Theater review: Beauty, wonder trump logic in 'A Prelude to Faust'

REVIEW: Open Eye brings a strong flavor of European puppetry tradition to its new space.

By Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

Last update: October 22, 2007 - 6:11 PM

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A PRELUDE TO FAUST

What: Play by Michael Sommers. With music by Michael Koerner.

When: 7:30 p.m. Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.- Sat. Ends Saturday.

Where: Open Eye Figure Theatre, 506 E. 24th St., Mpls.

Tickets: $12-$15. 612-874-6338.

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"A Prelude to Faust" occupies a central place in Open Eye Figure Theatre's mythology. Commissioned by the Walker Art Center in 1998, "Faust" raised awareness of Michael Sommers' idiosyncratic puppet work and theatrical narrative. Two years later, Sommers brought the work to the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre in New York, and not long after, he and Sue Haas (they are married) formed Open Eye as an actual company.

The work is back now, christening Open Eye's new space in south Minneapolis. Part art installation, part exquisite theater and part whimsy, "Faust" breathes with a distinct old-world atmosphere. Sommers mixes the Faust legend with ancient Biblical tradition and European puppet motifs in a creation centered on questions of choice, temptation and ambition.

In the main story, chipper little Kasper stumbles upon a book of incantations in his master's study and unwittingly conjures a trio of demons eager to supply his every wish -- at a price. After a taste of what these banshees can offer, Kasper decides in favor of his mundane routine with wife, children and home.

Sommers interpolates vignettes -- interior monologues really -- from a dazzling Mephistopheles, a bust of Faust, an Everyman puppet, and a human (Julian McFaul) vexed by existence. As with much of Sommers' work, strict Aristotelian logic is kicked to the curb in favor of imagery and wonder. With a striking lighting pattern by Michael Murnane and a musical accompaniment by a four-person band, the entirety of Open Eye's work exercises all the theatrical muscles. This is not a passive drama to watch coolly, but a show that puzzles -- sometimes to the point of frustration -- and amazes in its evocation of myth.

A word must be said about the space, too. Buttressed by gorgeous wood pillars, the room has a warm patina that makes even the most delicate art very accessible.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299

Graydon Royce • groyce@startribune.com