Dead as a Dodo

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The phrase “dead as a dodo” has come to signify something that is no longer important or popular, usually an idea or a trend. As recently as 2019, an anonymous buyer paid almost $625,000 at Christie’s auction house in London for a set of fossilized bones belonging to at least two different dodos that were assembled into a skeleton. Wakka Wakka’s joyous and often touching Dead As A Dodo, rather than being “no longer important or popular” or as dry as a Christie’s catalogue entry, should be required viewing.

Wakka Wakka is a critically acclaimed non-profit visual theatre company founded in 2001 by co-artistic directors Gwendolyn Warnock and Kirjan Waage, the writers and directors of Dead as a Dodo. Recipients of an Obie Award in 2011 and a Drama Desk Special Award in 2013, the company’s productions of Made in China, The Immortal Jellyfish Girl, Baby Universe, SAGA, and The Death of Little Ibsen amongst others have created a devoted following for their imaginative and engaging brand of theater using specially crafted puppets and visionary stagecraft.

While they credit the eight puppeteers textually, “with help from the ensemble,” Warnock and Waage are also credited as executive producers along with set and costume design. Mr. Waage is given solo credit for the sublime puppet design and construction. All in all, the parts make for a rather resplendent whole. Starting with the puppeteers dressed in sparkly black fabric that bring a deserved attention to the constant manipulation of the puppets and a set that constantly morphs between scenes. The initial “lights-up” has a large chunk of sparkly “glitter basalt” that dissolves into the individual puppeteers. The look is reminiscent of Adrian’s classic sequined pantsuits for Judy Garland in concert. Kudos to lighting designer Daphne Agosin for capturing every sparkle in those costumes as well as to the projection designer Erato Tzavara for creating surreal space within the confines of the Baruch’s venue. Thor Gunnar Thorvaldsson’s original music and sound design underscore the fantastical display on stage.

The dramatic heavy lifting of the production rests on the “shoulders” of the pitiable Boy and Dodo as they navigate the gloomy underworld they inhabit, the “shimmering darkness and fog.” An incomplete boy skeleton and a silent (at first) but deliriously expressive dodo skeleton are inseparable. As Boy is in need of an arm and leg, lest he become totally invisible, we first meet them as they are digging through layers of earth to find bones that the dastardly Bone King and his equally evil daughter, Princess, had not already appropriated or blatantly stole from the underworld cemeteries. An amusing tug of war between Boy and the other end of a leg bone reveals itself to be an appendage attached to Dodo herself.

Boy is often contemplative, wise beyond his years. “When you vanish, will you forget everyone you love?” Yet we don’t forget that he’s just a boy. Describing the evil Bone King his vocabulary is limited, “He’s greedy. No good. Stinky. Rotten. Selfish. Did I say stinky? Bone Head.” For a creature that exists in a dystopia, Boy has managed to retain the naiveté of your average Play Station and puppy loving kid who thinks about joining Little League rather than joining a discovered stray femur to the crumbling remains of his skeleton.

The few musical numbers in the show do their part to make the dystopia almost palatable. Lyrics for Boy’s early solo are clever and charming, and clearly the exposition of a young boy, “So I’m missing an arm/And my ribs are all broken/I’ve lost half my teeth/And my skull is cracked-open/Yes I’m falling apart/And I’m close to the end/still I’ve gotta take heart/Because I’ve got a friend/and my friend is a dodo.” Naturally this will segue into a dodo dance. When the evil Princess steals the bone the Dodo has found for his friend, Boy crumbles defeated…in more ways than one. Dodo assumes the maternal role, not just in reattaching every remaining bone Boy rips from his skeleton, but later when she drapes a found blanket over both of them. Even the Basalt takes pity, shadowing Boy with a basalt extremity. Boy barely sees it but it is functional and provides some solace.

The major events are the explosions. The first is a sonic boom that reveals Dodo sprouting feathers. This doesn’t go unnoticed. The Bone King realizes a Dodo coming back to life is a sure threat to his power. In the huge production number for the King, bones magically are put to use for all manner of colorful and engaging staging. Bones line up mimicking a xylophone with some complex choreography. There’s a bone kickline to rival Radio City’s Rockettes at their best and the bone throne flips to reveal a set of drums.

A later explosion provides Dodo with a fully fleshed form and more feathers. Boy kicks away a scythe the Bone King positions to cut off Boy and Dodo’s heads. Their escape finds them swimming in the river Styx. A terrifying shark is in fact in league with a gondolier to help our heroes escape the burning Styx waters. We hear Dodo’s first words here, realizing this can be their way out. For their own safety the gondolier leaves them in the Realm of the Monsters, rather than taking them to the Realm of the Living. As we expect, Boy is losing more of his skeleton while the next explosion leaves Dodo with an entire body. Boy innocently hopes to be able to join Dodo in the Realm of the Living, but it doesn’t take a Darwin to realize they are physiologically moving in completely different directions.

The scientist Phinneas with the help of his purple caterpillar makes clear that the Age of Shimmering Darkness and Fog is coming to an end. A crack in the sky opens wide enough for Dodo to leave. Boy tries to hold on but ultimately is too heavy for Dodo to carry to the Realm of the Living. If ever there was a time to break out your handkerchiefs, this is it.

Further cementing the bittersweet separation of Boy and Dodo, Boy makes a deal with the Red, Blue and Green Goats (devils) in yet another production number, “Get Down To Go Up,” trading Dodo’s feather that fell from the sky for a deeper dig that finds him hurtling down through the rapidly crumbling basalt. As Basalt has been replacing parts of Boy’s skeleton all along, the last thing to break, his skull, shatters therein shutting the lights behind his eyes.

The promise of what could be lies in the tableau of Dodo, like a beatific Madonna, sitting so proudly on a nest. Dead as a Dodo is deceptively moving in its emotional rollercoaster. Disguised in blacklight, the never-ending parade of poignant emotional colors never ceases to teach us about love and sacrifice. The further good news: while Under the Radar’s festival proper comes to an end this weekend, Wakka Wakka’s treasure will stay to entertain us for three more weeks.

Dead as a Dodo (through February 9, 2025)

2025 Under the Radar Festival

Wakka Wakka in association with Baruch PAC

Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.ovationtix.com

Running time: 80 minutes without an intermission