Showtimes & Tickets
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$20 recommended ticket price; sliding scale $15-25
$15 for Puppets at Night members
or free if you use your yearly complimentary tickets. Call the box office to reserve 617-731-6400 x 101.
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As of January 2023, masks are strongly encouraged for audience members ages 2 and up.
About the Show
Chinese folklore comes to life in a world premiere production featuring live music and shadow puppetry! Phoenix and Dragon become unlikely friends while creating a beautiful pearl from an ordinary pebble. When the pearl is stolen by the Spirit Queen of the West, Phoenix and Dragon go on a perilous journey to get it back. Will their unusual friendship survive the ordeal?
Pinwheel brings the classic Chinese folktale “The Bright Pearl” to life with shadow puppetry, using a variety of techniques including overhead projectors, flat-press puppets, and handheld lights and screens. The show is equal parts live concert and mixed media theatrical performance, with hand-painted and papercut puppets by Veronica Barron and Max Gayford and a full score of original music composed by Christopher Vu, performed live with flute, cello, and percussion.
All ages welcome, recommended 5+
Development of this project was supported by the Jim Henson Foundation, LiveArts Boston, the New England Conservatory, Puppet Showplace Theater, and Floating Tower.
About the Artists
Pinwheel is an ensemble of classically trained musicians and puppet artists founded in 2018 that creates new collaborative interdisciplinary performances for both young and adult audiences. Pinwheel is led by artistic co-directors Bo Jones (Lee) and Christopher Vu.
Download the Magic Pearl press release.
Artistic Directors Bo Jones (Lee) and Christopher Vu
Creative & Stage Director Veronica Barron
Script & Story Adaptation Veronica Barron, Max Gayford, and Bo Jones (Lee)
Composer Christopher Vu
Music Directors Bo Jones (Lee) and Christopher Vu
Puppetry Design & Construction Veronica Barron & Max Gayford, based on an original design by Max Gayford & Bo Jones (Lee)
Puppeteers Amy West and Ashley Winkfield
Flute Bo Jones (Lee)
Cello Thomas Barth
Percussion Michael Weinfield-Zell
Production Manager Helen Kuhar
Production Assistant Asa Graham-Lowengard
Bo Jones, photo by Nile Hawver.
Bo Jones (Lee) is a flute player serving in the United States Army, currently assigned to the Third Infantry Division Band on Fort Stewart, Georgia. Bo will soon relocate to the Washington, D.C area to join the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Prior to enlisting in the Army, she was a freelance flutist and teacher in Augusta, Georgia and performed with the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra. Bo holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied under Tadeu Coelho, and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Renée Krimsier. Mentored by John Heiss, Bo has also received additional instruction from Cynthia Meyers, Elizabeth Rowe, and Mai Motobuchi.
Christopher Vu, photo by Andrew Hurlbut.
Christopher Vu is a Boston-based composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music for concert hall and stage. Son of a concert pianist, Chris draws from his diverse influences and interests as a performer, which include being a professional jazz pianist, a keyboardist in touring funk/rock/pop bands, a featured soloist with Boston Pops in a sold out concert event, and a recurring member of new music groups like the Callithumpian Consort. Chris is a graduate of the New England Conservatory, studying composition with Michael Gandolfi and John Mallia, with additional studies with Thomas Oboe Lee and Gilda Lyons. Learn more about Chris: chrisvumusic.com
Veronica Barron, photo by Daniel Friedman.
Veronica Barron creates and performs physically exuberant theater, using puppetry, dance, clown, and music. Her work has been supported by Casteliers Festival in Montreal, Les Sages Fous in Trois-Rivieres, Central Square Theater and The Dance Complex in Cambridge, Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, and the Montreal and Cambridge Arts Councils. Veronica tours internationally as a puppeteer on Kid Koala's live cinema graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall. She also composes music for productions at Whistler in the Dark Theatre, Central Square Theater, and Opera House Arts, and facilitates community street spectacle experiences with the School of HONK! community brass band. Veronica holds a BFA in Theater Arts from Boston University. Learn more about Veronica: veronicabarron.com
Amy West, photo by David Stephens .
Amy West is a puppeteer, writer, photographer, and musician. Amy performs at puppet slams nationwide, including the Puppet Showplace Slam, Puppets Come Home! in Coney Island USA, Puppetzilla in Los Angeles, Shadows Across the Globe in San Diego, the Wham Bam Puppet Slam in Asheville, North Carolina, and Virtual Puppet Con by Puppeteers of America Northeast Region. She is also a puppet designer, most recently for Fresh Ink Theatre, and dabbles as a stage technician for Huntington Theatre and A.R.T., and as a stage manager for Queer Soup Theater. Amy serves on the Board of Trustees of Puppet Showplace and is a graduate of the University of Connecticut’s Puppet Arts Graduate Certificate Program. Follow Amy on IG: @ajwpuppets
Ashley Winkfield is a multidisciplinary artist and writer from Durham, North Carolina, where they grew up surrounded by music and the arts. They began their journey into professional performance at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they were introduced to puppetry while workshopping Basil Twist's Rite of Spring. After graduating with a degree in Performance Studies, Ashley began performing new works in New York City, at locations such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Abrons Art Center, LaMama, and Greenwood Cemetery. They currently train with Shannah Rae Vocal Studios and Lucid Body Technique.
Thomas Barth is a chamber and orchestral cellist, and has performed with various groups including the Izarra Quartet, the Handel and Haydn Society, A Far Cry, Boston Baroque, Juventas New Music Ensemble, the Bach Akademie of Charlotte, the Boston Festival Orchestra, and ChamberQUEER. He is also the cellist in the band for the highly anticipated upcoming Broadway revival of 1776. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in cello performance with highest honors from the University of Michigan and a Master’s from The New England Conservatory; his primary teachers include Richard Aaron and Lluís Claret. In addition to his performance schedule, he maintains a private teaching studio and serves on the faculty at the Brookline Public Schools.
Michael Weinfield-Zell is a Boston-based classical and contemporary percussionist, in demand both nationally and internationally. Portland Symphony, Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, Back Bay Chorale, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Atlantic Symphony; and has been an invited featured soloist for performances in Beijing at the Central Conservatory of Music and in Seoul at the Korean Broadcasting Station. Currently he teaches musicianship at the Suzuki School of Newton and is the percussion coordinator for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. He holds a doctorate in performance from Boston University, and has degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and Yale School of Music where his primary teacher was Robert van Sice.
