Review of The Wild Child

The Oregonian

03/19/04

"THE WILD CHILD": Hand2Mouth Theatre and Signal Light Puppet Theatre combine bunraku puppets and live actors in this new piece that explores the line separating civilization from wildness. It's still rough, but "The Wild Child" is imaginatively conceived and abounds in truly magical moments.

The play cleverly interweaves two tales. One deals with a late-18th-century scientist's futile efforts to socialize a feral "wild child," a boy who seems to have spent his early years nurtured by animals. The other tells of a grown man's journey into a gazelle-inhabited desert, where he hopes to sever his ties to civilization.

The "Wild Child" bunraku puppet (built by Bill Holznagel) is the star of the show. Manipulated by all four cast members, who take turns working him in twos and threes, this enchanting puppet has long unkempt curly-black hair, two dark round eyes, no mouth and a wonderfully flexible body. Equally bewitching is the table, which suddenly frolics like a gazelle.

The production could be (and probably will become) tighter, especially if it eliminates some of the many blackouts for scene changes. Still, director Jonathan Walters and writer/puppet-director Rachel Anthonisen artfully combine puppets, humans, mask work, mimetic movement, Jacob Fenston's bold lighting design, and Peter Musselman's evocative sound composition to create engaging theater.

Continues 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays through March 27. Performance Works Northwest, 4625 S.E. 67th Ave.; $7-$10 suggested donation; 503-235-5284.

-- Richard Wattenberg