War Horse

a kate west review

by Michael Morpurgo

adapted by Nick Stafford

directed by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris

and by Bijan Sheibani (U.S. tour)

at the Ahmanson Theatre/Center Theatre Group 

135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012

running June 14 - July 29, 2012

contact  213-628-2772 or  www.centertheatregroup.org 

The innovative British production of "War Horse" finally makes it way from Broadway to the Los Angeles stage. Originally a book by Michael Morpurgo, the story was adapted for theater by Nick Stafford and brought to life by The Handspring Puppet Company. This South African troupe uses puppetry to illustrate storytelling, a more and more popular approach to modern theater (we all remember Julie Taymor's fabulous version of "The Lion King", right?)

The essential story is of a beautiful horse, Joey, born to be a hunter, but raised as a farm horse by the young Albert Narracott (Andrew Veenstra). Both are soon drafted to the army unfortunately, for the first World War (the war to end all wars), and lose each other in the ensuing chaotic madness of battle. Both endure terrible hardships and are forced to grow up faster than they wanted to, before finding each other again. 

The play seems to tell us, that yes, war is hell. Especially when a hunter learns to be a draft horse, then a war horse, then a draft horse again. The core innocence of the horse with many masters (Michael Stewart Allen as Captain Friedrich Muller is a particularly strong and poignant owner) mirrors the boy's fragile hope in finding his beloved companion once more. There is no mercy during wartime and the only thing that can keep you going is to hold on fiercely to whatever you believe in. Men, women, children and animals die during war - there is no discrimination with death. And as far as the plot goes, that is pretty much it. But a powerful message, to be sure.

Steven Spielberg jumped at the chance to show these images on the big screen and made his award-nominated film "War Horse" while the theatrical productions were still going strong. It is hard to imagine missing out on the creativity of the staging, however. Each horse is masterfully manipulated by three actors. They make the sounds and movements so very realistic, while maintaining a lovely stylized version of that truth. This must have taken a great amount of rehearsal (in fact, the Ahmanson postponed its opening in order to perfect the carefully synchronized choreography). Each animal is crafted with mechanical precision (a bit more complicated than the horses of "Equus") and delights audiences by drawing them into the personalities of the animals. We forget there are humans behind the masks. 

As a sorrowful background chorus, John Milosich sweetly sings ballads during much of the action, giving us a local flavor of Devon, England, in a time gone by. Above the village is a large torn sheet of paper where shadows, drawings and pictures flash across its screen during key moments in the play. There are explosions and (warning) gunshots too, spooking both horse and audience. A simple and poetic story, rather reminiscent of Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty", Joey the War Horse shows us the dimensions of mankind, in moments of kindness and cruelty. It's a nice story, elevated by the incredible stagecraft spectacle of the puppets. (Oh, there's a tank too). 

Worth seeing for the imagery, so don't spoil it by seeing the move first. And you might want to skip the film altogether after this. But that's up to you since ... a horse is a horse of course.

 

To read Black Beauty:
Black Beauty 

To see the movie:
War Horse Read more!

Wake Up Your Weird!

a kate west review
at The Cavern Club/Casita del Campo
1920 Hyperion Avenue, Silverlake, Ca 90027
www.lesliecarrara-rudolph.com
brownpapertickets.com/event/196926
September 17 @2pm/5pm
touring shows: http://www.wakeupyourweird.com/

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is weird. So weird in fact, that she made a whole show about it; she's actually super proud of her weirdness, so she started a whole movement here. You can see part of that weirdness in her puppet show, "Wake Up Your Weird!" starring Leslie's (sort of) alter-ego, Lolly Lardpop, a feisty, red-haired (yarned?) sock puppet.

Lolly just wants to fit in (don't we all?) so she tries to befriends some other girly puppets but they won't accept her. So she needs to find a way to accept herself and teach the children in the audience how to do that for themselves too. Leslie achieves this magical feat beautifully, through adventurous storytelling with some fantastically memorable characters. Oh, and songs. And projections. There's a bit of everything in this show and it's funny enough to entertain the adults too.

Cleverness abounds so pay close attention to little quirky details here and there. And also watch for a sheepish fairy godmother, a lovable wise old grandma and maybe a few monsters. There's even a whole number about a brain. Tiny children may be a bit frightened, but school children will love it and even get to participate. Parents, if you're good, you can too. It's in two acts: the first act is Lolly and Leslie's story of self-esteem and discovery. Being weird is O.K., if that's truly who you are. The second act is mostly playing with the kids in the audience so it may seem a bit like two different shows. Some adults popped off for drinks by then (this particular day the show set up in a bar/restaurant), but if you stick around you can hoot and holler and let off some of that corporate steam from your work week.

Whichever act you prefer, the best magic is Leslie herself. She's a true performer in that triple threat kind of way (and no wonder, with "Sesame Street" and Henson credits). She sings, dances, yells, yelps, growls and voices innumerable characters in seemingly tireless and effortless fashion. She is joy personified on stage and you can't help but get a little infected by her Lolly light. She and the adorably irrepressible Lolly will meet you after the show, if you want to thank them personally for that spark of happiness. Whatever technical glitches occur in the early versions of this show are more than compensated by Leslie's genuine enthusiasm and contagious love of creativity.

So if you want to teach your child to open his or her mind and heart, or need a reminder for yourself, this is the show to see. "Never underestimate the power of JOY!" Read more!

Puppet Up

a kate west review
directed by Patrick Bristow
at Avalon Hollywood
1735 N Vine St., Hollywood , CA 90028
Next shows - April 18 & May 22, 2009
8:00 PM (doors open 7:00 PM)
contact (323) 462-8900
www.puppetup.com or www.wantickets.com

The Jim Henson Company continues to impress, decades after Kermit the Frog's gentle humor on "Sesame Street" led to the beloved "The Muppet Show". Henson's legacy lives on with his son Brian Henson, who has formed a delightful combination of puppets and improv in "Puppet Up" now playing at the hip Avalon in Hollywood.

Puppets, improv and alcohol? It is sure to be an enchanted evening. Be forewarned however; there's a reason it plays late at night. The adorable little furry creatures are capable of doing and saying almost anything. Innuendos and curse words fly as Director Patrick Bristow takes suggestions from the audience. After a delightful introductory "Puppet Up" song with a full cast of puppeteers, a la "Muppet Show", the improvisers do scene after scene, making up choice witticisms on the spot. One is often undecided what to focus on - the actors with their tireless hands up in the air holding puppets, or the side monitors showing the actual televised scene with full puppet characters. Try watching both if you can. You'll learn a lot.

The majority of the cast is strong and the characters they don even more impressive. You'll meet a bulldog in diapers, an intellectual orangutan, a trustworthy newscaster, one-eyed extraterrestrials and hot dogs on sticks, to name but a silly few. You'll be amazed at amount of characters these professionals can jump in and out of, even in the same scene. One highlight featured Drew Massey singing a Bond-like theme song while the rest of the cast floated in and out of the camera lenses, creating a very real and sexy 007 look. It's also fun to see Brian Henson in his element, leaping from one brainstorm to the next. Not everything works entirely well every single night, of course. Sometimes a scene or two can get off track at times, but there's plenty more zaniness where that came from. And every night is wildly different.

The audience doesn't get away scott-free either as often members are pulled up on stage and nurtured kindly into entertaining the rest of us. One such scene featured the puppets reenacting a couple's first date while the pair in question dinged or buzzed according to what the improvisers got right. Imagine the hilarity when the characters uncover different perceptions of the same evening. Some lucky "volunteer" might even get to try handling an actual puppet. You'll have to wait and see.

A clever idea indeed, "Puppet Up" is the logical next step for an innovative company that tries anything, without ever using malicious or mean-spirited humor. It's all good fun. Can't say clean exactly as this is the evening show and those puppets take over the actors at times. But as the puppet-less cast will tell you in the end - all those ideas came from you.

The cleverness behind "Puppet Up" - Cast and Production:

Brian Henson

Brian Clark

Julianne Buescher

Drew Massey

Allan Trautman

Victor Yerrid

Ted Michaels

Willie Etra - Musical Director

Patrick Bristow - Director and Host

["Puppet Up" Cast, Edinburgh Festival, Scotland]


Previous mention here:
http://www.katewestreviews.com/2007/10/puppet-up.html
Read more!