THE PUPPETMASTER OF LODZ Begins Theatre Project 2009-10 Season, Opens 10/9

Theatre Project kicks off its 2009-10 subscription series Oct. 9-25 with Gilles Segal's "The Puppetmaster of Lodz," Performance Workshop Theatre's revival of its critically acclaimed production. Directed by Marlyn G. Robinson, it stars Marc Horwitz, whose performance in the title role twice earned Baltimore City Paper's best actor award, in 1995 and 2002.

Set in 1950 Berlin, "Puppetmaster" is the story of Samuel Finkelbaum, who having escaped from the Birkenau concentration camp in 1945, hides in a tiny attic apartment refusing to believe the war has ended. Once a celebrated puppet master in his native Poland, he rehearses with his puppets for the epic performance he'll give when the war is over, recreating the people and events of his lost world.

Horwitz, who brings 25 puppets to life over the course of the play, prepared for the role by training with one of the country's foremost puppet artists Robert Smythe, founder and artistic director of Philadelphia's renowned Mum Puppettheatre. Smythe also built all of the production's puppets.

Robinson and Horwitz, cofounders of Baltimore's Performance Workshop Theatre, consider "Puppetmaster" one of the most important productions in the company's 33-year history because of the play's universal message. "The Holocaust defies comparison to any other atrocity in history. However, this play is not singular to the Holocaust. It's about how malevolent and godless things happen in a world where we want to believe in a higher power of divinity," said Horwitz.

Robinson and Horwitz were also drawn to Puppetmaster for its unexpected humor. "There's a tradition in Jewish culture, when things look their bleakest, to turn to humor to continue surviving. The playwright has a remarkable way of interweaving the humorous and the tragic," said Robinson.

A Romanian Jew who has lived most of his life in Paris, playwright Gilles Segal was the only member of his family to escape the Nazis. A teen when the war ended, he studied mime with Marcel Marceau and is known for his comedic roles in French movies and television.

Performance Workshop Theatre, a nonprofit professional theater company based in FederAl Hill, first performed the play in 1995 at the Fine and Performing Arts Center, Catonsville Community College and revived the show in 2002 at the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts in Anne Arundel County.

"The Puppetmaster of Lodz" will be performed Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m., Oct. 9-25. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for senior citizens and $10 for students and artists. Theatre Project is located at 45 W. Preston St. in Baltimore. For tickets and information, visit www.theatreproject.org or call 410-752-8558.

More About Theatre Project
Founded in 1971, Theatre Project - through the presentation of a diverse array of original and experimental theatre, music, and dance - connects the artists and audiences of Baltimore with a global community of performers. It seeks to nurture artists who are actively experimenting with new forms of expression and support both performers of international reputation and emerging local companies creating new work.

More About Performance Workshop Theatre
Established in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley in 1976, Performance Workshop Theatre moved in 1994 to Baltimore's FederAl Hill community, where it now has a resident theater. Recent resident and touring productions have included "Ages of Man," "Oedipus," "A Time to Speak," "The Jewish Wife" and "The Informer." The theater's training program offers workshops for beginners, professional master classes and individual training for adults as well as playwriting and performance classes for teens and youth. www.performanceworkshoptheatre.org

 

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