Hello!

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT) invites you to review its new production of "The White Doe, or The Piteous Trybulations of the Sufferyng Countess Jenovéfa." Performances are  August 8 to 18 at Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd St.  The schedule is Wednesdays-Fridays at 8:00 PM and Saturdays at 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.  The running time is 70 minutes.  Critics are invited on or after August 8.

In 18th century Europe, the only theatrical productions available in small towns and villages were shows performed by itinerant puppeteers.  These plays were a whimsical mixture "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," heroic legends, and rudimentary pre-Shakespearean tragedies.  "The White Doe" was among the top hits of the Czech marionette repertoire. It is a tale of a diabolical steward named Golo, who schemes to steal the wife of his lord, Count Sylkfrid, but is undone by the testimony of a ghost and by a white doe who reunites the couple on a hunting trip.  Adapted and directed by Vít Horejs, it has not been seen in New York since 2001, when it was called "downright hilarious. An indescribable experience" by Matthew Murray in Talkin' Broadway. Puppetry Journal wrote, "Vít Horejs threatens to become Cecile B. DeMille of puppeteers."  

The production is intended for audiences age 6 to 106.  Its The six acts are bracketed by Czech folk songs with arrangement and vocals by Elise Morris.

The cast includes a handful of century-old marionettes, but most of the puppets were designed for the play by Jakub "Kuba" Krejcí, a noted contemporary Prague-based puppet carver who frequently collaborates with Vit Horejs.  Krejcí designs and carves marionettes in both traditional and modern styles and his marionettes range in size from eight to over eighty inches. The "puppet cast" of this production can be seen on the CAMT website, wwwczechmarionettes.org.

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (www.czechmarionettes.org) was founded in 1990 in New York City when Vít Horejš and Jan Unger, two Czech-born puppeteers, found and put to work two dozen antique marionettes that had "slept" for fifty years in an attic at Jan Hus Church on East 74th Street. With them, Horejš created "Faust," one of his most enduring plays, and 20 more original works of puppet theater and dance, including innovative re-interpretations of classics, and assembled a company of actors, dancers and puppeteers that has performed his works in venues all over NYC including La MaMa E.T.C., Theater for the New City, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, NY Public Library and World Financial Center.  You are probably familiar with their hit revival of "Golem," with music by Frank London, that was presented at La MaMa last fall. Vít Horejs has received a NYFA 2012 fellowship in Folk/Traditional Arts.

For complete info on "The White Doe...," see: http://www.jsnyc.com/season/white_doe.htm.  Hi-rez photos are available for download at http://picasaweb.google.com/jslaff/Jsnyc.

We look forward to seeing you at "The White Doe."

Best wishes,

Jonathan Slaff, Press Representative

(212) 924-0496

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