‘Wayang Esther: A Contemporary Retelling of the Book of Esther’ will feature an exquisite global collection of shadow theater at the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford, in collaboration with the University of Connecticut Puppet Arts Program and Gamelan Son of Lion.

Submitted

The Mandell Jewish Community Center is excited to present a global collaboration of traditions coming together for an extraordinary Purim spectacular of Shadow Theater Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13, 2022.

Under the leadership of Professor Matthew Isaac Cohen, the University of Connecticut’s Puppet Arts program will perform with New York City-based musical ensemble Gamelan Son of Lion the shadow puppet musical “Wayang Esther.”

THE PERFORMANCE

The production of “Wayang Esther,” commissioned by the Mandell JCC, features newly-created puppets based on an illuminated scroll of The Book of Esther that was made in Venice, Italy circa 1740 and is now in the collection of Hebrew Union College (New York City).

The performance combines shadow puppetry in the style of Indonesian wayang kulit, with contemporary shadow projections mixed live and projected on stage to cinematic dimensions.

THE PUPPETS

Ki Joko Susilo, an eighth-generation Indonesian puppet master from New Zealand, designed the puppets, which are based on an 18th century Italian megillah, from a collection at Hebrew Union College. These delicate and ethereal pieces, fabricated in a workshop in Central Java, are made from intricately filigreed buffalo hide and painted in bright colors and gold leaf.

The principal puppeteer, UConn professor Matthew Isaac Cohen, has been studying and performing Indonesian-style shadow puppetry since 1988. Cohen has been awarded royal titles from three of Indonesia’s royal courts for his contribution to the arts of Indonesian puppet theatre.

THE MUSIC

Gamelan Son of Lion is a New York-based composers’ collective, performing with instruments inspired by the gamelan orchestra of Java, Indonesia.

The music, by composer Barbara Benary, is for singers and gamelan, a gong-chine orchestral tradition originating in Indonesia.

THE BOOK OF ESTHER

The Book of Esther recollects the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, a Persian Empire official who plotted to kill all the Jews in the empire around 500 BCE. Recited annually during the holiday of Purim, this celebration is a carnivalesque holiday inviting masquerade, procession, feasting, noise making, and theatre.

EXHIBITION

The shadow puppets will be on display at the Mandell JCC in the Chase Family Gallery, beginning March 1.

Tickets ($20 Adults | Children Free) for the March 12 and March 13 performances are on sale now, www.mandelljcc.org/tix.

The March 12 show, intended for adults and older children, will be followed by a special talkback session with the creative team. The March 13 presentation is for families, including children of all ages, who are encouraged to attend in costume to participate in Mordechai’s Parade. Children and families will also be able to attend a pre-performance workshop at 1 p.m. in which they will learn a Purim-language song arranged from gamelan.

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