Click the image to see the program!
Watch the recording of the play here!
This original bilingual Russian-English play is based on the 1906 Symbolist masterpiece, the “Puppet Show” by Alexander Blok. It features Mystics expecting the end of the world, the comic love triangle of Pierro, Harlequin and Colombina, the Dancing Dolls, three Symbolist love stories demystified by a 21st century shrink, a masquerade ball ending in a global revolution, the Devil, the Shrink and more!
Note from Julia Nemirovskaya, the play’s director and script writer:
“It was exciting to go back to early 20th century, the “Silver Age” of Russian culture in search of a play — and find its most famous and beautiful piece, “A Puppet Show,” suitable for a very young and talented American cast. Our “Balaganchik” is devoted to everyone’s tormenting struggle between “real” and “virtual.” Our dreams and delusions are never ending, but still, as Blok’s puppets, we jerk up again and again and look for real people and sceneries, for true love and valid art. As we read, studied and rehearsed “A Puppet Show,” this amazing cast was real enough! We are very grateful to the very real people and Departments who helped us with big and small tasks. We were granted a real stage. Our set and costumes were done by real young artists. Our music was created by a real young composer. We became real friends. We invited real public, friends and families, to the show and hope they would really try to understand this enigmatic play. This is already not bad — even if everything else is virtual and just a screensaver.”