The Old Man and the Old Moon
Opening Night: September 26, 2014
Closing: October 13, 2014
Theater: New Victory Theater
The endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. elevates traditional storytelling to high art in the fantastical, song-filled play The Old Man and the Old Moon. After nearly a lifetime of tending to the old moon (which leaks its liquid light daily), an old man abandons his post when his wife unexpectedly leaves home. With spirited folk music, inventive theatrical effects and a rollicking array of ever-changing characters, the wunderkinds of PigPen perform a folk-rock fable about light, love and an epic journey to the End of the World.
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September 30, 2014
They number seven, dress in vaguely old-timey outfits, appear in children’s stories and whistle while they work. But the resemblance to Snow White’s companions ends there: PigPen Theatre Co. is a group of unfairly talented, creative and happy Carnegie Mellon drama grads that has grown into a critically acclaimed children’s theater company now residing in Brooklyn. This inspired band of brothers spins a charmingly wholesome and home-spun fib for the 8+ crowd in The Old Man and The Old Moon, which comes to the New Victory after developing through runs at the Gym at Judson and the Williamstown Theater Festival. The story is a modern folk tale explaining why the Earth’s satellite goes through phases rather than remain full (the moon has a leak and requires a regular fill-up of liquid light). But as folk tales do, it also comments on human foibles, observed, in this case, in the moon’s overworked caretaker and his dissatisfied wife. Her wanderlust precipitates a high-seas adventure that draws the caretaker in her wake and leaves the moon high and dry.
READ THE REVIEWSeptember 30, 2014
PigPen Theatre Co.’s The Old Man and the Old Moon is a magical feast for the senses and one of the most creative pieces of theatre since Peter and the Starctacher. Featuring a cast of seven (Alex Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Ryan Melia, Matt Nuernberger, Arya Shahi and Dan Weschler) playing multiple parts and creating an endless array of illusions and a string of theatre magic, the players tell the story of an old man who is responsible for filling the moon until it is full again. One day, his wife goes on an unexpected journey and the story unfolds as the old man is off to get her. It’s a tale of love, adventure, wonder, magic, and folksy enough to tickle the fancy of the hipest of hipsters. Move over, Mumford and Sons.
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September 30, 2014
As New York theatergoers decide which of this season’s shows to see next, they may want break away from Broadway for an evening to take in PigPen Theatre Co.’s The Old Man and The Old Moon, now playing at the New Victory Theater. This extraordinarily imaginative, wonderfully written, beautifully produced staging, which includes lively music performed by seven gifted actors, is a rare example of true theater magic. PigPen Theatre Co. is a band of seven theatrical brothers who began performing together in 2008 as freshmen at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Since then they’ve made names for themselves with their collaboratively written and, with Stuart Carden, directed The Old Man and The Old Moon. While the New Victory specializes in shows for kids, this finely executed production, with its toe-tapping indie-folk music, accomplished puppetry and shadow play, and touching story, is a draw for audiences of all ages.
READ THE REVIEWSeptember 29, 2014
I’m crazy about PigPen and soon you will be too. They’re a great rock band that also happens to put on delightful theatrical shows. Or they’re a great theatrical troupe that also happens to release terrific albums. Take your pick. The guys met at Carnegie Mellon and formed their troupe in 2007. Since then, they’ve been crafting unique and wonderful shows built around folk tales, puppetry of all sorts, great songs and their skill as actors. They play with imagination and flair to create an entire world on stage with the simplest of tools, like a mop head, a milk jug and a bolt of blue cloth. The guys usually play multiple roles in every show, trade off lead vocals and generally have a blast. Seven years on and they’re just hitting their stride. Their debut album Bremen was one of the best of 2012. And they’ve toured the country both as a rock band and with their show The Old Man and The Old Moon. I reviewed it when the show debuted here and it was a delight to see it again because it revealed another skill of this group: they know how to get better. It’s very hard to have perspective with your own work, especially after you’ve shared it with the world.
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September 30, 2014
The shaggiest dog you’ll ever see makes a late entrance in PigPen Theater Company’s enchanted The Old Man and the Old Moon, at the New Victory Theater. It’s a highly companionable creature who resembles (and, in fact, may be) an animated white bath mat. But it isn’t there just to charm us. This bounding, bouncing quadruped serves an important plot function, one that pulls tighter some of the many loose threads that have been hanging from a very wide woof. (You should pardon the term.) This shaggy dog, you see, is both the mascot and embodiment of a great big old shaggy dog story. Like puns, shaggy dog stories — which assemble piles of improbabilities into outlandish towers — are generally regarded as the literary province of childish minds. But the PigPen troupe, a consortium of shaggy young men who met as freshmen at Carnegie Mellon University seven years ago, asks us to appreciate the finer arts of wild storytelling, while speaking to the childish mind in all of us.
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