War Horse

Today we saw War Horse, the first touring Broadway series play I have seen.  It's amazing!   A drama about the special relationship an young man, Albert, has with his horse.  Originally, the horse, named Joey, was purchased by his father trying to outdo his uncle at an auction.  The family really can't afford it, so the plan is to sell Joey later.  Eventually, the horse is able to do plow work in the fields and his family says they will let Albert keep Joey, but his dad ends up selling the animal to the English army to go fight in France at the beginning of World War 1. The boy enlists in an effort to go find his beloved pet.

Okay, I bet you're thinking, why would a war drama about a boy and a horse be in the Broadway rotation?   Simple.  Puppetry magic.  All the animals on stage are puppets from the Handspring Puppet Workshop from South Africa.  The horses are huge constructs that take 3 puppeteers to operate.  One person runs the head from a stick to the side of the horse.  The middle person controls the horse's breathing and front limbs.  The hind puppeteer controls the tail and back legs.  It is amazing how realistic the horses are.  Even though you can see the puppeteers, the motions are so true to life that it's easy to forget the people are inside.

At the pre-show talk, we were told that Joey was introduced to the Cleveland Mounted Police Force.  The real horses were completely fooled and greeted Joey as one of their own.

War stories aren't exactly my favorite subject.  I even had difficulty watching all the intense battles in Lord of the Rings.  I liked this show though.   It is truly theater magic.