Not Your Childhood Puppets! A Magical Evening at the 8th Annual La MaMa Puppet Festival

On November 3^rd, we ventured down to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club for “Wunderkammer – Cabinet of Curiosities: Meditations on Wonderment.” After we took our seats in the downstairs theater, the lights were dimmed and we were transported to Renaissance Europe, where Alice-Therese Gottschalk, Raphael Mürle, and Frank Soehnle brought a series of mysterious and beautiful marionettes to life.

No words were spoken, just a suite of music played on a variety of instruments, ranging from harpsichords to cellos, kotos, and more. Throughout the evening, different marionettes emerged from various objects like small suitcases, inlaid wooden boxes, clear containers of water, and a translucent cradle-like vessel. A pair of disembodied golden hands opened the show – floating in the air, playing with Ms. Gottschalk’s hair, and later returning to the stage with small, whimsical golden birds. Some marionettes were humorous and amusing, while others were somber and haunting. The evening felt like time had been suspended for a short while, then it was back out into the cool night air.

This performance is part of the La MaMa Puppet Festival which runs from November 1^st to November 25^th, 2018. La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is located at 66 East 4^th Street, New York, NY.