Winter Sunshine Series Brings Crabgrass Pupper Theater to Putney, 1/9

One of the best-known poems in children's literature springs to life when Crabgrass Puppet Theatre presents Jabberwocky at Sandglass Theater in Putney on Saturday, This performance is part of the Winter Sunshine Series of family performances, a collaboration between Sandglass Theater, Crabgrass Puppet Theatre and Puppetwork New England. All tickets are $7.50, and reservations are strongly recommended.

Inspired by Lewis Carroll's famous poem, Jabberwocky tells the tale of a young boy who sets out on a quest to find the fierce Jabberwock. Aided by his new friends the borogoves, he travels through a mysterious landscape filled with such peculiar creatures as the slithy toves and the Jubjub bird. The production uses a variety of hand and rod puppets to tell this adventure story featuring daring deeds, imaginary animals and a climactic battle between boy and beast. Colorful scenery and an original musical score by Francis Poulenc complete the package. Jabberwocky is an entertaining introduction to poetry as well as a romp through the world of language and literature.

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre co-founder Bonny Hall calls Jabberwocky "one of my favorites of all the shows we've done." As principal designer for the company, she loved the challenge of creating a new universe of character and movement that has its own internal logic, yet is decidedly different from the everyday world we know. "As we move through the show, we reveal different aspects of this universe, almost like a mosaic, until the different threads coalesce around the central theme and characters."

The Yale Center for British Art had this to say about Jabberwocky: "A most ingenious conception of this ‘nonsense poem.' Lots of lessons to be learned, presented in the subtlest of ways. A seamless performance - well paced, edited, scripted. The performers were outstanding. It was enjoyed by the adults as well as the children!"

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre has performed Jabberwocky at such venues as the Detroit Institute for the Arts, the North Carolina Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. The show is appropriate for all ages, including adults.

Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall formed the award-winning Crabgrass Puppet Theatre in San Francisco in 1982 and have delighted audiences across the nation with their offbeat humor and puppet mastery. Their shows have received two UNI awards, the highest honor in American puppetry, and Jamie and Bonny were recently featured in an article on contemporary American puppetry in American Profile magazine. Now residents of Halifax, Vermont, they continue to tour to museums, theaters and schools throughout the U.S.

The Winter Sunshine Series continues on Saturday, February 6th with Isidor's Cheek, the award-winning production by Sandglass Theater's Ines Zeller Bass, and concludes on March 13th with shadow puppetry expert Jim Napolitano of Nappy's Puppets performing Jack and the Beanstalk.

For more information and reservations contact Sandglass Theater at (802) 387-4051.

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