The Spuyten Duyvil Story Review:
Most legends are rooted in tenets of truth, but when one tale has many iterations, how can we
know just which one is closest to what really happened?

The Spuyten Duyvil Story whimsically explores the origins of the name Spuyten Duyvil, combining
enchanting shadow puppetry with dance, live music, and projection. Featuring callbacks to the
Dutch settlers interspersed with striking recollections of the Lenape people that occupied the
land before, this performance manages to capture the spirit of community and deeply-rooted
history embedded in not just the Spuyten Duyvil area, but New York City as a whole.

Although it’s impossible to tell exactly which tale most closely identifies how the name came to
be, through The Spuyten Duyvil Story, we learn that the value of passed down stories lies in the bonds
created between people throughout generations. The show pays homage to storytelling tradition,
weaving breathtaking visual imagery with dance sequences and live music that allows the
audience to walk through those stories of the past themselves.

A multidisciplinary show in the truest sense of the word, The Spuyten Duyvil Story is an absolutely
stunning watch.