BWW Interviews & Reviews: WAR HORSE Visits Minneapolis

The cast members of the national tour of War Horse who play Joey and Albert spent a few minutes with Minneapolis' BroadwayWorld.com during a meet and greet with the press on June 12. Minnesota native Rob Laqui plays the Hind of Joey (at right on video) and Northfield, Minnesota's St. Olaf College alum Alex Morf (at left on video) plays Albert, the boy who raises and loves Joey. Watch the interview here:

Minnesota Public Radio's video of Alex Morf (Albert), John Riddleberger, Patrick Osteen and Rob Laqui (Joey) gives a little lesson on Joey's construction, materials and how he moves:

Joey Facts & Figures:

The puppet (joey), which weighs 120 pounds, is handmade by 14 people. Its frame is mostly cane, soaked, bent and stained.

An aluminum frame along the spine, lined partly with leather for comfort, allows the horse to be ridden.

Stretched, hosiery-like Georgette fabric makes up the "skin" beneath the frame.

A puppeteer at the head controls the ears and head; one in the heart controls the breathing and front legs; a thrird in the hind controls the tail ad back legs.

A harness connects the puppet's and puppeteer's spines so his or her movements become the breathing of the horse.

The tail and ears are moveable instead of the lips or eyelids, because that's how horses usually express themselves.

Two levers connected with bicycle brake cables control the leather ears.

The puppet, just under 10 feet long and about 8 feet tall, has about 20 major joints. Vertical levers curl the knees and lift the hooves.

The neck is made of carbon fiber glass for flexibility.

The eyes are black color behind clear resin so light refracts through them.

The right hind lever moves the tail up and down; the left hind lever, left to right; moved together, it spirals.

The hair in the mane and tail is made of Tyvek, a plastic-like paper.

Review:

The actors teamed together to create a work of poetry as Joey captured the imagination of all who watched and made the audience forget for two hours that these were men puppeteers in a puppet made of cane and aluminum. The emotions they stirred with their flowing movements, life-like sounds and the relationship they built with Albert (Morf) was the true heart of War Horse.

The story is likeable enough though not terribly complex. The simple storytelling allowed for the true stars to shine in the horse puppets as they fought, raced, pulled ploughs and bonded with their human counterparts.

The staging was simple, as well, with the most intricate aspect being a "torn paper strip" that was hanging above the action which was a screen for hand-drawn scenery and datelines to remind the viewers of the time and place.

Overall, War Horse is a work of art in the puppets and artists who control them, and that, alone, makes the show worth seeing. Minneapolis audience has three more days to take in the Tony-award-winning show at the Orpheum Theatre. More information: http://www.hennepintheatretrust.org/events/war-horse-play-orpheum-theatre-2013

Photo: Albert and Joey. Andrew Veenstra (Albert) with Christopher Mai, Derek Stratton, Rob Laqui (Joey) (Note the Joey puppeteers in the photo are different than those in the videos.)

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