One of the puppet goblins. Photo by Joshua Mongardini.
One of the strongest points of the Puppet Co. in Glen Echo Park and its puppet shows is the ability to captivate everyone, from the youngest excited squirmy audience member to the most starkly realist adult. This is certainly true of the current production of “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,” based in the book by Eric Kimmel. A wonderful cast of puppeteers who voice the characters give great life to the parts. Danny Pushkin plays Hershel, Ingrid Bork is Yente, Mollie Greenberg is the Rabbi, and the Goblin Queen is played by Lee Gerstenhaber.
…the ability to captivate everyone……explains ethics and Hanukkah traditions to the young audience through discourse with puppet goblins.
Music is used to great effect to supply Jewish cultural ambience. One of the songs played before the show begins is “The Art of Klezmer Clarinet” by Margott Leverett. Hanukkah songs include the “New Waltz” by Seth Kibel and “The Dreidl Song,” all performed to get children and adults in the mood for Hanukkah. Props included a hanukkiah, actually two—one for the inner story of Hershel’s confrontation with the goblins who seek to counter the celebration of Hanukkah and the other lit sequentially in the outer frame story featuring Hershel’s wife and child at home.
At the beginning of the play, the wife and son ask Hershel to tell a story about Hanukkah. Hershel starts to tell the story of the first Hanukkah itself in the Temple before his wife corrects him and tells him that is not what they meant. As Hershel’s story begins, the lighting and background projections of the places and scenery of the story help to shift the focus of the audience towards the right side of the stage where the story will unfold. This sets up the parallel that will continue throughout the show between Hershel’s household and Hershel away in the haunted and abandoned synagogue.
During the first night of Hanukkah in the old synagogue, Hershel defeats the first goblin (who appears as a flying green goblin) from destroying Hanukkah by showing his strength in crushing a rock. During the second night of Hanukkah, Hershel encounters a yet scarier goblin. He defeats this one, too, and so on. Each goblin becomes more and more fearsome each night.
One memorable moment is on the third night when a pink, flamingo-like goblin appears with the goal of tormenting Hershel and preempting the lighting of a Hanukkah candle. Hershel is ready and spins what the goblin does not know to be a dreidel. This fascinates the goblin.
Hershel then defines mitzvah, or “good deed,” to one of the goblins which is a further example in which he explains ethics and Hanukkah traditions to the young audience through discourse with puppet goblins. The term mitzvah describes Hershel as he saves Hanukkah for the townspeople. Here and elsewhere, such as in the emergence and defeat of the Queen Goblin, the Puppet Co. has imprinted its stamp on “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,” adding new features to the original story to the delight of young and old.
Running Time: Approximately 50 minutes with no intermission.
Advisory: Recommended for ages five and up because of its length and some spooky images and staging.
“Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins” runs through December 31, 2023, at The Puppet Co. Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD 20812 in historic Glen Echo Park. For more information and tickets, please visit here. Masks are optional.
