Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 01:47:59 -0500 (EST)
From: John Bell <bellj-AT-is3.nyu.edu>
Subject: Re: Easter Play


An amazing thing about puppet theater is that, different than actors'
theater across the United States, it deals with--no, openly embraces--such
topics as religion.  And politics.  The posting of the Easter Play (which
I did not read: there is a detective in it?) reminded me of all the Easter
plays Bread and Puppet Theater had done, and all the
death-and-resurrection pieces we've done, using the form of the passion
play, and music like Bach's or Sacred Harp music, but doing political
puppet theater with them.  This started in the 60s when Peter Schumann and
his fellow puppeteers did the Last Supper at Judson Church, during the
Vietnam War.
	In any event, I just mention that because although our Easter
plays are "leftist" political theater, they share interesting common
threads with Christian puppet plays which are probably not leftist or
political.
	As I said, I didn't read the play posted, so don't know the direct
cause of Mark Levenson's critique of it.  But I would just say that puppet
theater is a very powerful form, and that we have to be very careful,
upfront, and sensitive about how we use it.

john bell




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