Puppet show without puppets

It's the holiday season and I was in the mood for a puppet show of sorts, so we looked up our old friend the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater (CAMT) to see if they had any productions running - and they did! The immensely titled "The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spys, and about Their Untymelie End while Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining New York." Lovely. And it was, really, about a sad story of the traitorous Rosenburgs of the 1950's. But being a marionette company, I naturally assumed it would be performed by puppets. I was close - it was performed by puppeteers, but as the actors themselves. The only marionettes were a couple of props in the beginning, and perhaps some stuffed bears substituted for other characters. The main action took place by the live human actors.

The story, as briefly referenced to above, was about Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who were executed in 1953 for espionage (selling secrets to the Soviets). Not your typical holiday fare. But the live musical accompaniment (accordion, base and percussion - all masterfully done, as determined by my husband who has much more experience with critiquing music and musicians than I do), the songs, the tight abstract staging and, as I said the wonderful, energetic and talented performances made this puppetless, non-holiday show a delight to watch.

This is why one goes to New York City to appreciate theatrical talent. Not for Broadway, not for the big named movie stars who want to try their multimillion celebrity hands at theater, but for this - the truly artistic, strongly talented multi-dimensional artists who can be gathered together to put on a masterfully entertaining show.