Czech Marionettes Arrive at TNC Tonight in 'THREE GOLDEN HAIRS'

"Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Wisdom" is drawn from Czech, Slovak, and Italian fairy tales that are cherished by children of the Czech Lands and Italy. Written and directed by Vít Horejs, it is performed by four performers, four dozen marionettes of various sizes and a mounted deer's head. The evening is named for its first story, a Czech tale, in which a charcoal burner's son, predestined by his fairy godmother to marry a princess, is sent by his angered father-in-law King on a quest for the sun's three golden hairs in hope that the young man will perish. Resolving three more difficult tasks along the way, he returns with rich rewards, inspiring the envious King to depart in search of Apples of Youth and Water of Life, a quest in which he finds his punishment.

The second tale, "Salt over Gold," is a Slovak story with echoes of "King Lear." A Princess who values her father "only as much as salt" is banished, but returns to save her father when salt disappears, throwing the kingdom into disarray. As the realm is deprived of salt, we observe how it is a mainstay of life, so she loves her father as life itself. This part of the evening could be called a study in comparative theater, since this Slovak legend will be told in parallel with a third tale, a version of the same story known to Italian readers as "Dear as Salt," from Italo Calvino's famous 1956 collection, "Italian Fables."

In 2015, TNC presented Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre in "The Magic Garden, or, The Princess Who Grew Antlers," an ensemble creation that was cheerfully concocted from Czech fairy tales in which antlers appear. Continuing the troupe's investigation of fairy tales with antlers, the three fairy tales in "Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Wisdom" will be framed by an unresolved mystery of a youngest brother who is turned into a deer. At the end of the play, the audience will vote to decide whether he will be freed from his spell or condemned to hibernate for the next four years.

The actor/puppeteers are Deborah Beshaw-Farrell, Michelle Beshaw, Vít Horejs and Ben Watts. Music will be a capella Czech folk songs. The set, by Roman Hladik, is built from spiraling coils of vines. Costume Design is by Michelle Beshaw. Lighting Design is by Federico Restrepo.

"Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Wisdom" plays Feb. 16 - March 5, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM; $15 general admission, $10 kids. Recommended for ages 5 to 105. Runs 1:20.

"The Winter Tales," offered on Saturdays at 3:00 PM, is a one-man show performed by Vít Horejs and a troupe of antique wooden puppets that speak in dozen voices, dance, play violin, swim and fly. It is comprised of three Czech fairy tales (performed in English) replete with mountain wizards, clever village maidens and spirits. They are: "The Snow Maiden Snehurka," in which a childless couple find a little girl in a winter blizzard; "The Twelve Months," in which an orphaned girl is sent to fetch strawberries from the forest in the middle of a blizzard and meets twelve kind men representing the twelve months, and "Salt Over Gold," a Czech version of the Slovak tale that is staged in "Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Wisdom." Theatergoers who see both productions can compare three versions of the tale--Czech, Slovak and Italian--with their unexpected twists and details, making each variant stand alone as if a different tale was told each time.

"The Winter Tales" plays Saturdays at 3:00 PM, 2/18, 2/25 and 3/4. Admission $12 adults, $8 kids. Recommended for ages 4 to 104. Running time 55 minutes.