PUSS IN BOOTS

by the Oregon Shadow Theatre

As the house lights go down we see and hear a musician on stage playing accordion and percussion. After his greeting, the shadow screen lights up and we see storyteller Marie Laveau as a shadow puppet, setting the tale with the wave of her fan. In New Orleans the miller's dying wish is granted as his three sons follow his casket through the streets in a traditional jazz funeral, complete with marching band. Antoine, the youngest son, inherits Puss, a remarkable talking cat. The two set out on a journey to impress the great King Calypso and the Princess, Sweet Emma. Soon Antoine is wrestling an alligator and Puss has to match wits with the shape changing Swamp Ogre. Live voices and Cajun, Zydeco and Caribbean music give spicy flavor to this production, which reaches a rousing conclusion in a Mardi Gras festival replete with colorful and fantastic costumes.

Deb Chase manipulates the delightful shadow puppets to the sounds of Mick Doherty's "one man band" of accordion, percussion, kazoo, whistles and sound effects.