The McKittrick Hotel
530 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001
This name might ring some bells for all you Alfred Hitchcock fans out there. And I’m not talkin’ bout that lil concierge bell, baby. Named after the hotel in the movie Vertigo, the McKittrick Hotel is home to the immersive theater experience called Sleep No More.
My sister’s birthday was this Tuesday and I knew I had to write about this building in her honor! If there’s literally only one thing you need to know about my sister Amy, it’s that she loves Sleep No More. She came here sometime between 5 and 30 years ago (my memory is foggy), and was immediately OBSESSED!!
Back in 2011, the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk bought this building in Chelsea and refashioned it to resemble a hotel in an old noir film. The story they created for this space is primarily based on Macbeth with a sprinkling of Hitchcock film references & the 1697 Paisley witch trials. The performance has nearly no spoken word and is mostly told through dialogue-less scenes and interpretive dance. It’s both not as weird as you think and weirder than you can imagine.
The company also created a fictional backstory for the McKittrick:
Built in 1939, the McKittrick Hotel was meant to be a lavish, yet intimate hotel experience. However, mere days before it was opened, World War II broke loose and the hotel was forced to shut its doors. The McKittrick Hotel sat empty for decades before Sleep No More filled the space with tales of what could’ve been.
this is the lounge/bar you wait in before you enter. It’s open the entire performance if you need a break from the mayhem.
So it’s kind of like the sister to the hotel from Hollywood Tower of Terror if you think about it. In reality, the space has been home to some nightclubs and later warehouses. Very little information about what this place used to be before Sleep No More and thank goodness for that! I have way too much to say about this experience to be wasting my precious time talking about boring facts!!
Anyhoo, fast forward *mumble mumble* years later (I still haven’t remembered when she first went), my sister’s back in New York and absolutely fiending for some of that sweet, sweet immersive theater. The level at which she was excited about going to this made me feel two ways: 1) very excited and 2) very frightened. I was initially hesitant to go with her because she informed me that there would be nudity, sexual under(and over)tones, & worst of all… stairs. Nevertheless, I bought our tickets.
A few days before, I received an email with two important pieces of information: 1) wear comfortable shoes, and 2) that audience members might experience "intense psychological situations”. Right right right, cool cool cool.
The reason for the comfy shoes is that the performance is spread out over 5 massive floors. Characters are scattered throughout the building and will run from place to place. You can either follow a character (good luck keeping up, their acting coach is Usain Bolt) or wander around bouncing from scene to scene.
They also heavily encourage / nearly threaten you to experience this individually. I highly recommend /actually threaten you to do this as well. You will never be able to experience all the juicy details from this production on your own, so the post-experience debrief is essential.
It’s important to note that I went into this experience without my glasses. I was told we would be wearing masks the whole time and I’m not talkin’ bout N95s, baby! Picture a mask so ugly, so plastic, and soooo humbling. Every audience member is required to wear one of these which does a great, yet creepy job of separating the crowd from the performers. It also adds a level of anonymity to the experience which immerses you even further into the world they build around you.
Every inch of the place is delicately planned out with endless rooms to explore, mysteries to solve, and clues to find. I chose the wander-around approach because, honey, I don’t chase. I attract. And attract I did. I spent the first 15 minutes roaming around a graveyard before finding a bar. The bartender was cleaning whiskey glasses when suddenly he stopped and looked straight at me. Who?? Me?! He slowly walks up and offers his hand. I grab it, because duh (sorry Parker), and he leads me into a hidden room behind the bar. ALONE!
Remember when I said I didn’t have my glasses on because of the masks? Well, my sister left out the precious detail that they have masks with nose cushions for people with glasses. So there I was, blind - for no reason! - in a dimly lit room alone with a strange man. I won’t give away all the details of this interaction because it would give away minor spoilers to a subplot of a subplot, but I will say it had me thinking, “What are we?” for the rest of the night (sorry Parker).
The experience was truly out of this world and one of the coolest things I’ve ever been to. I am now a proud member of the Sleep No More hyper-fan club, population 2. I’m very grateful to her for showing me this experience and convincing me to get over my fear of nudity & stairs.
However, I went the whole 3 hours without seeing a single naked person or anything sexual (if you don’t count me and that bartender (sorry Parker)). So when Amy and I did our debrief afterward, I asked her about it. She said, “Oh, you didn’t see the blood orgy?” No, Amy. I can’t say that I did… but we all know my memory isn’t the best.
Fun Facts
Every time I said, “I’m not talkin’ bout [blah blah], baby.” I was referencing this video.
I fully thought this was called the McCormick Hotel… like the spice company?? I confidently said this out loud on MANY occasions and not one person corrected me. Huge fan of their gravy, though.
Sleep No More keeps doing this silly thing where they say they are closing but then keep extending performances. That’s gonna be because they owe a hot $4.5 million in back rent. So let’s all do our part and go see a performance or two… thousand.
It’s Virgo season, baby!! ~ It’s the most wonderful time of the yearrrr ~ We are simply the best astrological sign, sorry! Shout out to my other Virgo badies in the chat: Ceceli, Nick, and Mark. Speaking of Mark, it’s his birthday today!!! Whoop whoop! If you are also a Virgo, please let me know in the comments so I can add you to my will.
“Where’s Music of the Month for August!? I love to read it!! It’s my favorite thing!!” OKAY! Chill out! I know all 11 of you are chomping at the bit so I will get to it soon, I promise.
Anyways… see you next week! Toodaloo!
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Isn’t Amy a Virgo lol
https://tenor.com/view/neuron-activation-neuron-gif-1455356329209493514
i don't know why but after reading this im like whats going on
as a gemini, i simply cannot support virgo season but EYE DO support this building of the week. I'm tryna experience that subplot of a subplot.
Okay, guys so nothing scandalous actually happened in the scary room with the bartender. He just made me do a magic trick, said "You look just like them" before moving a light to reveal a wall of names written in blood, and then whispered "You'll never be able to escape me" before sending me on my merry way. Hey, that's just a typical Tuesday for a gal like me in the big city, baby!