Talk about the blind leading the blind. A new exhibit lets you explore Manhattan — or, at least, a mini-fac simile of the same — in utter darkness. Here, it’s a case of the curious led by the capable.
That pretty much sums up “Dialog in the Dark,” opening today at the South Street Seaport. It’s by the same folks who brought us “Bodies,” the long-running show next door.
But if “Bodies” is the ultimate in voyeurism, “Dark” is its dead opposite.
There’s nothing to see, and that’s the point. You’re handed a cane and shown how to use it — tap it gently, please, no more than a few inches off the floor — before journeying through the darkness for the next 45 minutes or so with up to seven others and one trusty guide.
“Is anybody going to jump out at me?” a woman asked before a recent preview.
“No,” she was told. “It’s not that kind of show.”
And it’s not. It’s more like a sightseeing tour of New York landmarks — Central Park, Fairway, the subway — minus the sights. You’re supposed to use your other senses — and the help of the people accompanying you — to get the picture.
It may be true that, as Helen Keller said, “walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light,” but here the dialogue ran more to “Uh-oh,” “Oops!” and “My bad!” as we tap-tapped around, our canes occasionally clicking together like hockey sticks in the gloom.
We smelled fresh-cut grass and loamy earth in the tiny darkened diorama of “Central Park,” amid the sounds of birdsong and something we couldn’t quite identify.
“Is that a monkey?” an Argentine visitor asked, hopefully.
“Nope,” said our cheerful guide, Romeo Edmead. The 31-year-old Brooklynite knows the turf well, having gone blind at age 2. He’s one of 40 sight-impaired or blind members of Lighthouse International, who lead the tours. But even he wasn’t sure what we were hearing.
The sound of rushing water led us to a mock-up of the Bethesda Fountain, where we stuck our hands over the spouts and had a “Miracle Worker” moment, feeling the water.
From there, we trod into more urban environs — squeezing the Charmin, smelling the coffee and manhandling the other goods at a re-creation of Fairway Market. A computerized voice from a scanner ID’d whatever we held over it.
“Cornstarch, $1.99 for 16 ounces.” (“A bargain!” someone cried).
Gripping handrails and occasionally each other, we made it onto the “subway” and into “Times Square” — past honking cars and cries of “Get your Post here!” We ended by easing into a Seinfeldian coffee-shop booth and chatting until the lights gradually came on.
“We spent three years preparing for this,” says John Zaller, the show’s co-producer. He says the idea originated in Germany 20 years ago, and has since played in some form or other in 30 countries and Atlanta, which offers a “Dineout in the Dark” component, complete with celebrity chefs.
There’s no tasting in this show — “We’re still working on allergy issues,” he says — but there’s plenty to hear, smell and touch, which makes you wonder about the fondling factor.
“Our guides are all well-trained,” Zaller says, “and there’s infrared camera coverage in every square inch of the exhibit, so that someone’s watching you all the time.”
All told, he adds, “This is a unique chance to experience New York in a different way.”
The price of that experience: $22.50. Emerging from the dark and seeing the world again? Priceless.
“Dialog in the Dark” at the South Street Seaport, 11 Fulton St.; dialognyc.com, 888-926-3437.