I have always loved the Bread and Puppet Theater and now I have an extra special relationship with them since I feel like Peter Schumann “married” my husband and me by serenading us with his band right before we went to City Hall.
We just got back from watching their wonderful show called ” Tear Open the Door of Heaven”.
A Bread and Puppet show usually starts on the sidewalk in front of the theater where Peter Schumann’s orchestra loudly plays lively tunes, while Peter dances his special tipsy ballerina santa dance, welcoming the audience to the theater and delighting passers-by.
The show itself was poetic and powerful. Peter Schumann was very involved as a performer. In fact, for the first part of the show he was alone on stage manipulating cardboard cutouts and paper maché puppets. The audience was so captivated by the simple storytelling you could have heard a pin drop.
Some of the dance interludes included a forest admiration dance, danced by a NYC rushhour crowd; a deforestation dance, danced by the deforestors to make room for their cars; and the dance of the foolish woman, who tries to bring back to life the child victims of the bombardments on Gaza.
(Peter Schumann as Uncle Sam on high stilts. image credit: breadandpuppet.org)
Bread and Puppet is also performing “The Dirt Cheap Money Circus”, which is a bit more kid-friendly, but still very poetic, political, and powerful. Kids love these shows too, so if you have a kid, go see it. This year the circus features the billionaire bonus celebration dance, the logic of the US Healthcare System, the history of humanity, and the removal of a mountaintop.
Playing through Dec. 13th at Theater for the New City.
It must be a great show… I do love NYC!!! And BTW I do love your new picture of the gooses!
Merry Christmas