Hans My Hedgehog

The final Pup-A-Foo-Glee performance, at 2:30 p.m. Sat. May, 19, will be Sea Beast Puppet Co.'s full-scale shadow puppet show, "Hans My Hedgehog."

This is a Chicago-based puppet company of four 20-somethings, led by Kat Pleviak. This is an energetic young puppeteer with a masters degree in theater and puppetry from the University of Hawaii. We first saw her perform this show at a Pokagon State Park, in Indiana, where we attend a yearly puppeteers' gathering each November.
The shadow screen is about 8 feet tall. They perform behind the screen using old overhead projectors -- the kind schools used to use before PowerPoint. It's an amazing performance, with the voices done live.
The story is an obscure Grimm's Fairy Tale, with an appealing hedgehog hero, a bit reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast with a little Cinderella thrown in.
We think it will be a fitting grand finale to our festival.