Fresh homemade theater good for the soul

Thoughtful dissent has seldom looked or smelled as good as the heaping helping
served up by the Bread & Puppet Theater at Monroe Park on Sunday.

The oldest self-supported nonprofit theater in the country, Bread & Puppet
is bringing its righteous message to Richmond, and from the looks of things,
the theater was well received.

“Whenever a government becomes destructive, the people have the right to alter
or abolish that government,” read a train of performers dressed as mules.

That was the moral delivered in Bread & Puppet’s most recent performance,
“The Divine Reality Comedy Circus.”

With its colorful hand-painted banners supported by a converted school bus
as a backdrop, the performers donned an array of creative and colorful costumes
to help get the message across to even the youngest of ears.

Truly a collaborative gem, the 21 performers brought smiles and maybe some
unsettling criticisms to the ears of spectators.

In one scene, a giant tap offered water to a thirsty person, who was then
confronted by several representatives of corporate America trying to sell her
bottled water. The tap then proceeded to explain the steps it took to make such
conveniences a reality.

“Invade three countries, make the plastic, import the water from Switzerland
.” the tap said.

Other thought-provoking questions spawned ideas for sketches, such as “the
death of the family farmer,” which involved a nicely arranged Wagnerian piece
performed by sheep, turkeys and a cow.

The music, while at times lacking in rhythm and intonation, lent itself
perfectly to the spit-and-glue style of the company. Among the traditional
styles chosen to accompany the sketches were jazz, polkas, gypsy music and
New Orleans street beat.

Among my favorites was a demonstration of different types of war, from
civil to biological to reactive, which eventually resulted in all the performers
falling over dead.

Following the show, the company gave out fresh-baked, sliced bread topped
with a spicy Aioli sauce to all in attendance.

The company has another performance on Oct. 31. It will be joining forces
with various Richmond groups for the second annual Halloween Parade starting
at 7 p.m. in Monroe Park.