During a recent radio interview a former “The Muppet Show” writer discussed efforts to create distinctly human personalities for each character on the show. This is the key challenge for anyone working with puppets: How to genuinely animate and give personality to a piece of wood or cloth that is, by its very nature, inanimate?
Chicago has its fair share of artisans devoted to this craft, among them the members of Hystopolis. Ostensibly, this 20-year-old troupe has spent a good deal of time perfecting its art. So it is disappointing that the current production of “Dracula the Puppet Play” is without that very quality mentioned above: fully realized personalities. Running at just under an hour, the show nonetheless feels protracted and ploddingly paced. Another problem is that director Michael Schwabe voices many of the characters, making it difficult to discern which puppet is talking when.
Visually, however, the production is beyond reproach. The sets and puppets have a bright, pop-up-book quality. The ensemble also achieves some nice special effects, as when Dracula turns into a bat.
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Through Jan. 4 at Red Hen Productions, 5123 N. Clark St.; 773-728-0599.
