Mayor Richard M. Daley is passionate about the power of puppets.
If this rather esoteric aspect of Chicago’s multifaceted modern Medici had escaped you until now, you are certainly not alone. But a new event called Puppetropolis Chicago, which lasts until June 24, has come to set you right.
“It really all began with the mayor,” said Eva Silverman, collaborative programs manager with the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. “He has seen puppet festivals in other cities E he wanted Chicagoans to have a similar experience.”
“The mayor thinks that puppets have a universal appeal,” said Jim Law, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events. “It’s an important addition to the city’s lineup of festivals.”
While it’s interesting how quickly things get funded if the mayor happens to be behind them – the pulling of strings is a tempting metaphor – there’s no question that the diverse and extensive lineup of puppet shows on offer this year is a big-scale addition to Chicago’s summer entertainment opportunities.
Because the infusion of city cash has allowed some of the regular presenters of performance activity to expand their offerings, Puppetropolis is a very extensive event encompassing a variety of venues. You may not be able to get away from it even if you try – puppet booths are being transported so that they pop up when least expected in shopping and tourist areas.
Watch out. Cows and chairs don’t talk – but puppets usually do.
According to Law, the city has given out a series of cash grants to its festival partners – such as Redmoon Theatre, Performing Arts Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art – to cover at least a portion of the cost of bringing in the visiting troops. So because some of your tax dollars are in play, you might as well take advantage of the puppet pageant.
Like all savvy festival presenters given a mandate from on high, the people at the Department of Cultural Affairs had the sense to co-opt some of the things that were going to happen anyway at other locations. Still, by making them part of a bona-fide festival, visibility is expanded.
You’ll find a full schedule inside. But what’s most worth seeing?
If you see nothing else at Puppetropolis, head over to the Field Museum for “Julie Taymor: Playing With Fire,” an exhibit on Taymor’s work, which opened Thursday (it lasts though November). The exhibit, which originated in Columbus, Ohio, in 1999, splendidly sums up Taymor’s illustrious career. It features full-blown renditions of many of her stage and opera designs, examples of her costumes and properties and representations of her work on video. Because Disney cooperated with the exhibit, there is a great deal of material that will appeal to fans of “The Lion King,” Taymor’s best known creation.
Sadly, the Field Museum does not have the space to house all that I saw in the original exhibit, but it will have more stuff than was seen during the exhibit’s Washington stand. It’s a remarkable showand there are a number of associated programs coming there with.
We mentioned Urban Dream Capsule here last month. Four Australian artists will be “living” for 24 hours a day in the windows of the Sears on State store (by the time you read this, they will already be there). Although the city-sponsored marriage of art and commerce may trouble some, it will likely be worth a look as you saunter down that great street.
Puppetropolis is also bringing some internationally known groups to town. Probably the most illustrious is the United Kingdom’s Improbable Theatre, best known for its New York hit, “Shockheaded Peter.” That remarkable show will be coming to Chicago this fall, but Improbable also is presenting a smaller, intimate piece called “Spirit” at the Harold Washington Library Theatre as part of Puppetropolis. It has received some very strong reviews.
“It’s pretentious as soon as you start to talk about it,” said Phelin McDermott of Improbable in a telephone interview from England. “But it’s really just about our personal identities as artists. It’s very much about getting to know another person really intimately.”
The aim of “Spirit,” McDermott says, is helping people resolve conflicts. Like much contemporary puppet work, it goes far deeper than the image of family escapist entertainment with which the art form often finds itself saddled.
Unlike human actors — who usually like to keep all their body parts intact unless they are being paid a great deal of money — puppets not only feel no pain but also are not constrained by the limits of anatomy. In the intriguing “Isidor’s Cheek,” performed at the Chicago Cultural Center by the Sandglass Theater Company, a young fellow’s cheek has the gall to run away. Imagine.
In a show aimed at children aged between 4 and 9, Sandglass uses miniature figures on a rotating stage to tell the day of Isidor’s worldwide quest to recover an important part of his face. The show includes turtles, barracuda and what is being billed as “the smallest circus in the world.”
“My hero is 5 inches high,” says Ines Pasic, a Peruvian-based puppeteer who is presenting “Short Stories” at the Chicago Cultural Center with her (human) partner Hugo Suares. They perform under the name Teatro Hugo & Ines.
Pasic’s part of the show is an intimate affair about the challenges of maturation. It’s designed for children — older than 4 years, she says — and an audience of no more than 50 people. Suares, on the other hand, is presenting an adult piece.
“My show serves as a series of portraits of single moments in a puppet’s existence,” Suares says. “It’s a series of vignettes and they are all to some degree about loss.”
Most of Chicago’s festivals are annual events. So will Puppetropolis be back? It’s unclear.
“We’re going to go all out . . . and see if it takes root,” says Law. “But I think we will be seeing some kind of puppetry celebration in Chicago on an annual basis.”
Puppetropolis at a glance
Non-stage performances
The Urban Dream Capsule, Sears on State, 2 N. State St., through June 25. 773-PAC-LINE.
“Galway’s Shadow,” Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Monday-Wednesday and June 23 and 24. Free. 773-388-9031.
Street Stages, performances at various high-traffic locations throughout the city through June 24
Summer Solstice Celebration, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., 6 p.m. June 22-23. $5, members free. 312-397-4010.
On-stage performances
“Short Stories,” by Teatro Hugo & Ines, Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington St., 7 p.m. Friday, 3, 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. $15. 773-PAC-LINE or visit www.PAChicago.org.
“Iktu Blas,” by The Lookingglass Theatre Company and The Actors Gymnasium, Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Thursday and June 22-23, 7 p.m. Sunday and June 24. $15, $10 for students, seniors and children under 12. 847-328-2795.
“Echo Trace,” by Heather Henson, Gallery 37, 66 E. Randolph St., 7 p.m. Friday and 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $15. 312-742-TIXS.
Combustible Puppet, Cabaret Storefront Theater at the Gallery 37, 66 E. Randolph St., 10 p.m. Friday, Sunday and June 22 and 23. $12. 312-742-TIXS
“Autumn Portraits,” by the Sandglass Theater Company, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 7 p.m. Saturday. Free (reservations required). 312-742-2001.
“Love the World, Protect the Green,” Karagoz Puppeteers of Turkey, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 2 and 7 p.m. Monday. Free (no reservations required). 312-742-2001.
“Breathing Underwater,” performed by Running with Scissors, presented by Chicago Park District’s Theater on the Lake, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-June 23, 6:30 p.m. June 24. $10. 312-742-7994.
Thursdaysomething: Puppet Happy Hour Cabaret, presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago Cultural Center (Randolph Cafe), 77 E. Randolph St., 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Free (no reservations required). 312-744-6630.
“Snuffhouse Dustlouse,” by Faulty Optic, Theater of Animation, presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Gallery 37, 66 E. Randolph St., 7 p.m. Thursday and June 22; 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. June 23 and 3 p.m. June 24. $15. 312-742-TIXS.
“Spirit,” by the Improbable Theatre, Harold Washington Library Theatre, 400 S. State St., 7:30 p.m. Thursday through June 23. All ages. $20. 773-PAC-LINE.
“Maquina Hamlet,” performed by El Periferico de Objetos, Chernin Center for the Arts, at the Duncan YMCA, 1001 W. Roosevelt Rd., 8 p.m. Thursday-June 23. $20. 773-PAC-LINE or visit www.PAChicago.org.
“Ramayana,” performed by Tamara and the Shadow Theater of Java, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, 2 p.m. June 22, 23. $4 with museum admission. 312-665-7400.
Kid performances
“Isidor’s Cheek,” by the Sandglass Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 4:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Free (reservations required). 312-742-2001.
“Peek-a-boo!” by Loren Kahn Puppet Theater, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday and 11 a.m. Thursday. Free (reservations required). 312-742-2001.
“The Selfish Giant,” by Chicago youth with William Hubner, 11 a.m. June 23, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., free (reservations required), 312-742-2001; and 3:30 p.m. June 24, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, $2 with museum admission, 312-665-7400.
Exhibitions
“Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire,” at The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily June 14-Nov. 4; museum admission + 1 special exhibition prices: adults $13, children ages 3-11 $6, seniors and students with ID $8, free on Wednesdays. 312-665-7400.
The Kungsholm Puppet Opera, permanent exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry, 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; adults $9 (discount for Chicago residents), children $3.50, seniors $6, free on Thursdays. 773-684-1414.
Call the venues for ticket information.
