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Mum Puppettheatre announces six-show season for 2001-2002 - Region's only puppet theatre brings art to life in the heart of Philadelphia's Gallery District!

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2001

Philadelphia, PA - A mother pushes her child to freedom. A corkscrew banishes Snow White to the forest. A stuffed toy comes to life. A boy flies up to the sun. Horses stampede in terror. A rabbit takes aim on a nearsighted hunter. Where else but Mum Puppettheatre can you see all this and more all under one roof?

Mum Puppettheatre proudly announces its upcoming productions for the 2001/02 Philadelphia theatre season. Mum's most fantastic season yet features a puppet masterpiece, a Broadway smash, two holiday shows, and an incredible world premiere.

This season starts with From the Ashes, Mum Puppettheatre's award-winning play for masks and puppets, September 25 to October 13 followed by Peter Schaffer's Equus, directed by Bill Roudebush and starring Greg Wood October 24 - November 17. The classic family favorite The Velveteen Rabbit returns with new twists at matinee times November 23 - December 31, while Preston Foerder's dark comedy Slovenly Peter runs November 30 - December 29 in the evenings. Snow White and Other Stories by award winning Perry Alley Theatre plays March 1 - March 24. Mum Puppettheatre's most exciting season ever concludes with the world premiere of Rocking the Boat, a new solo work by Mum Puppettheatre's Artistic Director and virtuoso puppeteer Robert Smythe, May 8 - June 1. Ticket plans for the season start at $40. Individual ticket prices for the season range from $10-$24. Special moderated post-show discussions will be held after each Thursday evening performance.

"Mum Puppettheatre has been growing by leaps and bounds," says Mum Puppettheatre's Managing Director, Duncan Busser. "In two years at our Old City address our audiences have tripled, and they tell us clearly that they want to see more. Puppetry is fine art that breathes, and Old City, with all of its art galleries, is the best place to see puppet theatre."

"This year," adds Mum Puppettheatre's Artistic Director, Robert Smythe, "will be unlike anything we've ever done and is completely different from anything else in town. Mum Puppettheatre has a reputation for doing things differently than anyone else in town. This season we're outdoing ourselves, starting with touring in Europe and producing a Broadway sensation to performing an entire play in a tank of water."

Mum Puppettheatre's signature piece From the Ashes will return to Europe this summer as part of August's Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The triple-Barrymore Award-winning play will then start off Mum's home season September 25 through October 13. "This is the show that put Mum Puppettheatre on the map," says Robert Smythe, "and we're thrilled to take it to Edinburgh and then back to fans who demand to see it, for the first, second or third time." Written and directed by Robert Smythe, with composer Adam Wernick's haunting original score, From the Ashes features hand carved figures based on Japanese-style Bunraku puppets and actors in gilded masks who explore the tangled relationships gods and mortals have shared in the various mythologies, fables and stories of the world. From the Ashes has toured around the world since it premiered in 1991 and was last seen in Philadelphia in 1995 when it won every Barrymore award for which it was nominated. From the Ashes is part of Mum's Evening Series.

Theatre buzz in town is already hot about Mum's upcoming production of Equus, directed by William Roudebush and starring Greg Wood as the psychiatrist who helps a young man confront his personal demons. Equus runs October 24 through November 17. Winner of the Tony and Drama Critics Circle awards for Best Play, and a sensation when it opened on Broadway in 1975, Peter Shaffer's modern classic is an electrifying journey into the mind of a 17-year-old stable boy who has plunged a spike into the eyes of six horses. Equus marks the first time in Mum Puppettheatre's 16-year history that the company has produced a previously written play. "Bill Roudebush came to me two years ago, concerned about the growing disaffection of youth and the culture of violence in today's schools," says Smythe. "Mum Puppettheatre is proud to take on the challenges of a play so relevant in today's world." Bill Roudebush teams up again with Greg Wood for the first time since their Barrymore Award-nominated work in Oleanna at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 3 in 1997, the same year Wood won the Barrymore Award for Supporting Actor in Death of a Salesman at the Arden Theatre. Moderated post-show discussions will give audiences a chance to address the issues raised by Equus. Equus is part of Mum's Evening Series.

Mum Puppettheatre has introduced young audiences to live theatre for the past 7 years with the annual holiday favorite The Velveteen Rabbit. An established family tradition, the Rabbit returns for the eighth year. In this classic story a brand new plush rabbit learns what it means to be alive. This year, graduates of the famed Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre invigorate Mum's popular adaptation of the classic story with their clowning and mask skills as The Velveteen Rabbit gets a new look for the new year. Performance begin on November 23 and The Velveteen Rabbit closes with a special New Year's Eve performance at noon on December 31, complete with a countdown and noisemakers! The Velveteen Rabbit is offered as part of Mum's Weekend Series, and all performances will feature pre- and post-show American Sign Language interpretation.

Like dill pickles in a maple syrup factory, those who need an antidote to the sweetness of the holiday season will find Slovenly Peter a refreshing taste. Created and performed by award winning puppeteer Preston Foerder and running November 30 - December 29, Slovenly Peter is based on the 19th century German children's book of manners by Heinrich Hoffman, Slovenly Peter is a hilarious dark comedy featuring titles such as "The Story of Cruel Fredrick" and "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches," demonstrating the dangers of thumb-sucking, fidgeting and other childish pastimes. Based in New York City, Preston Foerder has studied with some of the greatest puppeteers in the world, including Philippe Genty in France and Josef Krofta in Czechoslovakia before launching an award-winning solo career that has taken him all over the world. Slovenly Peter is the second time Mum Puppettheatre has presented another company as part of its season, continuing its mission of bringing the best puppetry in the world to Philadelphia. Slovenly Peter is part of Mum's Evening Series.

Snow White and Other Stories, performed by New Hampshire's Perry Alley Theatre, March 1 to March 24, uses ordinary household objects and a lot of bad pun to invite audiences to enter the world of the imagination. Andrew and Bonnie Periale (Perry Alley Theatre) have been bringing exciting, imaginative theatre to international audiences for over 13 years. Their original retelling of such favorites as Tom Thumb, Snow White, and The Princess and the Pea using puppets, masks, music, and kitchen utensils has made them a favorite with international audiences. Perry Alley Theatre received the 1999/2000 UNIMA Citation for Excellence in Puppetry, and has been nominated for an Emmy. Snow White and Other Stories is part of Mum's Weekend Series.

Mum concludes its season with the world premiere of Rocking the Boat, a new play by Robert Smythe. Using elements of the centuries-old tradition of Vietnamese water puppets, this one-man show will take place entirely in a 3-foot high water tank, using the surface of the water as a stage. In a time in America when the definition of "minority" is changing, Smythe weaves together recent immigration events such as the Elián Gonzalez case in Miami and the separation of conjoined twins from Malta in London. The original score is by local composer Danny Canh, who came to Philadelphia at the age of 15 as one of the so-called Vietnamese Boat People. This original work marks Smythe's return to the Philadelphia stage since creating and performing 1999's Measuring Man, which has been touring nationally for the past year. Rocking the Boat is part of Mum's Evening Series.

This year Mum Puppettheatre offers two ways to enjoy the most exciting theatre in the region: the Evening Series and the Weekend Series. Audiences can see a whole season of work from the company that has been described in the Philadelphia press as "Philadelphia's undiscovered gem," or pick and choose the works they want to see by buying passes to any of the series. Ticket prices range from $10 to $22, while passes can save audiences up to 30% over single ticket prices by buying in advance. Mum also offers steeply discounted student rush tickets five minutes before curtain times for the Evening Series.

Located at 115 Arch Street in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood of art galleries and restaurants, Mum Puppettheatre is the region's only theatre dedicated solely to puppetry. Working without words, Mum Puppettheatre has traveled around the world, representing the United States at theatre festivals on four continents. One of the oldest theatre companies in Philadelphia, Mum Puppettheatre has won six Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. Spiced with theatrical influences from around the world, Mum Puppettheatre is universal, transcending the boundaries of language. Critics around the world have called Mum Puppettheatre's dazzling mix of puppets, masks, mime, dance, and original music "the most enchanting, innovative, hauntingly beautiful productions any of us will ever see." Call Mum Puppettheatre's Box Office at 215-925-8686 for a free brochure containing all ticket and season information, or visit us online at www.mumpuppet.org.

For more information please call (215) 925-8686.

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