Jemimah Puddle Duck -- Live bedtime story to be performed at Columbia Theatre
Contact: Tonya Lowentritt
1/23/08
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HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts will unveil its latest entertainment concept – specially designed for its youngest fans -- on Jan. 29 with the premiere “Pajamas and Play” performance of “Jemimah Puddle Duck.”
Donna Gay Anderson, director of Columbia Theatre, explained that “Pajamas and Play” is a fun new series designed to make theater performances especially accessible and appealing for children. Kids are invited to wear their pajamas, robes and slippers to the 60-minute, mid-week performances.
“All children love bedtime stories. That’s what this is – only live!” Anderson said. “We even plan to send the kids home with cookies and chocolate milk. Parents, all you’ll have to do is tuck them in.”
With an earlier, kid-friendly curtain time of 7 p.m., “Jemimah Puddle Duck” features giant puppets that dance and act in a narrated ballet of the beloved Beatrix Potter story with music by William Walton. The acclaimed Hudson Vagabond Puppets, which brought its “Mammoth Dinosaur Follies” to Fanfare in 1996, uses the traditional Japanese Bunraku style of puppetry, becoming mere shadows of the enormous figures they bring to life.
“Jemima Puddle Duck” is about an absent-minded duck, Jemimah, who takes flight on a fine spring day in search of a place to lay her eggs. She meets a handsome foxy-whiskered gentleman who invites to lay her eggs in his shed. Jemimah travels back and forth for many days and nights, laying eggs in the gentleman's hovel.
One day, the foxy-whiskered gentleman suggests that they should have dinner together, and sends her shopping for some herbs and an onion. Little does she know he is planning to have duck soup for dinner! An honest collie discovers her searching for the herbs and finds out all about her story. With the help of two rowdy foxhound puppies they save the day.
Tickets for “Jemimah Puddle Duck” are $8 for children ages 10 and under and $12 for adults. Tickets and information are available at the Columbia Theatre box office, 985-543-4371, noon to 5 p.m. weekdays, or at www.columbiatheatre.org.
The second “Pajamas and Play” performance, scheduled for March 6, is the Gizmo Guys, a juggling comedy duo.
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