Past Events

TABLETOP TRAGEDIES: GRIEF AND GRACE

at the chopin theatre

Due to its successful, sold-out run during the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Cabinet of Curiosity extended its Tabletop Tragedies production to the Chopin Theatre Main Stage, February 7 through 17, 2019. Tabletop Tragedies was an imaginative triptych of work created by Frank Maugeri and Seth Bockley which shared powerful tales of fate, loss and redemption through the art of puppetry. 

These irreverent, imaginative and compelling works were brought to life using an astonishing array of creative elements – from hand-carved wooden puppets and rod puppets to shadow puppetry, Punch- and Judy-like characters, ingenious masks, live music, and more. 

The exquisite ensemble included Time Brickey (Chicago Human Rhythm Project), Liz Chidester (Firebrand Theatre), Nicole Laurenzi (Griffin Theatre Company), Bran Moorhead (The Inconvenience), Mike Steele (Trapdoor Theatre) and Allyce Torres (16th Street Theater).

Three shows created the evening.

  • The Last Matador – an operatic farce with a bloody end, about the final days of the controversial art of bullfighting.

  • The Death and Life of Billy the Kid – a densely poetic and emotional telling of the life and times of the famous outlaw.

  • A Simple Soul – the harrowing tale of a 13th century female mystic burned at the stake for her religious beliefs

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