent writes, “Of course, we didn’t review much of anything during the darkest days of the pandemic. Almost 15 1/2 months passed between our March 16, 2020, review of CVRep’s The City of Conversation (the final local show to close before the stay-at-home orders) and our June 28, 2021, review of Desert Rose’s Playhouse’s The Miss Firecracker Contest (the first local show to open after theater was again allowed in California).In between those dates [March 16, 2020 and June 28, 2021], we did one, and only one, review of a show that met our qualifications—and it was a rave.
“In January 2021, Dezart Performs teamed up with “mentalist” Vinny DePonto to present Mental Amusements, “a virtual carnival of the mind,” over parts of three weeks. Dezart touted the show thusly: ‘Inspired by his annual tradition of visiting Coney Island in New York, Vinny uses a combination of psychological tricks and illusions to take you on an amazing and entertaining journey through the mind.'”