The Kelsey Theatre will become One Hundred Acre Woods for ‘Winnie the Pooh, the Musical.’
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Do Kermit and Miss Piggy make you laugh? Is Broadway’s Avenue Q on your list of must-see musicals? If so, your whole family will want to see the new puppet-filled production of Winnie the Pooh, the Musical, presented by Maurer Productions OnStage at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre June 1 through 3.
Produced by the same creative team that brought You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and It’s a Wonderful Life to the Kelsey last year, Winnie the Pooh, the Musical brings the timeless characters of A.A. Milne to life. Featuring a team of local actors, the story is performed using Muppet-like hand-and-rod puppets. Presented in the Japanese puppet style of Buraku, both the puppets and the actors operating them are visible on stage resulting in a hybrid performance between the actors and characters. With this traditional technique, audiences will experience the adventures of Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Christopher Robin as they sing and dance their way through the Hundred Acre Wood in this musical retelling of Milne’s classic tales.
Kelsey Theatre Artistic Director Kitty Getlik recommended that producer John Maurer bring Pooh and friends back to the Kelsey stage. As an actor, Mr. Maurer had performed in several productions of Winnie the Pooh over the last 25 years, appearing as both Pooh and Rabbit. But he never had a chance to put his personal stamp on the show as a producer until now.
Jumping at the opportunity to revisit the Hundred Acre Wood and its inhabitants, Mr. Maurer sought a way to make the show fresh and exciting for a new generation of young families. He found his answer on Broadway when he saw Avenue Q, the adult parody of Sesame Street featuring actors out in the open operating hand-and-rod puppets in a hybrid performance.
Inspired by Avenue Q, his affection for Milne’s characters and the creative challenge of it all, Mr. Maurer began scouring book stores and Internet sites for any information he could find about the craft of puppet construction.
Finding both adult and child actors who could not only perform well, but also learn the art of puppetry, was a tall order. This was made even more challenging by Mr. Maurer’s insistence that the show not be pre-cast. As an actor himself, Mr. Maurer continued to insist on conducting open auditions in order to give every interested performer an equal opportunity.
Sometimes Mr. Maurer, with his own puppet in hand, would coach the actors during auditions. He gave director’s notes (especially to child actors) through the puppet, speaking in character and through the motions and gestures of the puppet an educational technique he later employed during rehearsals.
After two days of auditions the show was cast, including Thomas Martella of Bordentown as Christopher Robin, Toni Campbell of Trenton as Pooh, Jean Prall Rosolino of Princeton as Rabbit and Jesse Dublin of Lawrence as Eeyore. To ensure that they had the time and opportunity to pick up their new skill, a full 10-week rehearsal schedule was planned, something not often done in children’s productions. Mr. Maurer also conducted several puppetry clinics with the cast, coaching them in the finer points of the craft and giving them an opportunity to develop their characters and newfound skill.
In more than 30 years as an actor, director, producer, set designer and effects wizard, Mr. Maurer has built a reputation for staging stories of humor, excitement and human drama. With Winnie the Pooh, the Musical he shows he can deliver stories of child-like wonder and warmth as well.
Winnie the Pooh, the Musical will be performed at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, June 1-3. Performances: Fri. 7 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 2, 4 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $7 seniors/children; (609) 570-3333; www.kelseytheatre.net