ARTS REVIEW: ERIK SANKO'S 'THE FORTUNE TELLER'
A Night of Eerie Puppetry Heralds a New Voice in Theater
A dark night and an old Victorian mansion. A squeaky door opens and the narrator steps out. A lawyer is about to tell us the strange tale of the night when seven men gathered for the reading of a will.
But the lawyer happens to be an alligator, the reader of the will looks like Death himself, and all the characters in this “chilling” tale are dancing on strings in this enormously creative and totally delightful puppet show. These are like no puppets you may have seen. Less reminiscent of Bob Baker and his Marionettes, closer to the wild, amusing macabre of Tim Burton and the sketches of Gorey, these characters play out the ultimate punishment of the “seven deadly sins.”
As each character is “chosen” to get his “fortune” told, strings lift him up and place him in one of the side rooms, where he plays out his fate. The puppets are wonderful: A filthy chef whose gluttony stuffs him to death; a delicious, naked accordionist; a wonderful song and dance man…each of the characters, instead of receiving a benefit from the “will,” simply get a glimpse of their own demise.
The wonder is that the puppeteer himself is a song man, a musician who, for years, kept the puppets as his hobby, until friends, including the composer, Danny Elfman, who joined him in creating the deliciously macabre score, urged him to take the puppets to an audience. The total effect is in the true spirit of All Hallows Eve–the night when the spirits walk abroad the earth.
Watching Sanko’s puppets is much like reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales–scary stories with a bit of warning, yet totally original in their concept and totally entertaining. The Fortune Teller, which played to sold-out audiences in the Freud Theater at UCLA, now moves on to other cities…but keep an eye out for Eric Sanko and his next creation. He is a new voice in theatre—someone to watch.
Erik Sanko's 'The Fortune Teller' next plays at New York's Dorothy B. Williams Theatre from November 28-December 4
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