As part of its 2019 Fall Puppet Performance Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut is pleased to present Milo the Magnificent by the Maryland-based company Alex & Olmsted on Sept. 28, 2019 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.
Milo the Magnificent—the recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Grant—is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned. This show is 50 minutes long and recommended for all ages.
In a review for the New York Times, Laurel Graeber wrote, “Milo is a bit of a cardboard character, but you can’t blame him for that. He’s a puppet: specifically, a huge cutout fellow, whose arms, hands and feet belong to one of his creators, and whose changing facial expressions are recorded on flippable circular cards. The duo Alex & Olmsted—Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas—invented his world, which includes other puppets made of cleverly repurposed materials. Milo […] aspires to be an illusionist, and while his tricks and experiments rarely work out as planned, children will still find them magical.”
Alex & Olmsted (Alex Vernon and Sarah Olmsted Thomas) is an internationally-acclaimed puppet theater company. In recent years, they have performed at the Puppet Festival Chuncheon in South Korea, the Festival de Casteliers in Montréal, the Festival of Animated Objects in Calgary, and Symphony Space in New York City. In 2019, they will have their European premiere at the Festival of Wonder in Silkeborg, Denmark. Milo the Magnificent was awarded a 2017 Jim Henson Foundation Grant and a Greenbelt Community Foundation Grant. Alex & Olmsted are resident artists at the Baltimore Theatre Project. They are also proud company members of Happenstance Theater, with whom they have created 10 productions since 2012.
Alex & Olmsted will also perform their new show Homebodies on Friday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Ballard Institute as the kickoff of a new series of puppet shows for adult and teen audiences. For more information or to buy tickets for this show, visit bimp.ticketleap.com.
Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Members/Seniors: $10; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under).
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860-486-8580, or online at bimp.ticketleap.com. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of performance starting at 10 a.m. There will be open seating and no reservations. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. Parking is free for the first two hours and $1 per hour thereafter, with a daily maximum charge of $8. For more information about these performances or if you require an accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.