Paperhand Puppet Intervention's Earth and Sky Features a Plethora of New Giant Puppets

This review was published by Triangle Review on 18 August 2024.

The Paperhand Puppet Intervention’s performance of Earth and Sky at the historic, outdoor Forest Theater in Chapel Hill is a night to remember—if only to see this year’s plethora of new giant puppets in action.

The show opens with a reverberative soliloquy from Durham native Baba McDaniel Roberts, dance teacher and artistic director of both The Harambee Collective and the African American Dance Ensemble. As he speaks about the Life that is all around us, human-sized animals parade down the aisles, not unlike a Broadway production of The Lion King. Human-sized or larger owls, flamingos, herons, geese, all make their way to center stage, where everyone dances with an intermittently appearing Pan-like character. Another Pan creature appears and dances with life-sized grey-and-white wolves. They are joined by twice-as-tall deer (puppeteers on stilts); a stunning, human-sized opossum; a giant brown bear; a small raccoon; and tall, long-armed, blue-faced monkeys -- all of the puppets exhibiting the magical detail of a Broadway production.

Everything is set to live music, provided by musicians in the left front-corner rows of the amphitheater. Daniel Chambo, Robert Cantrell, Jason Peter Gabriel, Bakru Hunsel, Paula Peroutka, and Will Ridenour provide seamless, flute-punctuated, bluegrass-style musical accompaniment throughout the production. And the sound had not a glitch, thanks to music production company Synergen Enterprises: Charles Jones, Morgan Russell, Dave Stephens, and Karoline Stephens.

The giant Bear (voiced by McDaniel Roberts) and the giant Raven (voiced by Donovan Zimmerman) explain that all the animals have gathered together to decide their future.

A beautiful bat, mole, mouse, and rabbit appear, representing the smaller mammals. Everyone dances in a robust drum circle ending with the message, "Just Be. Not because we are something specific, but just because we are."

A blue spiral parachute representing water appears and evolves into an expansive puppet with a large, serene face, representing the purification of water by evaporation and precipitation. Vivid giant fish appear.

More new puppets arrive in succession. Brown toads, green frogs, bunches of grass, and giant helicopter seeds dance in prelude to the arrival of an enchanting Earth spirit, its large, kind face atop expansive green tapestry. At the ends of its outstretched arms, which span 4/5 of the stage, are azalea-like flowers on stilts. "All who walk or fly are made of grass," proclaims the narrator.

Another beguiling spirit puppet arrives, its compassionate face crowned by three giant, white lilies that shine like Easter. The tapestry of its body is embroidered with roots and dirt, and its outstretched arms are each capped with a curled fiddler fern on stilts. The audience is asked to take three deep breaths, breathing in "the wisdom of the light eaters."

Next come insects -- a bee, grasshopper, butterfly, crickets, giant stag beetle -- and a snail -- the "pollinators of plants and fields" and "harvesters of the soil." Roly-poly pill bugs spin on stage, joined by cicadas and other underground inhabitants "You are not alone," says the narrator.

What follows is the only song with melodic lyrics, reminding the audience that "Everything's made out of something; and something's made out of that.... Someday you'll be something else too."

The fungi appear, as colorful and eye-catching as they are in real life. "We do not understand the notion of severance," they say.

Another woodland spirit appears, its face wrinkled and compassionate. The giant tips of the giant fingers on its giant hands glow like movie-director Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extraterrestrial. "Water's Moving Us... Let go the Individual, and let rise the collective," preach the narrators.

The animals speak in turn about how they are like humans. Then puppets made of plastic products roll around on stage. "We are your children," they say. "When you're done with us, you discard us... but we will be here longer than you."

Then all the puppets parade back up the aisles, greeting and high-fiving audience members as they depart.

In a sort-of second act, a screen illuminates at center stage, casting an exquisite shadow puppet show that reiterates the production's message. The shadow puppet show lasts 10 or 15 minutes, during which the crowded amphitheater becomes less crowded, as particularly attendees with young children begin to depart.

It is worth going to the Paperhand Puppet Intervention's performance of Earth and Sky just to see their new giant puppets in the Forest Theatre's bewitching arboreal setting. Arriving 30 minutes before showtime gets you the best seating and treats you to an audience-interactive, preshow concert by the charismatic, six-member band. Bring cushions and a picnic, so you can fill your bellies before you fill your souls.

Note to the Directors: Though Earth and Skyis billed as thePaperhand Puppet Intervention's "24th Annual Summer Pageant," my family and I missed the entertaining plot lines of Paperhand's past 23 shows. The narration this year is more akin to preaching than storytelling, which can make the performance long and somewhat repetitive. But this should not stop prospective theatergoers from attending a show. The outdoor pageant, alone, is worth the ticket price.

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