The internationally acclaimed Cashore Marionettes will kick off the 2015-2016 Kent State University at Tuscarawas Performing Arts Center schedule at 2 p.m. on Sept. 12. Unmatched in artistry, grace and refinement of movement, the Cashore Marionettes redefine the art of puppetry. The performance combines virtuoso manipulation, humor and classical music. It is a show that will certainly delight the whole family.
Tickets for The Cashore Marionettes are $18 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office, online at www.kent.edu/tusc/pac or by calling 330-308-6400. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free parking is available for all shows.
The moving and humorous performances of The Cashore Marionettes have astounded audiences in Europe, the Far East and across North America, including stops at the Kennedy Center, Annenberg Center, Kravis Center and many others. The program, Simple Gifts, is a series of touching portrayals and poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by such composers as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, beautiful music, theatrical illusion and artistic insight, the original vignettes presented in Simple Gifts provide an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human. The performance explores a range of emotions with characters and actions that are amazingly convincing.
The marionettes are engineering marvels and the quality of movement is extraordinary. Cashore has received numerous awards for his artistry including a Pew Fellowship for Performance Art, based upon his artistic accomplishment; a Henson Foundation Grant, an award intended to help promote puppetry to adult audiences; and a Citation of Excellence from the UNIMA-USA, the highest honor an American puppeteer can receive. The Cashore Marionettes are so well conceived and projected, the movement so convincing, the illusion so powerful, that the result is a compelling and unforgettable theatrical experience.