William Duncan and Edward Mabley present: the Tatterman Marionettes

              1928
WILLIAM DUNCAN and EDWARD MABLEY
Present
THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES

Repertory Company
THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES

Second Company
THE TATTERMAN PUPPETS

Management:
DUNCAN-MABLEY, INCORPORATED
681 KIRBY AVENUE WEST
DETROIT



THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES

Scene from Jack and the Beanstalk


THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES need no introduction to American audiences. Since its first performance in October, 1923, the original Repertory Company has given over fifteen hundred performances before approximately half a million people.  The various companies have appeared in nearly every state east of the Mississippi.  Hundreds of press notices and testimonials affirm the fact that the TATTERMAN MARIONETTES are among the finest appearing either in Europe or America.

The plays presented are both good theatre and good literature.  The producers are fortunate in having as associate Catherine Reighard of New York City, formerly a student at the Yale School of the Drama, who writes or dramatizes most of the material used.  She is an original worker in the American Theatre, and her plays are notable not only for their dramatic power, but for their delicate and amusing charm.*

Seldom is so perfect synchronization seen between the movement on the stage and the voices of the operators as exists in these performances.  The puppeteers are accomplished actors, and the vocal interpretation of the various roles is in a large measure responsible for the fine reputation of the TATTERMAN MARIONETTES.

The puppets themselves have been developed to a high state of mechanical proficiency.  Responsive to the slightest wish of the operators, they have attained a rare grace and interpretative ability.

*NOTE:  All of Catherine Reighard's plays in the repertoire of the TATTERMAN MARIONETTES are published by E. P. Dutton & Company in Plays for People and Puppets, with photographs of the actual productions.




THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES

Repertory Company
OFFERING TWO PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS:

MASTER PIERRE PATELIN, the famous Fifteenth Century French farce, translated and adapted by CATHERINE REIGHARD.
SHORT PLAYS AND PANTOMIMES, a program presenting marionettes in a great variety of roles.  Among the plays are Anton Tchekoff's The Marriage Proposal, and The Melon Thief, a Japanese Kiogen farce, staged in the conventional manner of the ancient Japanese theatre.


AND FOR CHILDREN:  Three full-length plays by CATHERINE REIGHARD.


ALADDIN AND THE WONDERFUL LAMP
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK



TATTERMAN MARIONETTES
Second Company
Presenting John Ruskin's immortal fairy tale, dramatized by CATHERINE REIGHARD

THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER

Performed nearly four hundred times by the Repertory Company, the demand for this beautiful production is still so great that the Second Company will carry no other.



THE TATTERMAN PUPPETS Presenting
THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER, by JOHN RUSKIN.

THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, by ANTON TCHEKOFF.

These are not the familiar marionettes, articulated by strings, but guignols, hollow puppets worn upon the hands of the operators, who stand below the stage.  A highly sophisticated and amusing type of puppet, and because of simpler equipment, a less expensive production.


Scene from Rumpelstiltskin






THE TATTERMAN MARIONETTES
WHEREVER they appear the TATTERMAN MARIONETTES establish new standards of excellence for puppet productions.



The following comments are typical:
Unquestionably these are the finest marionettes that have ever appeared in Chicago.

MARIE MERRILL, Supervisor of Community Centers, Board of Education, Chicago.

The Tatterman Marionettes have appeared under my management at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Detroit, and I am of the opinion that their work is superior to that of any other company in the country.

GRACE DENTON, Detroit Impresario presenting Chicago Civic Opera Company, New York Theatre Guild and Masonic Auditorium Concert Series.

I have studied marionettes closely for years, and have never seen any in this country or Europe which were more delightful or artistic.  The settings were admirable and the manipulation extraordinary.

PERRY DUNLOP SMITH, Headmaster, North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka, Illinois.

William Duncan and Edward Mabley, creators of the Tatterman Marionettes, have brought to the marionette stage unusual imagination and skill, which is admirably shown in their 'The Melon Thief,' 'The King of the Golden River' and 'Pierre Patelin'.

MARIONETTES, MASKS AND SHADOWS, by Mills and Dunn. Doubleday, Page and Company.

The Tatterman Marionettes display a very happy combination of artistry and endless ingenuity.

KATHERINE GIBSON, Cleveland Museum of Art.

You are indeed to be congratulated upon your ability and diligence in this great and interesting work.  My best wishes go with you in your well merited success.

BURTON A. BARNES, Supervisor of Visual Education, Detroit Public Schools.


These puppets are brave as well as sagacious performers, and their masters evince a fine intelligence in building them and putting them through their intricate paces.  Not only is there apparent a keen imagination in the selection of subject matter, in costuming the puppets and filling the miniature stage with proper lighting and color effect, but there is a well-nigh perfect synchronization of the dialogue with the pantomime of the actors.  And the lines are read intelligently, and with a proper appreciation of their content.
The result of all this is a fine show, one that is thoroughly alive, and calculated to find a responsive emotion in adults as well as youngsters.

GEORGE STARK, Dramatic Critic, Detroit News.


One of the most adventurous and successful puppet troupes in the country.
THEATRE ARTS MONTHLY, July, 1928.