Comedy, Horror, and Puppets in American Folklore’s Bone Dance

AFT performers Jeffrey Herbst and Fred “Doc” Heide. Photo by Len Villano.

A man puts his fiancé’s ring on the finger of a corpse, unknowingly, as a part of a bachelor party prank – binding himself to a scraggly haired, skeleton-faced woman who never found love in life. Who would have thought that could be funny?

American Folklore Theater’s (AFT) Bone Dance, a musical production, seamlessly combines elements of humor and terror in the play’s numerous stories, as in the story of the corpse, who haunts the terrified groom, wallows in self-pity, and talks like Linda Richman, Mike Myers’s famous Saturday Night Live character: “Excuse me, I’m feeling a little verklempt, talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic, cremation versus burial, discuss.”

Taking place outdoors on the stage in Peninsula State Park, the play begins at dusk, beneath a canopy of tall trees and a night sky that is full of stars by the time the actors take their bow.

In addition to the range of emotions evoked in each story, is the variety and quality of fascinating puppets employed, designed by puppet master Ralph Lee of the Mettawee River Theatre Company in New York. From a frightening skeleton mask, to a large baby-eating monster, and detailed, yet deadpan masks of God and St. Peter, the puppets add an extra element of fantasy, terror, and humor to the play.

Catch Bone Dance Wednesday at 8:30 pm, Thursday at 8 pm, and Saturday at 8:30 pm. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the AFT office in the Green Gables Shops of Ephraim, call 920.854.6117, or visit http://www.folkloretheatre.com.