Thistle Theatre presents:
Hanako and the Cherry Tree
Puppets tell Bizarre Tale from Japan!
Mr. Yama, a wealthy miser, meets a young girl who has climbed his cherry tree to retrieve her kite. Unwilling to share any of the tree's bounty, Mr. Yama accidentally swallows a cherry pit and a tree grows out of his head! A bizarre series of events follow including encounters with mythical Japanese creatures including a Tengu (mountain goblin), an Oni (ogre) and a serpent! Humor, danger and excitement fill this tall-tale told with Bunraku, shadow and blacklight puppets.
Thistle Theatre is the only performing arts organization in the Pacific Northwest that specializes in Bunraku puppets, an ancient Japanese style of puppetry. The puppeteers, dressed head-to-toe in black to suggest invisibility, operate all of the character’s limbs by hand from behind. Amy Escobar, Zane Exactly, Andre Nelson and Gina Wilhelm are the puppeteers in the production directed by Jean Enticknap with music by Michael Flint.
Performance Schedule and Ticket Information:
Sunset Hill Community Club, Seattle
March 4, 5 (1:00PM & 3:00PM)
BYT – Crossroads Theatre, Bellevue
March 11, 12 (2:00PM & 4:00PM)
Magnuson Park Theatre, Seattle
March 18, 19 (1:00PM & 3:00PM)
