Eulenspiegel Puppets
 September 9, 2003
$5

9:00 AM

11:00 AM

1:00 PM

Eulenspiegel Puppets:
Hansel and Goosel

We are pleased to present the EULENSPIEGEL PUPPETS in their production of HANSEL AND GOOSEL. 

The Eulenspiegel Puppets; formed in 1974, select their performances from a large repertoire of international folktales.  Based at Owl Glass Puppetry Center in West Liberty, Iowa, the puppeteers tour nationally and internationally.  Eulenspiegel is known for original scripts, whimsical scenery and beautifully crafted puppets of many styles, including miniature marionettes, near life-size hand-and-rod puppets, shadow puppets and giant parade puppets.

HANSEL AND GOOSEL was written especially for Eulenspiegel by prize-winning Chicago playwright, Rebecca Gilman.  Using the Grimms Brothers¹ Hansel and Gretel as a starting point, this story takes place in a midwestern barnyard and woods.  The main characters are Hansel and Goosel, two half-grown goslings, who are feeling displaced because their mother is sitting on a new batch of eggs. 

They run away into the woods where they are trapped by an evil fox.  In the end, Goosel outsmarts the fox and saves her brother.  When they return home, their parents, who have been worried sick, are delighted to see them. 

The happy ending includes the hatching of two baby goslings.

The production features 15 puppets of varying styles and sizes, including rod marionettes, rod puppets, and a large ³marionette aporte² fox (a puppet that¹s constructed and jointed like a marionette but held and worked directly by hand). The stage is a large tabletop with turning set pieces, sculpted, dyed, and appliquéd.  The show, which runs about 45 minutes, is enhanced with harmony singing.  It¹s appropriate for children aged 4 through 94.