THE PUPPETMASTER OF LODZ by Gilles Segal officially opens tomorrow, Monday December 3, at the ArcLight Theater. The show is a co-production between Mirth Theatre Company and the Blue Heron Theatre Company.
Directed by Bruce Levitt (Cornell University) it features puppets created by Ralph Lee (Artistic Director of Mettawee River Theatre, artist in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine).
Ardelle Striker, Blue Heron's Artistic Director is more excited about this show than I've seen her in years. I'm also looking forward to seeing the work of my friend, lighting designer Paul Bartlett. You can be sure it will all be running smoothly in the capable hands of Stage Manager Sarah Ford. I can't wait to see it! It looks like it's shaping up to be a first-rate production.
Set in Berlin in 1950, the play is both a mystery story and the portrait of a noble man, Samuel Finkelbaum, a master puppeteer who since his escape from a concentration camp has locked himself in an attic apartment, patiently awaiting the end of World War II. Within his retreat, he creates a fantasy world with his puppets, which unfolds an unforgettable tale of profound love and the creativity of the human spirit in the face of devastation.
Featuring Suzanne Toren, Daniel Damiano, Herbert Rubens and Robert Zukerman.
Excerpts of Reviews of Puppetmaster from Around the Country
"A theatre experience that at various moments is startling, moving, mesmerizing, humorous and tragic." - Milwaukee Journal.
"Gilles Segal's play...is the wrenching, sometimes funny, and haunting story of a Holocaust survivor. It's about burying the dead, dealing with the wreckage, and moving on. Don't let those issues intimidate you, though...Puppetmaster both entertains and delights; it just doesn't do it in ways you might expect." - Baltimore City Paper Online
"This is a haunting play, a piece of theatre that remains in the mind long after the final curtain. It is a must-see production for anyone to whom the theatre is more than just fleeting entertainment." - The Schenectady Daily Gazette
"...Robert Zukerman, who plays Puppetmaster Finkelbaum with aching intensity, is nothing short of astonishing." - KPBS-FM San Diego, CA
