REVIEW: Moby Dick by Plexus Polaire (Norway/France)

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Moby Dick by Plexus Polaire  (Norway/France)

Recommended for ages 14+ Herman Melville’s monster work of literature is also a  monster in puppetry in this Chicago premiere. Seven actors, 50 puppets, video projections on smoke, an octobass, and a whale-sized whale all play a part in this dizzying dive into the inexplicable mysteries of life. Run time is 85 minutes REVIEW: By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara Here at ChiIL Mama we've been covering The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival since its inception, and we're thrilled to see how it's grown. There's so much world class talent and creativity right on our doorstep. Plexus Polaire kicked off this year's fest with a masterpiece of epic proportions with their take on Moby Dick. Do note, if you're looking at the Family Friendly designation on the master schedule and thinking of bringing the kids, this production is an intense, macabre journey that might terrify young or sensitive audience members. Here be monsters! That said, those 14-114 who love a dark and daring production with ginormous puppets, creepy masks, and heavy music, this is a must-see.  The show opens with 3 musicians on drums, cello, electric guitar and vocals, who provide a hauntingly heavy score that I loved and some detested. Think Bjork fronting an industrial metal band with eerie, etherial vocals and waves of loud, dissonant chords; my aural happy place! This Moby Dick is true to the poetic wordplay, adventure, and inner/outer turmoil that has made the novel an enduring classic. Yet, this puppet-heavy piece is excitingly new storytelling. The visuals are gorgeous, from the flashes of tiny fish and whales of varying sizes, to the stunning projection work that immerses the audience in the swirling light and shadows of the vast ocean. The puppetry work is world class, with life-sized figures filling out crowd scenes, multiple nearly invisible puppeteers working the larger beasts and Captain Ahab, and delightful shifts in the audience's perspective from beside to above the ship, The Pequod. I was enamored with the shark attack, Pip's fall into the sea and subsequent insanity, and Queequeg's illness, premature coffin bed, and mystifying puppet pipe smoking. Even the ocean waves are a character that enclose, undulate, and seem to have almost a sentient malevolence.  Giant Ahab's aerial decent into madness, a life-sized whale, and the ultimate destruction of the ship, leaving narrator Ishmael as the sole human survivor, proved to be epic storytelling indeed. Highly recommended. ★★★★ Four out of four stars.  Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, videographer, actress, artist and Mama. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).  Watch the trailer. Be amazed:

Did you know? Moby Dick launches the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the largest of its kind in North America, January 18-29, 2023, with companies from Chicago, the U.S. and around the world performing works sure to astonish and delight at venues large and small throughout the city. See the full festival line-up below. For 12 consecutive days in January, Chicago will be the puppetry capital of the world, home to more than 100 performances and events around the city that promise to astonish and delight. From bunraku, to shadow, to crankie scroll, pageant-style puppets and more, puppets will take over Chicago for 12 amazing days and nights of inspiration and invention.  This year, the Chicago Puppet Fest has “gone annual,” launching a new era for Chicago as an international destination for the art and study of puppetry.  Don't wait to get your tickets as some performances are already sold out. For tickets and information, visit chicagopuppetfest.org.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE TO THE 5TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL PUPPET THEATER FESTIVAL JANUARY 18-29, 2023, READY TO ASTONISH AND DELIGHT WITH 12 STRAIGHT DAYS OF PUPPETRY FROM CHICAGO, THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD NEW IN 2023: CHICAGO’S FINE ARTS BUILDING IS THE FESTIVAL’S “PUPPET HUB,” WITH SPECTACLE SHOWS, EVENTS, EXHIBITS, EVEN A WORKING PUPPET CAFE ANCHORING THE LARGEST FEST OF ITS KIND IN NORTH AMERICA

Watch the new sizzle reel previewing the  5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.

Tickets are now on sale for the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the largest of its kind in North America, returning January 18-29, 2023, at venues large and small throughout the city. For tickets and information, visit chicagopuppetfest.org.  Artistic Director and Festival Founder Blair Thomas and Executive Director Sandy Smith Gerding have built a diverse roster of top contemporary puppets acts and artists from Chicago, the U.S. and around the world to be presented at theaters and community venues throughout the city.  Ten countries are represented this year, including Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Finland, France, Norway, Japan, South Africa, Spain and the United States, specifically, New York, Boston and Chicago. New in 2023 is establishment of a Pop-Up Puppet Hub with site-specific events activating various spaces in the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue for all 12 days of the festival.  First, the Fine Arts Building’s newly renovated Studebaker Theater will be the site of of two monster productions, including festival opener Moby Dick, a spectacle production by Plexus Polaire (Norway/France) featuring a whale-sized whale, January 18-21, and closing with Frankenstein from Chicago’s own Manual Cinema, January 27-29. Also at the Studebaker, the Chicago Puppet Festival will present its first-ever film screening of Basil Twist’sSymphonie Fantastique Film on January 24.  Upstairs in the Fine Arts Building, ride Chicago’s last remaining manual elevator to the fourth floor and stop in at The Spoke & Bird Pop-Up Cafe, a central meeting place serving coffee, tea, winter soups and baked treats in a cozy, puppet-inspired setting. Then, check into Motel, a puppet show by Dan Hurlin that doesn’t move. Or, tour an exhibit of the original storyboards, puppet characters, and miniature sets and props created by the Chicago Puppet Studio for Vancouver, the multi-award winning, made-for-film puppet theater collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater Company. If you didn’t get a ticket to see as though your body were right, you can pop in and check out the remarkable set designed for only seven audience members at a time. And, be sure to stop on the second floor in Exile in Bookville which is welcoming festival-goers with a special display of books on puppetry, and plenty of copies of the many works of literature being brought to stage all over the city at this year's festival. Add a Puppet Hub photo exhibit celebrating Basil Twist, one of two exhibits featuring the work of photographer Richard Termine, plus Twist’s live presentation of his amazing sliding Japanese panel work, Dogugaeshi(January 26-29, Logan Center for the Arts), and this year boasts a Mini-Basil Twist Fest within a fest. Returning in 2023 are the FREE Neighborhood Tour, puppetry workshops, two days of free symposiums in the Studebaker Theater, co-presented by the School of the Art Institute, presented in-person and live streamed via Howlround, and two weekends of the Catapult Artist Intensive. 

Blair Thomas, Founder and Artistic Director Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Credit: Saverio Truglia “Chicago demands more puppetry and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is delighted to oblige! Our fifth edition is our biggest to date and the first time turning around a new festival within one year as we move to an annual model. We are filled with the energy of making it all happen,” said Thomas. “Audiences will experience the full range of puppetry style, story, and theatricality. While most shows are for adults, with many pieces being adaptations of classic literature, we have expanded offerings for children. We have also added the Puppet Hub to a robust schedule of shows, exhibitions, our first film screening, two days of symposiums, and the Catapult Artist Intensive. Puppeteers from around the world, nation and Chicago are absolutely prepared to astonish audiences.” Past festivals have attracted over 14,000 audience members, including Chicago residents enjoying a puppet-filled staycation, to national and international guests who travel to Chicago every January to enjoy world-class puppetry from here and abroad.  There’s even an Official Hotel of the Chicago Puppet Festival, the Warwick Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue, offering a discounted rate during festival dates with the promo code PUPPETFEST2023. Visit chicagopuppetfest.org to purchase tickets and for full festival information. Sign up for the festival’s e-newsletter to receive first notice on special events, exclusive offers, and behind-the-strings scoop. Or, follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest. 

5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival image by Saverio Truglia

OPENING NIGHT 

Moby Dick by Plexus Polaire (Norway/France), January 18-21 at the Studebaker Theater, with private Opening Night receptions before and after. Herman Melville’s monster work of literature is also a monster in puppetry in this Chicago premiere. Seven actors, 50 puppets, video projections on smoke, an octobass, and a whale-sized whale all play a part in this dizzying dive into the inexplicable mysteries of life. ONLINE Visit chicagopuppetfest.org for tickets and information about the 5th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and sign up for the festival’s e-news. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo or Twitter, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest.

DISCOUNT TICKETS: Lookingglass $25 Lottery Tickets for Moby Dick Via TodayTix

LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE COMPANY PARTNERS WITH TODAYTIX

TO OFFER $25 LOTTERY TICKETS TO ITS AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF

MOBY DICK

ADAPTED AND DIRECTED BY ENSEMBLE MEMBER DAVID CATLIN

FROM THE BOOK BY HERMAN MELVILLE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ACTORS GYMNASIUM

 

June 7, 2017 – September 3, 2017

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces a partnership with TodayTix—the free mobile app that provides on-demand access to theater tickets—to offer exclusive $25 Lottery tickets to the return of its award-winning production of Moby Dick. 

Moby Dick, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member David Catlin, from the book by Herman Melville, in association with The Actors Gymnasium, runs June 7 – September 3, 2017 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson.

A limited number of $25 tickets will be available through the TodayTix mobile Lottery for all evening performances of Moby Dick beginning June 7, 2017. The lottery will open every performance day at midnight and all winners and non-winners will be notified 2 - 4 hours before the performance. Lottery winners may pick up their tickets at the Lookingglass box office one hour prior to show time.

“We had incredible audiences and sold-out performances during the first run of Moby Dick in 2015,” notes Director of Marketing, Anna Marie Wilharm. “Tickets were in high demand and often gone weeks in advance. We’re excited that our daily ticket lottery partnership with TodayTix will provide our patrons and TodayTix users a chance at securing great seats at a great price, and increase accessibility to this blockbuster show.”

Winner of four Jeff Awards, including Best Production, and fresh off a national tour, the critically-acclaimed Moby Dick returns to the Lookingglass stage in this harrowing and intoxicating exploration of revenge, obsession, and destiny.  Madness rages like the angry sea when man pits himself against leviathan in Herman Melville’s epic and poetic tale, furiously reimagined by director David Catlin (Lookingglass Alice). Climb aboard the Pequod with Ishmael, Starbuck, and the intrepid crew on a voyage into the darkest reaches of the human psyche with an insatiably driven Captain Ahab at the helm in reckless pursuit of the legendary white whale.

The cast of Moby Dick includes Ensemble Members Kareem Bandealy, Anthony Fleming III and Raymond Fox who return to reprise their roles as Starbuck, Queequeg and Stubb from the critically-acclaimed 2015 production. Also returning to the production are Jamie Abelson (Ishmael – evening performances), Micah Figueroa (Cabaco) and Javen Ulambayar (Mungun). Joining the cast are Kelly Abell (Fate #1), Walter Owen Briggs (Ishmael – matinee performances), Cordelia Dewdney (Fate #3), Mattie Hawkinson (Fate #2) and Nathan Hosner (Ahab).

Moby Dick, adapted and directed by Ensemble Member David Catlin, from the book by Herman Melville, in association with The Actors Gymnasium, runs June 7 – September 3, 2017 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The press opening is Saturday, June 17 at 7:30 pm. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.; Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. (except June 8 & 15 and August 3) and 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. (except June 10 & 17) at 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. (except June 18) and 7:30 p.m. (except June 11 & 18). There is an additional performance on Tuesday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, priced $35 - $80 are available at the box office, by phone at (312) 337-0655, or online at lookingglasstheatre.org.

About Lookingglass Theatre Company

Inventive. Collaborative. Transformative. Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 2011 Regional Theatre Tony Award, was founded in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. Now in its 29th season, Lookingglass is home to a multi-disciplined ensemble of artists who create story-centered theatrical work that is physical, aurally rich and visually metaphoric. The Company has staged 64 world premieres, received 143 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations, and work premiered at Lookingglass has been produced in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berkeley, Philadelphia, Princeton, Hartford, Kansas City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Louisville and St. Louis. Lookingglass original scripts have been produced across the United States. In 2016, Lookingglass received the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

The Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago's landmark Water Tower Water Works opened in June 2003. In addition to developing and presenting ensemble work, Lookingglass Education and Community programs encourage creativity, teamwork and confidence with thousands of community members each year.

Lookingglass Theatre Company continues to expand its artistic, financial and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Artistic Director Heidi Stillman, Executive Director Rachel Kraft, Producing Director Philip R. Smith, Connectivity and Engagement Director Andrew White, General Manager Michele Anderson, a 24 member artistic ensemble, 23 artistic associates, an administrative staff and a dedicated board of directors led by Chairman John McGowan of CTC| myCFO (a part of BMO Financial Group) and President Nancy Timmers, civic leader and philanthropist. For more information, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.

About TodayTix

TodayTix is an international ticketing platform on a mission to redefine the way people see theater. Through effortless access to the best shows, insightful guidance to the world of theater, and thoughtful service at each moment along the way, TodayTix enables people to discover the best that their city has to offer. As the first and only free mobile app for iOS and Android connecting the next generation of culture lovers to theater, TodayTix is disrupting an established industry that is ripe for innovation.

Operating in the world’s most iconic theater markets, TodayTix secures the best discounted and full price tickets available for the hottest shows in New York City, London’s West End, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Boston, Washington DC and Chicago.

Since launching TodayTix in New York City in December 2013 by life-long friends and Broadway producers Merritt Baer and Brian Fenty, the company has quickly amassed partnerships with more than 450 theater institutions globally. These include but are not limited to: The Public Theater, MSG Entertainment, Roundabout Theatre Company, Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Metropolitan Opera, BAM, Nimax, Really Useful Theatres, Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, Royal Court, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Opera, SHN, American Conservatory Theater, Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, LA Opera, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, A.R.T., Goodspeed Musicals, Hartford Stage, Opera Philadelphia, and Wilma Theater.

To learn more, please visit www.todaytix.com, tune into the TodayTix “Broadway Backstory” podcast, or download TodayTix for iOS or Android.