Not Quite Kermit...

When I first heard about Fabrik: The Legend of M. Rabinowitz, the puppet drama that will be performed at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Sunday, December 7th, I had never heard anything like it. I grew up on Muppets and though these endearing Henson creations can certainly touch upon serious issues (Sesame Street has tackled everything from death, to pregnancy and childbirth, to AIDS) they are still, like most puppets, aimed primarily at children. While Fabrik is a "puppet show" in the strictest sense, it's not what comes to mind; it's serious theater aimed at ages 12 and up and exmaines the life of a man who faced oppression, anti-Semitism, and death. Not exactly Fraggle Rock material. I did not think I would hear of such a performance any time soon.

So when I saw Monday's New York Times, I was very surprised to read about another drama that utilizes puppets: The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spyes, and About Their Untymelie End While Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining New York (say that three times fast). A cast of 10 live actors, several teddy bears who are manipulated to depict the Rosenbergs’ two young sons and Ethel’s brothers, and two Rosenberg look-alike marionettes in twin electric chairs bring the infamous and still controversial trial and execution to the stage. The show, to quote the Times "is fundamentally about manipulation. Someone is always pulling the strings, whether the actors are real people or puppets."