Bernie Beauchamp promises his marionette theatre is so edgy that it will "rip the head off of conventional puppetry" but his show at Comma Coffee had about as much edge as a balloon. Of course my own Invisible Theatre productions can hardly be called edgy themselves, including gripping episodes of three heads swinging in a swing to the music of William Shatner, but I make no claims. The low point in the Bernie's Saturday night performance was an ultra boring rendition of, not one but two, hard rock day glow guitar sync numbers but at that point the show went from middling to absurd and so became interesting as I am a fan of the meta absurd.
However on stage, and I suspect off, Bernie is a likable guy with a measure of grease paint for blood so in spite of the fact that no heads rolled, in its own sweet way, the show rocked. The tap dance number was especially nice as were a couple of the Vegas show tunes, perhaps because Vegas is itself a puppet show, just on a much grander scale. Eventually, some people in the audience started singing along, a baby laughed and danced as her mother dangled and bounced her over the floor and the marionettes charmed this particularly charming little girl in the big hat. It is fair to say that, especially for some, Bernie and his troope were a big hit. I just wanted more because his puppets are so darn beautiful, but maybe he toned it down for the Comma.
However on stage, and I suspect off, Bernie is a likable guy with a measure of grease paint for blood so in spite of the fact that no heads rolled, in its own sweet way, the show rocked. The tap dance number was especially nice as were a couple of the Vegas show tunes, perhaps because Vegas is itself a puppet show, just on a much grander scale. Eventually, some people in the audience started singing along, a baby laughed and danced as her mother dangled and bounced her over the floor and the marionettes charmed this particularly charming little girl in the big hat. It is fair to say that, especially for some, Bernie and his troope were a big hit. I just wanted more because his puppets are so darn beautiful, but maybe he toned it down for the Comma.
Your next chance to catch Bernie and his friends will be in Reno during the first annual extravaganza Dada Motel, June 28th - 30. They will be appearing at the Studio on 4th, the Trocadero Room in the El Cortez Hotel, and at the River Plaza.
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Ps. I did a quick search at YouTube on the subject and found Scott Land's marionettes. I don't know if they are really "edgy" either but they have interesting head and eye movements and interact with people which adds an extra dimension. As you might have guessed by now, I like puppets.
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2 comments:
I think you would be good at the puppet thing. I really do.
For Edgy... try on youtube the "Little Jerkz" series by Scott Land. By the way, He was the lead puppeteer in Team America World Police. Very Edgy.
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