La Divina Caricatura – Location, Tickets, Reviews
La Divina Caricatura (part 1: The Shaggy Dog), co-presented by St. Ann’s Warehouse and La MaMa, is probably not for everyone (as evidenced by the dozen or so people who left at intermission). It’s 3 hours long, full of profanities and puppet sex and nudity, and the themes are largely metaphorical and surreal.
But for the right audience, it is magnificent and exactly what one hopes for from an Avant-Garde legend: a production that is epic, visceral, and visually stunning.
Written and directed by Mabou Mines Theater Company’s co-founder Lee Breuer, La Divina Caricatura is the first installment in a trilogy. It is a multi-media pop opera inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy and told with Bunraku puppets (a Japanese tradition championed in the U.S. by Breuer). It follows Rose, a dog who is in love with her owner John and imagines herself as a human. This is no Paradiso, Rose’s obsessive and addictive love is guaranteed to lead to tragedy and her sad narrative is interjected by scenes from a metaphorical “rehab center” for the soul, akin to Purgatory, or Inferno, or both.
La Divina Caricatura is a rich amalgam of video projections, beautiful live music and sound effects, and most of all gorgeous Bunraku puppets, operated to perfection by the puppeteers. It may not be your traditional, light-hearted musical, but we found it a worth while investment of our time and concentration.
LOCATION
La MaMa, the Ellen Stewart Theater
66 East 4th Street
New York City
[google-map-v3 width=”250″ height=”250″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”left” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”66 East 4th Street, New York, NY{}1-default.png{}Ellen Stewart Theater” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]
RUNNING TIME
3 hours, including 1 intermission
TICKETS
$40 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through December 22, 2013
NEWS & REVIEWS
Reviews
New York Times
‘Man’s Best Friend’ Takes on a New Meaning
News
New York Times
Pigs, Ants, Karma, Dogs, Love and Loss
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written and directed by Lee Breuer
Music by Lincoln Schleifer
Puppetry direction by Jessica Scott
Singers: Bernadine Mitchell, John Margolis
Audio performances: Maude Mitchell, Greg Mehrten, Karen Kandel, Paul Jandel, Terry O’Reilly, Daniel K. Isaac, Eamonn Farrell, Benjamin Alexander Odom, Gene Stewart, Roy Bennett, Lee Williams, Maxine Brown, Beverly Crosby, Sherryl Marshall, Bill Holloman, John Korba, Denny McDermott, Lincoln Schleifer, Gary Sieger, Foley – Alex Klimovitsky
Puppeteers: Eric F. Avery, Stefano Brancato, Kate Brehm, Emily DeCola, Tom Lee, Marta Mozelle MacRostie, Brendan McMahon, Sarah Provost, Amanda Villalobos, Katie Melby, Kelley Selznick, Jessica Simon, Jessica Scott, Jessica Weinstein, Terry O’Reilly