Award-winning Mum Puppettheatre announces its 2007-2008 season, “a season of special effects,” which features three shows in its adult series two shows created for family enjoyment, and two special presentations in response to audience demand Literary classics from France, Britain and Russia comprise Mum’s 2007/08 adult series, giving life to – with Mum’s trademark poignancy – a variety of human responses to some of the larger issues of our time. George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita address a number of important issues in these politically charged times, including fascism, socialism and communism.

“Puppets have revealed political truths for centuries, saying things humans dared not say,” explains Robert Smythe, the company’s Artistic Director. “So, we’re presenting a number of ‘isms’ this year at Mum but we’re putting a human face on them by using puppetry. Puppets bring us face-to-face with our own humanity in ways that human actors can’t. This season we mix human actors with puppets as we often do, in order to make a point in an enjoyable and mesmerizing way. Amazingly, no matter what Punch said about any political regime, his puppeteer never got punished. But even this freedom of speech was curtailed during the Second World War.”

Mum’s 2007-08 season features more than political intrigue, with the return of two audience favorites, A Christmas Carol and The Fantoccini Brothers Return. Universally lauded by every critic in Philadelphia, Mum’s production of the seasonal classic A Christmas Carol features plenty of chills and laughs as just two actors cause us to see this story of hope and redemption with new eyes. The Fantoccini Brothers Return was the surprise hit of last season, tracing the naughty, bawdy and hilarious history of puppetry over the past century. Running as part of the 2007 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, The Fantoccini Brothers is not only a great introduction to Mum Puppettheatre’s world famous artistry, it is a remarkable cap-off to an evening of Fringe Festival shows.

Mum’s Family Series offers two magical productions for families this season. Running from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve is The Velveteen Rabbit, a wordless adaptation of the children’s classic book that has become a Philadelphia family tradition second only to The Nutcracker! Mum uses shadows, masks and puppets of all kinds to tell the story of the toy rabbit whose only wish is to be real, Later on in the season Mum will take families on a wild tour of American history in The Adventures of a Boy and His Dog in ye Olde Philadelphia. Set in Old Philadelphia, just like Mum’s theater itself, this newest entry in Mum’s a Boy and His Dog series weaves together original music with Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin, the Declaration of Independence and what freedom means in our daily lives.

Mum Puppettheatre’s 2007-08 season of seven shows promises to do even more of what Mum has always done: given audiences plenty to wonder, laugh and think about, Subscription tickets are available until October 15.

2007/08 Adult Series Productions

The Fantoccini Brothers Return (Philly Fringe Festival)
August 31 – September 9, 2007
Directed by Robert Smythe
The surprise hit of 2007 returns, this time to the Philly Fringe Festival… where the Fantoccini Brothers are right at home! The Fantoccini Brothers (two men and a woman) present a naughty, bawdy and hilarious puppet cabaret that takes your imagination where your mother never let you go. “Surprise and enchantment is what makes this production so much fun” (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/2/07).

Rhinoceros
By Eugene Ionesco
October 17 – 27, 2007
Directed by Robert Smythe
There is strength in numbers, so when the population of a small town starts turning into a stampeding herd of rhinoceroses, everyone wants to get involved with a movement that is bigger than themselves. The town loser, an unlikely hero, tries to stand his ground against the inescapable, thundering herd even as all his friends long to join.

A Christmas Carol
Adapted by Bruce Graham from the novel by Charles Dickens
November 30 – December 30, 2007
The critics call Mum’s A Christmas Carol a production “for the ages that deserves to become an annual event.” And now, it is! For the second year in a row, Mum continues the English tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, for a performance that is as poignant as it is chilling.

The Master and Margarita
Adapted from the book by Mikhail Bulgakov
February 13 – 23, 2008
Directed by Adrienne Mackey
The devil himself visits 20th century Moscow, exposing good and evil, innocence and guilt, courage and cowardice. Banned in the Soviet Union for its scathing indictment of a literal-minded bureaucracy, this contemporary Russian classic demands to know: how much will we trade for our heart’s desire? Directed by Adrienne Mackey, whose The Joe Hill Project was a major hit of the 2006 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Animal Farm
Adapted by Andrew Periale from the novel by George Orwell
April 23 – May 3, 2008
Directed by Robert Smythe
When the animals on Manor Farm overthrow their owner, they proudly work for no one but themselves. Celebration quickly turns to paranoia as the founders of Animalism learn that while all animals are created equal, some are more equal than others. Adapted by Andrew Periale, whose translation and adaptation of Mum’s The Visit was on every Top Ten List in 2004. Animal Farm is the result of a two-year long development project made possible in part by a grant from the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by Drexel University.

2007/08 Family Series Productions

The Velveteen Rabbit
From the book by Margery Williams
November 23 – December 30, 2007
Directed by Robert Smythe
A plush rabbit discovers there is more to life than the nursery and almost too late, what it means to be alive. With shadows, Puppets, and masked actors, and without speaking a word, Mum’s beloved holiday tradition creates an experience for families to remember together for a long time.

The Adventures of a Boy and His Dog in ye Olde Philadelphia
Written and directed by Robert Smythe
May 28 – June 15, 2008
Mum’s favorite heroes are back, this time in colonial Philadelphia, where they get caught up in the course of human events. In pursuit of happiness, they struggle for freedom against the English (bulldog). With aid from the French (poodle) and Betsy Ross’s cat, they help get the Declaration of Independence signed jus tin time for July 4th.

TICKET INFORMATION
2007/08 season single tickets and subscriptions are now available. Mum subscribers have a variety of benefits, including huge savings, complete flexibility on ticket exchanges and a free “It’s My Treat” pass, a gift certificate given to each subscriber to share with a friend to any Mum production.

To purchase either, call Mum at 215.925.7685 or visit us online: www.mumpuppet.org.

Mum Puppettheatre, located at 115 Arch Street in the Old City district of Philadelphia, creates art that moves. The company has toured all over the world, won 13 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, and was voted Best Theater in Philadelphia Weekly (2004), and Best Local Theatre Company in the City Paper’s Readers Choice Awards, (2004).