Chicago’s Puppet Theater Fest returns for 2022 with previous favorites and the wildly new, broadening what you anticipate from a puppet present

By Doug George

For all of the issues Chicago is legendary for, let puppetry be on the listing, and puppetry’s largest occasion on the calendar is the Chicago Worldwide Puppet Theater Pageant.

The fourth version of the Puppet Theater Fest shall be again in early 2022, with some 100 performances at 15 venues across the metropolis. The worldwide factor will sadly be largely lacking this time round resulting from COVID-related journey restrictions, however you may anticipate puppetry artists from throughout the nation on the town for the occasion working Jan. 20-30, 2022. The schedule consists of:

“The Plastic Bag Retailer” by Robin Frohardt (New York): This pop-up procuring the bottom ground of the Wrigley Constructing on Michigan Avenue shall be open by means of the pageant, hoping to encourage new views on the perils of single-use plastic. An imitation grocery retailer, it will likely be “stocked” with hundreds of hand-sculpted gadgets, every made out of discarded plastic: Rotisserie chickens, cupcakes, sushi and merchandise similar to Yucky Shards cereal and Bagorade sports activities drink. A number of occasions every day, the “retailer” transforms into “The Plastic Bag Retailer: Immersive Movie Expertise” created by Frohardt and her puppetry ensemble and that includes puppets designed by Frohardt. Opening evening Jan. 20 with immersive experiences at 4 p.m. and seven p.m. Then Tuesdays to Fridays: Retailer open 11 a.m. to three p.m.; immersive experiences at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and eight p.m. Saturdays: Retailer open 1 to three p.m.; immersive experiences at 11 a.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and eight p.m. Sundays: Retailer open 1 to three p.m.; immersive experiences at 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. On the Wrigley Constructing, 410 N. Michigan Ave. Retailer visits are free; tickets to 60-minute screenings are $30 (really useful for ages 8+).

“Invoice’s forty fourth” by Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James (New York): The get together’s all prepared, now Invoice has to attend for his friends to reach. The Brooklyn-based Manjuck and James collectively create one very frightened protagonist on this comedy about each ingenuity and loneliness. A New York Occasions critics’ decide. Jan. 25-27 on the Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St.; tickets $35 (ages 16+).

“The Bluest Eye” co-created and directed by Margaret Laurena Kemp and Janni Younge (California and South Africa): Tailored by Lydia Diamond from Toni Morrison’s coming of age novel, placing it in a recent context. Jan. 28-30 on the DuSable Museum of African American Historical past, 740 E. 56th Place; tickets $30 (ages 16+).

“Chimpanzee” by Nick Lehane (New York): By way of bunraku model puppetry, the tales of chimpanzees raised as kids in human houses in cross-fostering science experiments. Jan. 22-24 at Instituto Cervantes of Chicago, 31 W. Ohio St. in River North; tickets $35 (ages 10+).

“Dogugaeshi” by Basil Twist (New York): Twist is thought for his work on Broadway’s “The Addams Household” and Joffrey Ballet’s “Nutcracker.” Based on the pageant’s press supplies, the piece is influenced by the custom of Japanese dogugaeshi stage mechanism approach and Twist’s personal encounters with the remaining caretakers of this as soon as standard artwork type. Jan. 20-24 Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 700 E. Grand Avenue, Navy Pier; tickets $40 (ages 9+).

“Dreaming” by Torry Bend (North Carolina): This collaboration with playwright Howard Craft and director JaMeeka Holloway examines the racist legacy of comics and animation by following two males deeply affected by Winsor McCay’s caricature “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” Consists of grownup language, racially charged imagery and loud noises. Jan. 28-29 on the Chopin Theatre Mainstage, 1543 W. Division St. in Wicker Park; tickets $35 (ages 12+).

“I OBJECT! 30 Puppet Performs in 60 Minutes” by the Neo-Futurists (Chicago): Puppetry is on the core of the Neo’s signature model of high-speed present. Jan. 22-23 and Jan. 29-30 at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Andersonville; tickets $30 (ages 16+).

“Invitation to a Beheading” by Tough Home Theater Co. (Chicago): A person is condemned to dying for an absurd crime and despatched to a surreal jail to await his execution. However the jail might not be what it appears. The novel by Vladimir Nabokov is dropped at the stage by Michael Brown and Tough Home. Jan. 27-29 within the Chopin Theatre Basement, 1543 W. Division St. in Wicker Park; tickets $30 (ages 12+).

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