This Month's Title Photo

This month's title photo is by Onno de Jong and is from an innovative "larger than life" family-friendly production, A Wonderfully Flat Thing, based on Mark Twain's short story, "A Fable," a magical journey of self-discovery told with puppets, dance, and music.

"The play's message is incredibly fun and relevant today on many levels,"”says artistic director Manju Shandler, who previously created masks and puppetry for The Lion King on Broadway. “"For kids, it is an entertaining riddle, a romp on stage with surprising puppets - an ostrich, a snake, a donkey, a house cat and an elephant prince! For adults, it's a piece about self reflection and how we interpret technology. The focus of the play is encompassed by Twain's moral: ‘You can find in a text whatever you bring, if you stand between it and the mirror of your imagination."



A Wonderfully Flat Thing

Join Mark Twain and his animal friends on a fun journey of self-discovery and magic. With puppets, dance, music, and interactive video projections, kids ages 3 & up will be delighted by this visual feast. Based on Mark Twain’s short story, A Fable, our talented cast discovers a mysterious “flat thing,” a mirror, and each sees something different. Is it magic? Only Mark Twain has the answer! A Wonderfully Flat Thing is an innovative children’s theater production your kids will love!

A Wonderfully Flat Thing is one of the first productions to be mounted in The 14th Street Y’s newly renovated LABA Theatre. It is the result of a collaboration between artist fellows from the 14th Street Y’s LABA: The National Laboratory for New Jewish Culture.

A Wonderfully Flat Thing
Based on A Fable by Mark Twain
Created by Manju Shandler & Basmat Hazan
Directed by David Winitsky*
Choreography by Jesse Zaritt
Script Adapted for the Stage by Valerie Work, Manju Shandler, & Basmat Hazan
Multimedia & Lighting Design by David Tirosh
Original Music by Tamar Muskal
Puppet & Set Design by Manju Shandler
With additional lyrics by Stephen Hazan Arnoff

Artistic Director: Manju Shandler
Producing Director: Becky Skoff
Music arrangement and production by Milica Paranosic

Cast:
Mark Twain/Donkey: Jake Goodman
Cat: Emily Hartford
Elephant: Shawn Shafner
Snake: Sarah Painter
Ostrich: Sarae Garcia

A WONDERFULLY FLAT THING plays the following schedule:

Saturday, 12/18 11:30AM (Preview)
Sunday, 12/19 11:30AM & 2:30PM (Preview)
Saturday, 1/8 11:30AM, 2:30PM & 5:00PM
Sunday, 1/9 2:30PM & 5:00PM
Saturday, 1/15 11:30AM, 2:30PM & 5:00PM
Sunday, 1/16 11:30AM & 2:30PM