'11 to Midnight' Off-Broadway review — TikTok dance sensations Cost n’ Mayor bring the party

Read our review of 11 to Midnight off Broadway, a dance show co-created by and starring Austin and Marideth Telenko, the viral duo known online as Cost n' Mayor.

Summary

• 11 to Midnight is a dance show set at a party in the hour before the New Year
• The show is co-created by and stars Austin and Marideth Telenko (known on social media as Cost n' Mayor)
• The show features the Telenkos' high-energy choreography beloved by fans but has a largely generic story
• The show is recommended for fans of Cost n' Mayor and fans of short shows (11 to Midnight runs 65 minutes)

If you’re one of the 7.5 million people who follow Cost n’ Mayor on TikTok, or one of the 2.6 million who follow them on Instagram, then you can’t have missed the news: The viral dance duo, comprising real-life spouses Austin and Marideth Telenko, is bringing their high-energy, street-style moves off Broadway. Their new dance show 11 to Midnight, co-created by Lyndsay Magid Aviner (who also directs) and Jacob Aviner of Hideaway Circus, features seven friends on New Year’s Eve, working out their feelings through dance.

11 to Midnight takes place during the final hour of the year at an apartment party hosted by “The Husband” and “The Wife” (the Telenkos, of course). Also in attendance are five of their friends, billed with similarly generic titles: “His Cousin” (Brendon Chan), “His Single Friend” (Tyson Hill), “Her Former Roommate” (Kati Simon), “Her Friend From Work” (Makenzie Olsen), and “Our ‘Famous’ Friend” (Aché Richardson). They dance through interactions, memories, and New Year’s resolutions to the tune of original compositions by Jacob Aviner.

11 to Midnight is certainly a celebration. Neon-colored Post-it notes, representing each character's New Year’s resolutions and hopes for fresh starts, cover the doors of the Orpheum Theatre and all the walls inside. Multicolored string lights paint a festive picture, and Post-its even fly like confetti toward the end of the show. It creates an aesthetic that looks great in person and even better through a phone screen, as the audience can see when Marideth Telenko comes into the audience to film one of the ensemble dances, as if her character is planning to post it online. This scene is, in fact, actually live-streamed to TikTok every performance — a way for the Telenkos to include fans who can't be in the live audience.

Unfortunately, though, the characters and the stories of 11 to Midnight fall short of inspiring any real emotion. The concept of the entire show happening in that “one unforgettable hour” before the New Year is diluted by largely generic flashback scenes of the husband and wife’s relationship. Meanwhile, the other friends' emotional journeys feel uninspired and unoriginal. In some cases, they’re even unfinished: There’s no real follow-through on the resolutions of Her Former Roommate and Our “Famous” Friend, unlike the other three party guests.

The show has its high points. A dance number lit by phone flashlights has a uniquely 2020s feel, and the choreography tells a clear story about how our relationship to our phones can keep us from focusing on real life. However, this dance, in the show's second half, is the first time we learn that this issue is one of the couple’s marital struggles, and there’s no resolution. But for theatregoers who aren’t too pressed for story, the nonstop dancing — with a Post-it-themed climax, of course — is entertaining enough.

11 to Midnight summary

It’s New Year’s Eve in New York City, and there’s just one hour left until midnight. A married couple is hosting a party for their friends, and through dance, we get flashbacks of the spouses' relationship and peeks into the headspaces of the party guests. 11 to Midnight explores the liminal space before a new year in which people reflect on the past, look forward to the new beginnings, and think about what they want to change going forward.

What to expect at 11 to Midnight

Austin and Marideth Telenko, known as Cost n’ Mayor on social media, have amassed millions of followers with their synchronized choreography inspired by street dance. They met just before Covid hit, and they ended up living together in lockdown after just a month of dating. Dance videos on TikTok were taking off, so the two professional dancers decided to create their own. The rest is history.

The Telenkos’ popularity has made the Orpheum Theatre feel like a party as much as the show itself has. Even in the arctic temperatures of the weekend before opening night, dedicated fans gathered outside the stage doors after the show, cheering for the duo. And Cost n’ Mayor love them back. Their social media documents them greeting people in the cold, signing programs, and showing their appreciation for the fanbase that helped them earn a spot off Broadway.

What audiences are saying about 11 to Midnight

Appropriately, fans have been taking to social media to discuss 11 to Midnight, often with high praise.

• “I have not stopped telling strangers how incredible it was. I am returning for more!!” - Instagram user @stephanieleegarcia
• “The lighting design is particularly incredible and highlights all of the incredible dancing sooo beautifully!” - Instagram user @katnardizzi
• “Tonight’s show was SO good! We had the best time!” - Instagram user @tarahopeisdope

Read more audience reviews of 11 to Midnight on Show-Score.

Who should see 11 to Midnight

• Fans of Cost n’ Mayor’s viral videos will be in for a treat seeing them performing their own choreography on an iconic Off-Broadway stage.
• Fans of dance shows, such as the long-running Stomp that ran at the Orpheum Theatre until 2023, will be intrigued by the unique, 2020s-era sensation that the Telenkos have brought to NYC.
• Theatregoers looking for shows on the shorter side will appreciate the 65-minute runtime of this show.

Learn more about 11 to Midnight off Broadway

Cost n’ Mayor bring their signature dance style and energy to the Orpheum Theatre, but the concept of their show struggles to hit the emotional beats.

Photo credit: 11 to Midnight off Broadway. (Photos by Rebecca J. Michelson)