On a small, side street stands a brick building. Black shutters hug the windows while the flower…read morewindow boxes above loom over the sidewalk below, waiting for an audience. A Historic Marker proclaims that a famous puppeteer was born nearby. The white door left slightly ajar wears a sign, "Sold Out." Some places might feel forlorn wearing those words, but not here--this is the home of Lancaster Marionette Theater.
From the moment you walk into Lancaster Marionette Theater, the magic surrounds you, and what Robert Brock has created on Water Street in historic downtown Lancaster is something out of a storybook. From the John Durang Puppet Museum, to the Backstage Tour, and most of all to the delightful marionette performance itself--everything about this charming building is full of Brock's heart and soul.
When I first heard about this small but quaint theater, it gave me visions of memories growing up watching The Sound of Music. We all remember the famous scene of Maria and the children performing their marionettes while singing "The Lonely Goatherd." When I ordered tickets to see Peter Pan, I did not know what to expect but I was looking forward to sharing this experience with my twelve-year-old son.
Brock, a native of Lancaster, fell in love with theater and puppets as a little boy when his dad made a puppet play theater for his sister one Christmas. As an adult, he went to Boston Conservatory and majored in Music Theater. In 1990, Brock's Hole in the Wall Theater opened with hand puppets, but when his shoulders gave out, he switched to all marionettes ten years later. January of this year, the name was changed to Lancaster Marionette Theater, and with it came renovations including a new "green" updated lighting system.
There are so many parts of creating each show. Making wooden carved puppets, creating patterns for costumes, cutting out the material, sewing clothes, sculpting clay for the heads, painting the marionette, writing the script--these are just a few of the steps Brocks takes. Perhaps that is what makes this small theater so unique. The audience gets the chance to meet the founder and artistic director, Robert Brock, during the Backstage Tour. While learning that it takes him 50-60 hours to build each marionette, audience members feel Brock's charisma and passion for the theater. During the tour that day, Brock told the crowd about a project he is currently working on about dinosaurs. While he still performs some of the same shows each year, he continues to create new ideas.
My son and I arrived that Saturday in October for the last performance of the year for Peter Pan. There was a large group of young children attending, and the theater has a policy about children being quiet during the performance. This policy was explained and delivered from one of the staff before the show, standing right in front of the stage, and it was aimed at the children so they could understand. Somehow--it worked. I did not hear a peep from the children throughout the 35-minute show. Brock explains on his website, "Shari Lewis used to say, 'Never write down to children.'" Perhaps that is the key.
We left that day with a new appreciation for puppets. It was amazing how Peter Pan was brought to life with just one man--with music, strings and some pixie dust.
