JACK
presented by Eric Van Wyk
Showtimes
Tue., Aug. 5 @ 10:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 6 @ 5:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 4:00 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 2:30 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 10 @ 5:30 p.m.
Show details
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Duration: 60 minutes
For ages 7+
Created by Eric Van Wyk
Website: www.vanwykdesign.org
Genres: Solo, Puppetry, Drama
Overall rating
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User reviews
Don't know Jack? See this show!
by Chuck Beeson Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I was trying desperately to get into "An Inconvenient Squirrel" at the Rarig and as 2:20 approached, I could see by the lines I'd never get in. A helpful volunteer gave me a schedule and another volunteer guided me to the Mixed Blood and I got in just in time to see "Jack", a puppet-show version of the Jack in the Bean Stalk fairytale. The show was done behind a booth arched with tin can lighting, a scolling backdrop that changed with the scenes, and use of not only puppets but Erik Van Wyk, the puppeteer as THE GIANT. This play is obsessed with eating, as we see the first two puppet characters self-sacrificed and dumped in front of the stage. Jack is hungry. He attempts to eat something that rises as a puppet and says" You can't eat me, I'm your Aunt Florida". The puppeteer establishes to kids in the audience not to "eat those you love" because they are attached to you, as Jack and the Giant (both very hungry I might add) both learn later in the play.
The background scenery scrolls up from a seascape to a city where Jack takes his buddy Milky White the Cow in an attempt to sell the cow for money for food, or food itself. The scene becomes a cityscape and two skyscrapers are set on the stage, full of beans, of which wont feed Jack. Poor Jack passes out destitute and hungry in the city. A giant globe puppet filled with light rises above the stage and attempts to wake poor Jack up as well as giving the stage height and depth. A raven puppet appears with a flowing sheer purple fabric attached to it giving it a sense of flight.
The story is not wordy, its action oriented, sticks to the original tale for the most part, and even if you brought kids and they didnât happen to know the story, Mom & Dad could field all their questions and have a fun time explaining it on the ride home. Erik Van Wykâs story is funny, in your face (watch the front row seating, you might get hit with something) and if you think a puppet show is not real theater, you donât know Jack!
One more show kids, 5:30PM at The Mixed Blood, better come see it!
Nice Puppets
by Rex Winsome Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Lovingly told puppet version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Dreamy and langorous, visually wonderful, but the meta-theatre realization at the end leaves the peice with no where more to go.
Good puppetry, not very interesting stor
by August Berkshire Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The puppetry craft was very good. However, the slight alterations to the story really didn't add anything and I didn't get the apparently "significant" ending. Younger kids might find it entertaining. I'd give it 4 kitties for the puppetry and 2 kitties for the story. So, overall, 3 kitties.
Puppets Good, Story Bad
by Erica Mauter Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The puppets were really cool. He had several different types so it wasn't just different characters, it was puppets with truly different aesthetics which made for good variety. Some of the puppetry techniques and production elements were pretty cool, like how he portrayed the passage of time with the moon rise and how he portrayed traveling with the scrolling backdrop and how he portrayed the growing of the bean stalk. In some cases, the execution wasn't entirely polished.
The actual story itself was totally meh. I think an 8-year-old would enjoy it quite a bit. As much as I enjoyed it visually, I found myself ready for it to be over, or at least pick up the pace, about halfway through and I really didn't get the ending.
My Opinion
by Katrina Perez Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Hello, just to let you know right away, this review was written by an twelve year old girl. Ok, now that that is done, onto my review of Jack. I have to say that I am a hard critic and a perfectionist so I judge these shows hard. Overall it was an ok show but I just think he put too much on his plate. The beginning was entertaining but it got kind of boring through the middle. He did not make the characters come alive as I thought he would. But overall it was pretty good and if he got a bit more puppeteering practice in between shows then I think a lot more people would see the show. But you don't have to take my word for it.
