Visually “…based on Tales from the Crypt, Dante’s Inferno, and old Silly Symphonies cartoons,” Dead As a Dodo is a marvelously executed theatrical fantasy. Those not ordinarily fans of the genre shouldn’t hesitate because its apparent actors are puppets. The sweeping story of friendship, survival against forces of evil and wish for immortality is touching, harrowing, and humorous.
Dodo and Boy (Photo by Richard Termine)
There’s nothing alive on earth’s surface. (We killed it all.) The Underworld glitters. Descending arched caves hang with stalactites and moss. Boy and his boon companion Dodo, both articulated skeletons, are digging for bones. They strive to complete themselves hoping for revival instead of disappearance. The human has one arm, one leg and speaks; the bird is naked of feathers communicating with expressive trill.
When Dodo unearths a loose relic, his friend attaches it (great sound effects) creating an ersatz second leg, shorter and without a foot, but practicable. “Though I’m missing an arm and my ribs are all broken, still I have to take heart,” Boy sings blowing into bottles, creating music. Dodo plays washboard. His long neck and legs manifest appealingly quirky glee.
The Bone King (Photo by David Zadig)
Just when hope is restored, The Bone King’s violent, bratty daughter fights for the bone- and wins. Her father, a full, crowned skeleton, must collect to survive. “All the bones in the field are mine/You can try to take them if you have the spine…” A gritty, resonant song arrives infectious calypso. The King plays electric guitar, his daughter drums on skulls. Bone projections dance.
Boy despairs. Waved white silk = magic, manifests the missing leg, ostensibly invisible but again, practicable. Dodo suddenly grows a few feathers. Captured, their two heads emerge from stocks. The King is shocked at Dodo’s impossible indication of rebirth, signs of his waning power. He plans to throw the bird into River Styx. The friends flee and take refuge on a rock in the turbulent waves (bolts of evocatively lit, undulating cloth traverse the entire stage).
Boy with Devils and Giant Fish (Photo by David Zadig)
Charon appears as a gondolier, singing in Italian. A giant fish swallows our heroes. “No swimming!” Charon declares aiding the fugitives. With The Bone King in hot pursuit, Boy and Dodo must bargain with devils, escape a voiceless blob with purple appendages that absorbs them, and figure out how to rise/return to life. There are squat, lantern-like, anthropomorphic creatures with cut-out facial windows, an enormous mastodon, and a solo fox pilot.
Refreshed Dodo and Boy (Photo by Richard Termine)
Dodo grows flesh and wings. She has a future. As does earth. The Boy does not. His journey continues, however, until a poignant goodbye.
None of this is cloying or treacly. It’s dark, timely, and entertaining. Lighting and Set are inspired. Puppeteers move like a single organism or separately, almost unseen, in the ink dark.
Opening Photo: Boy, Dodo and Charon by David Zadig
Dead as a Dodo is part of the 20th anniversary Under the Radar Festival, a citywide event taking place January 4-19, 2025. More information can be found at www.utrfest.org.
Wakka Wakka presents
Dead As a Dodo
Written and directed by Gwendolyn Warnock and Kirjan Waage with help from the ensemble: Alexandra Bråss, Lei Lei Bavoil, Dorothy James, Andy Manjuck, Hanna Magrete Muir, Sigurd Rosenberg, Peter Russo, Marie Skogvang-Stork, Anna Soland, Kirjan Waage, and Olivia Zerphy.
Baruch PAC, located at 55 Lexington Ave in Manhattan
Through February 9, 2025
