The Old Man and The Old Moon
Reviewed by Lara J. Altunian
PigPen Theatre Co.
Through March 17
RECOMMENDED
Theater’s origins are found in live portrayals of folktales, the cornerstones of storytelling. By providing explanations for everyday occurrences, real-life performances bring crowds together through shared human curiosity. Harnessing that old world magic, PigPen Theatre Co. has combined their talent for performing indie-folk music with narrative tools like shadow puppetry to forge a fun myth about the phases of the moon, transforming their silly yarn into a love letter to traditional theater.
The story begins with narrator Matt Nuernberger proposing an interesting notion: once upon a time the moon used to be full every single night. He explains that there is a leak inside of it that causes the light to pour out like water and drip into a bucket. Long ago, a nameless old man (Ryan Melia) was tasked with gathering it and filling the moon back up every evening. He had been performing the same job for so many years, he couldn’t remember how or when he got started. Additionally, a conversation with his wife (Alex Falberg) after work one day reveals that neither of them recall how they met. The old man is content with his life, but the old woman insists on wanting more, primarily an answer to the origin of a familiar six-note tune she has recently become obsessed with humming around the house.
Her curiosity left unsatisfied, she leaves the old man in the middle of the night, sailing away toward a nearby town, then to the ends of the earth in order to follow the sound, find its source, and get explanations to the many questions gnawing at the back of her mind. Once he realizes she’s gone, the old man faces his fear of the water, impersonates a war hero, navigates a crew and tumbles into a continuous slew of traps and surprises that simultaneously take him farther away from and bring him closer to his goal of reuniting with his wife.
As a company, PigPen’s main appeal is their music. The band excels in masterfully playing multiple instruments, including piano, snare drum, guitars, banjos, and even accordion, which gives an old-timey feel to their indie-folk brand reminiscent of Mumford & Sons. Their storytelling and singing style is tinged with a Gaelic flavor that sweetens their tune, making it even more resonant of an old fable. Though the music is a constant motif, it never fully takes over the tale or transforms it into an unwarranted musical. Instead, a few feature songs are peppered throughout the production and the rest remains a subtle soundtrack, either amping the drama or lightening the story with humorous sound effects, thanks in part to Mikhail Fiskel and Ben Truppin-Brown’s sound design.
Other than the old man who remains a staple throughout every scene in the show, the rest of the seven band members (Nuernberger, Falberg, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Arya Shari, and Dan Weschler) consistently enter and exit the stage, as they take turns playing different roles alongside their instruments. Their movement creates a comfortable ebb and flow, which is both fascinating to watch and carries the story forward without skipping a beat or causing confusion. Everything has been beautifully coordinated to a tee thanks to Stuart Carden’s co-direction with PigPen.
During the moments in between acting and playing, the band creates props with their bodies, moves in slow motion, and manipulates Bart Cortright’s lighting design in order to create shadow puppets that add an extra narrative layer to the show. With this device, they are able to relay flashbacks and better convey their sentimental theme of memory.
Lydia Fine’s sets, props, puppets, and costumes provide the cast with the skeleton that holds their body of work in place, allowing their transitions to be quick and smooth, and fully bringing their style of storytelling to life.
Overall, the experience is one-of-a-kind and can be enjoyed by people of all ages, especially fans of retro theater. Their artistic portrayal elevates the clever and touching conclusion beyond the sum of the story’s parts, altogether creating a memorable new folktale not soon to be forgotten.
Bram Goldsmith Theater at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; Wed.-Sat., 7:30 pm.; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Mar. 17. (310) 746-4000 or https://www.thewallis.org/OldMan. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
