Narrator Christian Beltran in “Carnival of the Animals.”
Potomac — On Sept. 21, 2012, the Puppet Co. presents guest artist Bob Brown Puppets’ “Carnival of the Animals.” This “grand zoological fantasy” brings Camille Saint-Saëns’ musical suite to life with bunraku-style puppetry and musical jokes that will entertain and captivate both children and adults.
Bob and Judy Brown, of Bob Brown Puppets, created this production more than 20 years ago with local puppeteer Don Becker and former Puppet Co. employee John McAnistan. The team created this production to perform with symphonies, and they have toured throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as overseas in Singapore. Brown was influenced by Bil Baird’s production of “Carnival of the Animals” that Brown saw when he was 19 years old.
Brown and Christopher Piper, artistic director of the Puppet Co., will take the stage together for the first time in more than 30 years. Piper worked for Bob Brown Puppets in 1957, continuing for several years until they went on to separate endeavors. Brown is now the guest artist for the Tiny Tots program at the Puppet Co., of which Piper is a co-founder.
“Carnival of the Animals” will also be the first bilingual production at the Puppet Co. Narrator Christian Beltran will integrate English and Spanish to make it appropriate and understandable for native speakers.
This is a bunraku-style puppet show, a Japanese term for black theater, in which the audience cannot see the puppeteers manipulating the life-size puppets. There are also rod puppets and marionettes. The story unfolds as a young boy, giving up on his piano practice, crawls into bed and falls asleep clutching his stuffed lion. “Carnival of the Animals” plays from his radio, and the toys in his room magically come to life as the various themes are played.
The Puppet Co. is a non-profit organization producing Puppet Theater, especially for children, as an art form synthesizing the visual and performing arts. Hand puppets, rod puppets, marionettes and shadow puppets are used in the fully staged productions of the traditional and original stories that comprise its ever-growing repertory. The internationally recognized children’s theater serves over 100,000 children and adults annually in the D.C. metropolitan area, including visitors from all over the U.S. and the world.
Details
Carnival of the Animals
Sept. 21 – Oct. 7, 2012
Fridays at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
$10 Adults and Children. Group rates available.
Call 301-634-5380 or visit www.thepuppetco.org.
Running time is 40 minutes and is recommended for PreK – Grade 4.