Thursday, June 19, 2014

Review: (Montreal) My Big Fat German Puppet Show

The Big and the Fat of It
by Janis Kirshner
@Janovations

Frank Meschkuleit as Franz Poopenshpiel is certainly commanding, and not just because of his enormous belly. Meschkuleit owns the stage and is present to the slightest nuance. And hey- when do you get a chance to see someone play the saw…?

Oohs and aahs are well-deserved when Meschkuleit reveals the lush puppet proscenium amid his girth. His puppets and voices are unique and spot on with a heavy dose of peculiar and eccentric. Especially noteworthy (and pretty darned smart) is Steven Hawking as a stand-up comic; a lederhosen clad rapper; and a zombie sing along. There’s even a tender moment on making the right choices in life to make someone’s life better.

Meschkuleit is an alumnus of Fraggle Rock and creator of the hit show The Left Hand of Frank. I certainly appreciated his talent, but I would have liked to see more variety in the presentation.

June 14 - 22

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