|
|
|
|
|
|
Golden Oldies
In the mood for a colorful romp through the dinosaur age? Check out the Hudson Vagabond Puppets' "Mammoth Follies," coming this weekend to Rockland Community College.
The musical, written by Andrew Wilder and Bernie Garzia — and completely revamped since its last performance in 1998 — features a cast of giant puppets who sing and dance their way through prehistoric times, hosted by a human master of ceremonies played by Joy Magyawe. Stars of the show include a woolly mammoth, four baby dinosaurs, two triceratops, a pterodactyl, three dodo birds, a smart-aleck saber-toothed tiger named Smiley, a 12-foot tall Tyrannosaurus rex and Bessie, an affable Apatosaurus.
All of the puppets have been replaced with fancier versions of their former selves, says founding artistic director Lois Bohovesky. The new puppets — created by Lois' son, Peter — wear coats made of spandex, and many have motorized eyes that can blink. The show's new sets were created by scenic designer Rand Angelicola.
What else has changed since the early days?
"When we started doing this show a hundred years ago, we were singing and had mikes and were out of breath," says Lois Bohovesky, who founded the troupe in 1980. These days, the music is pre-recorded, which allows dancers to move freely inside the giant body puppets.
The Hudson Vagabond Puppets, which recently received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, currently works out of a space in South Orangetown Middle School in Blauvelt. The troupe's repertoire includes "The Snow Queen," "Peter and the Wolf," "Ferdinand the Bull" and "Jemima Puddle Duck," all featuring handmade puppets. A new children's opera is planned for March.
Although Bohovesky no longer tours with the troupe, she plans to be in the audience when "Mammoth Follies” makes its triumphant return to the stage. “The kids love this show,” she says. "It's so much fun.”
-Linda Lombrossa, The Journal News
“Pity the poor wolf. Ever since “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Three Little Pigs,” the wolf has needed an anti-defamation league. Of course, that hasn’t stopped humans from casting it as the villain or, at least in this production, as a buffoon.”
-Laurel Graeber, New York Times
"The Children in the 1,500-seat Kuss Auditorium giggled at all the right times, and most of them frantically waved their hands in the air to join the Hudson Vagabond Puppets on stage after Sunday’s show at the Clark State Performing Arts Center."
-Lawrene Calder Trump
Springfield News-Sun
Appearances can be deceiving. That is the point of all the commotion in "The Snow Queen", a narrated puppet ballet that will retell the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale at l p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday at The Egg in Albany. Towering "Bunraku" puppets, one as high as l5 feet, a score by Archangelo Correlli, and masked dancers will be used by the Hudson Vagabond Puppets to tell the tale of a boy's wounded eye and his frozen heart.
-Michael Santa Rita, The Daily Gazette, Friday Dec. 3, l999
Although scientists assert dinosaurs became extinct several million years ago, several seem to have survived. And they’ve leaned to sing and dance, thanks to the Hudson Vagabond Puppets. On Saturday, Rex the Tyrannosaurus, Pterry the Pterodactyl, Bessie the Apatosaurus and their friends will stage a vaudeville-style musical revue, “Mammoth Follies,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the South Orangetown Middle School.
Back from tour
The show has traveled all around the country, to places as far as Denver, Colo., and Arizona, and as close as the South Orangetown School District, where third graders gave it rave reviews: “I liked the part where Rex came out because he was big and sang good and I liked the song he sang,” and “My favorite part was when the tranasorus-Rex was onstage, I also liked the song he sang. I wish he had eaten someone, though…”
Leslie Boyd, Rockland Journal-News April 29, 1993
Students from Rafael Hernandez School have gone bigtime -- appearing on the stage of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in a gala production to mark the Feast of the Three Kings. And what a production it was as 36 youngsters from the elementary school on Broadway in the North Ward traveled downtown to take to the stage and perform a professional production of "The Three Kings" for other students in the districts and the public at large.
In addition to four school-time performances, the students joined the Hudson Vagabond Puppets for two weekend presentations for general audiences. "What a thrill it was for them," said drama teacher Anita Bland, who teamed with music teacher James Manno and two seventh-grade teachers, Juba Dowdell and Kimberlee Unertl, to prepare the students for their stage debut. As artists-in-residence at the school, the Hudson Vagabond Puppets spent nine two-hour sessions working with the youngsters. "This was a great educational experience for our students because they had a chance to work with a professional group and learn what it's really like to be in the theater." said Manno, who also served as assistant conductor for the show. "That includes the pressures."
Resident artists Mark Drohozal, Cristina Briggs and Edward Winslow played the Three Kings. In keeping with the theme of puppetrry, 14 year old Jose Reyes made his arts center debut in the role of the donkey. The production at the arts center was one of several Three Kings festivals around the city. At Essex County College, hundreds of celebrants enjoyed a program of children's activities and entertainment hosted by Councilman Luis Quintana. FOCUS Inc., one of the city's largest agencies serving Hispanics, distributed 600 gifts.
-Newark Star-Ledger, January 13, 2000