By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — The Pigpen Theatre Co. has come to the Old Globe with their epic sea shanty, The Old Man and the Old Moon. They hoisted the sails with some bluegrass, complete with a banjo, fiddle, accordion and an electric bass, setting our toes tapping, hands clapping and faces grinning from ear to ear.
The Pigpen Theatre Co. is a group of friends who met at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. They had a vision for an ensemble theatre, a tight-knit group, growing and creating together free of the egos of stars or the dictates of a director. They were the first group to win the NYC Fringe Festival’s top honor for a play two years in a row (2010/11) with other accolades besides. (www.pigpentheatre.com)
“We want to give [the audience] the sense of joy you feel when someone’s just created something before your eyes.” (Program p12)
Music is the water that carries the story along while shadow puppets man the sails. It’s remarkable how charming a cardboard cut-out of a ship can be when backlit by a flashlight.
“This is a story that’s endless. And once you’ve heard it, you’re all wrapped up in it.”
Genesis tells us that the moon was created as “the lesser light to rule by night…” (Gen. 1:16) According to this story, the moon used to be full every night because an old man filled her up with liquid light. But, because of an irreparable crack, she drips, losing her light drop by drop.
His wife complains that they never go anywhere and, tired of his excuses, she takes their boat and heads west by herself. Desperate to find her again, the Old Man, posing as the naval war hero, Lt. Pericles Llewellyn McWallander, hitches a ride on a boat, chasing after his wife. But the boat is heading south because that’s where the current war is.
To convince them to go west, the Old Man spins a wild yarn about “a city at the end of the world.” On the way, they brave great perils including a shiver of flying sharks, a gauntlet of volcanoes, ghosts, great sea monsters and flying dirigibles. And little by little, the moon loses her light, setting the tides in turmoil.
The Old Man and the Old Moon has the fast pace and wild humor of children’s theatre that will awaken in you a childlike sense of delight and wonder. The puppets and scenic design by Lydia Fine create a magical world in which time and space are as great and fluid as the sea, the small is great and the inanimate comes to life. As we exit the theatre to return to our mundane lives, let us remember to “keep a wide gait and explore as much of the world as we can.”
The Old Man and the Old Moon plays at the Old Globe through June 18, with concerts at the House of Blues June 5 & 19. If you love a great epic told with infectious charm, lively music and raucous humor, then climb aboard.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com