Friday, May 6, 2011
Theater / Media Brooklyn Paper Devotes 600 Words To Fervent Critique of Local Puppet Show
Posted by Henry Stewart on Fri, May 6, 2011 at 1:59 PM
![The Golden Age [of puppetry] is dead, Dooley writes. The thought first occurred to me midway through the first act of Puppetworks' disastrous production of The Wizard of Oz.](http://www.thelmagazine.com/images/blogimages/2011/05/06/1304695687-wizardofoz.jpg "The Golden Age [of puppetry] is dead, Dooley writes. The thought first occurred to me midway through the first act of Puppetworks' disastrous production of The Wizard of Oz.")
Tossing around variations on words like "disaster," "inelegant," and "disappointment," Dooley goes on to complain that the production does not feature any of his favorite songs from MGM's film. "Instead," he writes, "these [songs] and others are replaced by tawdry knock-offs."
Dooley anticipates criticism of his tone, and preemptively defends himself:
As the nation’s foremost critic of puppetry and mime, I feel unto a marionette on a string myself, forced (sometimes against my will) to play the same role in every review: “It’s puppetry, Dooley,” the editor will say. “Give it a rave and let’s move on. The kids won’t notice anyway.”But I cannot remain silent when the proud, ancient art form to which I have dedicated my life is treated like a Medicaid mill.
Similarly, I cannot remain silent when bullies use platforms like a widely read local paper to pick on a children's puppet theater in unmerited flourishes of caviling prose. Reached for comment, Brooklyn Paper editor Gersh Kuntzman responded thusly:
Comment? The story speaks for itself. Dooley is a columnist with a valid opinion. He has been to many many shows at Puppetworks and has written many raves, mild criticism, and attacks.
He is a valued member of our staff. We are, I believe, the only newspaper with a dedicated puppetry, mime and kids music reviewer. That is something to be praised, not attacked.
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