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A CurtainUp Review
Exiles


Scene from Exiles at La MaMa
Scene from Exiles at La MaMa (Photo: Richard Termine)
The Exiles at La MaMa, conceived and directed by Theodora Skipitares, is an original staging of the story of Orestes. It features five-foot-tall Bunraku puppets, multimedia projections, and a chorus of two costumed in what appear to be straw huts. With hats. It's not the most engaging of productions, but Greek theater performed with large Japanese puppets is enough of a rarity for this not to stand in the way of its attracting an audience.

Outside of Japan, the word Bunraku is used loosely to refer to any style of puppetry where a full-bodied puppet is manipulated by any number of visible puppeteers who may or may not be dressed in black (in this case, they are). The nearly life-size puppets are each attached to their own puppeteers, who operate them with handles. The humans who wear thin masks so as to be as unobtrusive as possible. The puppets themselves are differently and elaborately (and differently) dressed, with the glaring exception of Apollo, who appears in a deus ex machina at the end of the play. He is merely a grinning theater mask with a very long drape of gold lame—a bit cheesy when compared to the rest of the graceful and unique puppet cast.
Though the production as a whole doesn't really grab hold of you, it is visually intriguing and interesting in the sense that it incorporates a number of disparate elements. In case you're unfamiliar with the story the puppets act out: Orestes, murdered his mother Clytemnestra at the urging of Apollo. His sister Electra tries to protect him, but they are both sentenced to die by the townspeople.

Two actors, clad in large woven box-like costumes, serve as the traditional Greek chorus with occasional singing and chanting. At times, bits of old movies and videos are projected above a stationary projection of the White House. That White House is a little disconcerting as there are no overt parallels drawn between the Orestes story and the current political situation. Perhaps this and the stilted and formal language is why this production falls flat. Despite the interesting staging, the larger resonance of the tragedy seems to be missing. But the Bunraku puppets are, for lack of a better word, cool and worth seeing. The Exiles-with Puppets|Reviewed 3/25/07|Closing 4/08/07

The Exiles
Conceived, designed and directed by Theodora Skipitares
Cast: Sheila Dabney, Chris Maresca, Alissa Mello, Nicky Paraiso, Sonja Perryman, Aneesh Sheth, Yukio Tsuji, Amanda Villalobos
Music by Tim Schellenbaum
Lighting Design: Pat Dignan
Video: Kay Hines
Puppets: Cecelia Schiller, Theodora Skipitares
Running Time: One hour, with no intermission
La MaMa Annex, 74A East 4th Street; 212-475-7710
3/22/07 to 04/08/07
Tickets $18; Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2:30 pm
Reviewed by Jenny Sandman based on March 25th performance
broadway musicals: the 101 greatest shows of all time
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.


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