Acton Says: Heroes and Vaudevillians at Puppet Parlor 2025 – front mezz junkies, Theater News

The Acton NY Theatre Review: Dream Music Puppetry Program’s 26th Annual Puppet Parlor

by Acton

Basil Twist opened a festive and frisky sack of holiday cheer with Dream Music Puppetry Program’s 26th Annual Puppet Parlor (director Basil Twist) at HERE, presenting a fascinating variety of artists and modes of puppetry, from larger-than-life sex demons to invisible electromagnetic fields. The puckish tone of the evening was set by pianist Jono Mainelli and Cornelius Loy on theremin, playing off each other with a witty combination of classic melodies and searching, alien tones.

The tension between vaudevillian puppet entertainment and more exploratory work is woven throughout the program, which began with a Muppet-like character’s fear of barely heard noises coming from outside his shower. Tau Bennett’s kooky, compellingly rhythmic piece has just enough uncanny strangeness to make you reach for the nearest rubber duckie.

Next up was Joey Arias, the legendary cabaret performer of the smooth Lady in Satin ponytail and textured Lady in Satin voice, commanding the stage and matching Loy’s theremin with her own whistle register. Arias would return later in an excerpt from Arias with a Twist, taking us on an interdimensional trip to hell and back, bringing with her a pair of chaotic, juiced-up, and anatomically blessed incubi. We love to see it.

Other highlights of the night included Maria Camia’s third-eye-opening hypnotherapy demonstration, in which she played several ingeniously designed characters at once, unclogging the emotional congestion of an animated patient who reminded me of a giant version of the Operation board game. Jonothon Lyons focused our attention on a tiny stage to create an intimate, sexy performance from his marionette crooner. The performance that has stuck with me the most is ventriloquist Sophie Becker’s wonderfully odd act, which begins with a very funny Botox bit and continues with her dummy Ronnie, a Dimes Square drunk who looks like Charlie McCarthy’s platinum-blonde great-granddaughter. It’s a delightfully confounding swirl of irony and anti-irony, and I want to share a martini with Ronnie (not that she’s big on sharing).

Parlor concluded with an effortlessly polished ballet performed by Twist through a simple and elegant marionette, as stage snow gently fell. It was a satisfying end to an intriguing program of weird and playful artistry.