Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-28

THE "Tatterman Marionettes" have
l. been in town! Which goes to prove
that Washington, as well as the rest OF
the United States, has become inter
ested in the oldest form Of the theater
And after these marionettes had left
those who saw them were awakened tc
the rediscovery of an ancient art.
When these marionettes were at the
Wardman Park Theater, presented by
the Children's Theater Co.. children
came in flocks to see them, accom-
panied by adults, whose curiosity was
often as strong as the children's. AL
came with the idea of seeing exclusively
childrens show. When they left
however, they took away a different
impression, realizing that from an ar
tistic standpoint, both in staging and
in acting, the production was equal to
their own exacting demands.
1t seems a far cry from the "talkies'
10 the marionettes. but in reality there
is a parallel. Both are represented
by figures whose voices come from back
stage, so to speak, and while the talkies
are the development of new art, the
marionettes are the rebirth of a very
old one.
Reaching into ancient Egypt and
India, where marionettes were found in
the tombs of the kings and queens, the
art of puppet making was known in all
the countries of the ancient world, in
GLIDING China and Japan. The marion
cite theater was a great fayorite in
Greece and Rome and after its develop
ment as a means of telling the story
of Jesus in the early Christian area
it gradually changed from religious uses
and became an entertainment. Italy
introduced the marionette into Europe,
where each country developed it ac-
cording to its own peculiar thought.
In England the Neapolitan marionette
Pulcinella became Mr.. Punch: in France,
Polichinelle; in Germany, Hans Wurst.
and in Holland, Jean Pikelherring But
in none of the modern countries has the
marionette developed as in England and
in France, both as an authentic marion
cite animated by strings, and as a
guignol, or puppet, into which the hand
is inserted.
The feature Of the show at Wardman
Park was Aladdin" the play by
Gatharine Reighard. AS some adults
in the audience remarked, it was I'M
believable that the mouths of the pup
pets did not move. The synchronizing
of the voices of the puppeteers with the
actions of the puppets startled the
imagination into accepting almost any
thing. Good lighting effects helped
this but 1t was mostly done by throw
ing the voice" from behind the scene
and the remarkable changes in inflec-
ton and feeling as the lines were read
An interesting thing, too, is that
while one puppeteer may be manipulate
ing the strings of a certain puppet
some one else will be speaking for It.
which, OF course, means strenuous
practice and well oiled human ma
chinery.
Written with the simplicity Of real
art and interspersed with touches OF
humor that appealed to both children
and grown-ups, Aladdin" also con-
tanned strong dramatic element, which
was admirably brought out by the
voices and the acting marionettes.
All the work of costume making
scene painting and whatever goes tc
the production of the show rs done BY
the owners and producers of the show
hemselyes-William Duncan and Ed.
ward Mabley. Not only this. but the
marionettes are made by them as well
and that Is really an art in itself. Ir
fact. to produce marionette show is