Larry Litt
"Golem"
and "Deathscape,"
Golem Deathscape
Let me start off by saying that not very often do I exit from a puppet theater show feeling the puppets and script are integrated in a satisfying manner. Puppets are created by visual artists, mainly to establish forms and effects, mostly in miniature, sometimes in gigantic forms. I’ve seen enough puppet theater to handily identify some individual puppeteers craft styles and their imitators.
Yes, I hate Henson’s Muppets, but I always respected the extraordinary writing put into the puppets mouths by experienced actors. Maybe I dislike puppets because I was raised on “Kukla, Fran and Ollie,” an early television show that was trumped by the even more inane “Shari Lewis and Lambchop Show.” I’m certain I was born to watch the brilliantly sarcastic comedian Soupy Sales and his anarchist hand puppets. How I missed them when they were taken off the air in the 1960s. Ah the 60s… how artists are influenced or more likely how they just don’t know. When artists attempt to please me with puppet craft they’d better not be distracting from the author’s script. In fact there had better be a better script than the crafty puppets. Unfortunately this week’s two puppet performances did little to entertain or enlighten me. The legend of the Golem just fascinates theater certain Mittel European artists. There’s magic, spirituality, ritual, romance, politics, racism and tragic reversals. Finally there’s recognition that wishful thinking just doesn’t work. Czech puppeteer Vits Horejs remounted his 1997 version of “Golem.” His is a multimedia, dance-puppet theater version presenting Prague’s ancient Jewish legend of despair, hope, triumph, and retribution all peppered Kabalistic magic. There is highly energetic dance theater sharing the stage at La MaMa E.T.C. with a difficult competitor: artist created little people. It’s a hybrid of marionettes controlled by dancers. Or is it dancers controlled by marionettes? The little wooden characters don’t hold a stick to the live dancers who created super energy around the stilted little people.
Who is telling the story?
In "Deathscape," Misha Shulman tries to interpret his nightmares using a variety of puppet techniques. The problem is he decided to obscure any meaning or resolution for me. So much of his script is confusion. Yes these are his adapted dreams, but dreams themselves aren’t necessarily good theater. Shulman mixes too many media efforts into one show. Shadow puppets are difficult enough to control well. Here we see and hear hand puppets, marionettes, mental sound imaging and surround lighting. It all sounds wonderful, until poor ‘me’ the main character nobly played by Matthew Cabbil tries to deal with it all. Why bother with an actor when he’s buried in special effects?
The worst is a fucking turtle that I wanted to kill after a minute. I understand it was meant as a crude metaphor of youthful fantasies and disappointment, but it went on way too long. A few moments were all it needed to get a laugh. That’s the trouble with the whole conception. It’s a Freudian giggle that’s been stretched out too far. Schulman is a very apt writer when he’s talking about international politics, war and family. I hope he returns to these themes soon.
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