Entertainment

Sat. night fever set in MTV heyday culture

‘Totally Tubular Time Machine” bills itself as “NYC’s only interactive, intergalactic, pop music experience.” That’s true enough, but whether you’ll want to go back in time to attend this “1989 MTV Video Music Awards after-party” is another matter entirely.

Presented Saturday nights in Midtown’s Culture Club nightspot, it’s more of a happening than a theatrical piece. And your enjoyment will be enhanced by generously imbibing such specialty drinks as the “Ricky Martini” or the “Vanilla Ice.”

After donning your intergalactic goggles, you’re crammed into a circular space featuring colored lights that supposedly transport you back to the late ’80s, where the likes of J.Lo and Puff Daddy (impersonators, of course) join you in watching the spectacle.

You’re then escorted to the club proper, where you’re given the opportunity to mingle with a dizzying mix of “celebrities” past and present, including Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Madonna (both the ’80s version and the current one), Britney Spears and Russell Brand, whose doppelgänger proved every bit as annoying as the real thing.

Resembling a garish-themed bar mitzvah — I waited in vain for a hot fudge sundae bar at the end — the show, written and created by Robert Watman, Denise Fennell and Suzanna Melendez, is a haphazard affair. The fun of being flirted with by a scantily clad Perry or fist-bumping a puppyish Bieber wears thin quickly, and a karaoke segment is no more rewarding than one you’d experience at your local bar.

The evening includes a few staged musical sequences, such as a vocal duel between a feuding Madonna and Lady Gaga singing, respectively, “Express Yourself” and the suspiciously similar “Born This Way,” as well as Michael Jackson leading a crew of dancers in the iconic “Thriller” video choreography. But you’ll have to push your way through the mob to even be able to see them in the jammed space.

The crowd certainly seemed to be having a good time, and the $60 ticket allows you to party the night away in the club after the show. But a little of this campy ’80s nostalgia fest goes a long way, especially for those of us old enough to know the decade firsthand and have no particular desire to relive it.