In one, hidden puppeteers make the marionettes look alive. In another, the puppeteers can be seen pulling the strings. Today, he produces plays through his company, Le Theatre de Marionette, based at NorthPark Center. Over the years, Mr. Hardman, probably best known in Dallas as the voice of Scrooge during a Christmastime puppet show at NorthPark, has grown to appreciate his characters' mobility. With puppets, you can do anything.
Any object can become anything.
I've always lived in a fantasy world. That fantasy is portrayed in the Canadian segment of the production, when a set of stacked chairs comes to life and seems to put on a show with no strings pulled. The colorful chairs perform in a tribute to the Canadian circus Le Cirque du Soleil. I always wanted to know what they do overnight, when no one is looking. Two shirts hanging on a clothesline in a Chinese laundry do battle over a dress in the short play depicting China.