Phillyist Reviews... The Adventures of a Boy and His Dog on the High Seas

If you go through my archives on Phillyist (I'm at nearly 1000 posts – wow!), you might learn a few things about me: I'm from Texas. I love Mexican food. I overuse em-dashes. And puppets make me entirely too happy. Which is why I agreed to review the latest installment in Mum Puppettheatre's Boy and Dog series, even though I try to keep my children's theatre reviews to a minimum (let's face it: if you're reading Phillyist, you're not a kid).

The Adventures of a Boy and His Dog on the High Seas, much to my delight, is forty-five minutes of unspoken puppety goodness. The plot is simple enough—it has to be, since there is no dialogue in the show—but the puppets are excellently manipulated and absolutely delightful to behold, even if their arms do look a little stumpy. (That, the puppeteers explained, owes solely to the fact that the puppets are traditional hand puppets, and the arms can only be as long as their controllers' fingers.) The action is charming, and the story's resolution had the kids in the audience cheering, which is the best that a performer can hope for.

If you're in Old City with an hour to kill and you're looking for some mindless fun, head over to Mum and enjoy. The kid (and puppet-loving adult) in you will be glad you did.

Image via Mum Puppettheatre.