by Tom Boudrot

‘The Old Man and The Old Moon’ – By PigPen Theater; Director: Julia Deter; Music Director: Matthew Stern; Lighting Design: Ben Rush; Sound Design: James Cannon; Scenic Design: Baron E. Pugh; Costume Design: Brian Simons; Puppet Master: Veronica Barron. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow Street, Concord through Dec.5th.

As I watched The Old Man and the Old Moon I thought to myself, who wouldn’t want to see this mashup of so many of the really fun ideas in fiction and storytelling? The authors pull together some of our most beloved and entertaining concepts into one crazy quilt show that reaches far and wide. The hand of the Brothers Grimm can be felt as well as influences from such varied sources as JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, Homer’s Odyssey, and the stories of Oz and the Bible. There is such a wide range of sources to this work that it makes perfect sense to learn that the content of this stage performance was not created by one author or one musician but by PigPen Theater, a group that started as freshmen drama students at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2007. They have since gone on to create works that have garnered awards and critic’s choice raves. It feels like everyone in PigPen Theater company got to contribute to The Old Man and the Old Moon. Where else can one find laughter, music, sea battles, puppetry, hot-air balloons, mythical cities of light, apocalyptic upheaval, ghosts, love’s devotion, mistaken identity… and a dog that catches fish on command, all in one story?

Read more “Music, Comedy and Epic Fables Create Unique Experience in “The Old Man and The Old Moon” at Umbrella Stage”