BWW Reviews: PigPen Theatre Company Enchants With THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON

The Old Man and The Old Moon

A Play with Music by PigPen Theatre Company

Directed by Stuart Carden & PigPen Theatre Company, in association with Tomatom, LLC and Writers Theatre; Scenic & Costume Design, Lydia Fine; Lighting Design, Bart Cortright; Sound Design, Mikhail Fiksel; Stage Manager, Libby Unsworth; Puppetry, Lydia Fine and PigPen Theatre Company; Technical Supervisor, Eric Nottke; Assistant Stage Manager, Jenn Jacobs; Assistant Sound Designer, Isabella Byrd; Scenic Supervisor, Derrick Pemberton; FOH Mixer, Adrianna Branno

CAST: Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi, Dan Weschler

Performances through November 23 by ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage at Emerson/Paramount Center Main Stage, 559 Washington Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-824-8400 or www.artsemerson.org

If there's anyone who has more fun putting on a show than PigPen Theatre Company, please tell me who and where they are performing and get me a ticket. In the meantime, may I suggest that you immerse yourself in the folk music and storytelling theatrical magic of The Old Man and The Old Moon presented by ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage at the Paramount Center Main Stage. A group of 27-year old Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama grads who excel at causing the suspension of disbelief, the PigPen guys will draw you into their imaginative world of shadow puppets, sailboats, and swordplay while acting like a bunch of energetic school boys.

This is the second time that PPTC has brought their work to Boston, the first being their 2011 visit with their IRNE Award-winning The Mountain Song presented by Company One in petite Rehearsal Hall A at the Calderwood Pavilion. It is to their credit that they have developed and grown to the point of staging this production with a massive set (Lydia Fine) and intricate lighting effects (Bart Cortright) in a full-sized theater a mere three years later. Perhaps equally noteworthy, while it has provided them with a more impressive playground, the expansion has not diminished the intimacy and charm of their low-tech technique.

In the finest meaning of the word, the PigPen seven - Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi, Dan Weschler - perform as an ensemble, each playing various instruments (guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion, piano) and multiple roles, and all pitching in to fashion boats, beaches, and the belly of a very large fish from props or pantomime. As the title character, Acton native Melia gets a little more of the spotlight, but the whole ensemble is the "star" of this genuinely collaborative piece which they also created as a single entity. In conjunction with Stuart Carden, who had them as students in college, the group gets co-directing credit, too, and the result is a well-choreographed, well-told tale with intricate blocking that is probably even harder to pull off than it looks.

The play tells a mythical story about the Old Man whose task it is to fill the moon with liquid light when it wanes due to a persistent, slow leak. One day, his restless wife (Falberg) leaves home in a sailboat in search of adventure and the Old Man abandons his duty to pursue her across the sea. Along the way, he impersonates a legendary naval lieutenant and commands a ship of sailors in search of the City of the Light at the end of the world. Misadventures he encounters include flying sharks, the moon being extinguished, a turbulent hot air balloon ride, and being swallowed by a big fish. Like Dorothy Gale of Kansas, while traveling in a strange, uncharted world, the Old Man learns important lessons about life and himself. Through it all, he is driven by wanting to find the Old Woman to rekindle their love and to find his way home to rekindle the moon.

In addition to the design of the multi-tiered set, evocative of a wooden pier, Fine is responsible for the simple costumes (lots of suspenders, vests, and corduroys) and shares credit with the performers for the puppetry. Sound designer Mikhail Fiksel makes a lot of noises worthy of mention, but my favorites are the dripping sound of the leaky moon and the creaky doors of the boat shop. Every sound effect is perfectly synchronized with the accompanying visual, and the mix between vocals and instruments offers an audible blend, allowing an appreciation of both lyrics and music. I nearly forgot to mention that the Seven Wonders of CMU are also fine singers and their close harmonies are first-rate.

The Old Man and The Old Moon stands out as a good, old-fashioned story presented in a good, old-fashioned style. It has the excitement of a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland movie ("Hey, let's put on a show!"), the silly sight gags of a pantomime, and the rip-roaring folk songs of a hootenanny. Every once in awhile it feels good to connect with a stripped-down aesthetic, to be reminded of our own childhood dramatic play where our love of theater originated, and to be invited on a sea cruise in a canvas boat with an Old Man and his lovable mop head pooch.

Photo credit: Liz Lauren (Arya Shahi, Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Matt Nuernberger, Ryan Melia, Curtis Gillen)

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