Girl at the Rock Shows

Photo Credit: Josh Fitz / Liquid Reel

“A rock’n’roll retelling of the horror classic “The Call of Cthulhu,” performed entirely with puppets.” I mean, if that statement doesn’t get you off the couch on a Thursday night, I don’t know what will. It’s not so much the storyline of this performance that caught me as, walking into The Turf Club on Thursday, I knew nothing about “The Call of Cthulhu,” but more the fact that there was a puppet show coming to a venue that I call a home away from home. Obviously, I couldn’t miss this if only for the quirkiness factor.

Let’s talk about the background of this story first. I feel like it’s safe to assume that we have all seen a picture of Cthulhu– the horror icon created by H.P. Lovecraft. It’s a menacing figure with an octopus-styled face who hibernates beneath the ocean and comes to humans through their dreams, eventually driving those humans absolutely mad. There’s a lot more to Cthulhu, and the stories behind this storied character are detailed and a bit insane, but that’s the just of it. This story, in particular, follows detective John LaGrasse as he searches for a murderer. Long story short, this search leads him and, in this case, his puppet friends into many dark and twisty situations that eventually have the team going out to sea and getting one step closer to pure madness and insanity.

It’s honestly okay if you didn’t follow any of the storyline. Truthfully, having no knowledge of Cthulhu other than the image of the monster made it hard for me to follow as well. What was easy for me to follow was the talent and creativity that backed this amazing touring show. Cthulhu: The Musical! is put on by Ashland, Oregon-based Puppeteers for Fears. Yes, that’s right. This is a touring troupe of puppeteers and musicians that are doing this. This theater company specializes in original puppet horror/ sci-fi musical comedy. Again, yes, you read that right. This is a whole group of people who have as much passion for puppets as they do those weird sci-fi movies that I sometimes fall asleep to because, well, they’re just too weird for me.

Although a lot was going on for me, I found two main elements of this show truly captivating. The first was the puppeteering and puppets in general. Honestly, I know nothing about puppets or how people control them other than that rods and hands are involved, but not knowing how it all works added to the magic of Thursday night’s performance. I watched in awe as these intricately (yet exaggerated at times) made costumes told a story. The movements were life-like at times and, at others, clearly not, but it added a sense of whimsy to the storyline. I really can not understate the amount of creativity that was behind each of the puppets. I wish I had the right words to describe it, but these puppets are just something you have to see in real life. Sure, you can watch the videos and whatnot, but there’s something different about seeing them in person. You get to see the care and creativity that went into each one, which will leave you absolutely stunned.

The other element of the show that really hooked me was the music. Although it was not at the forefront of my mind as I watched this lengthy show, it was not lost on me that the music and the vocals throughout the show were clearly incredible. These people may call themselves puppeteers, but, really, they can add musicians to that list. The vocals were campy at times, but they worked. The addition of a live band really added a special something to the show and made it truly feel like a rock ‘n ‘ roll puppet show. Although you couldn’t see the band throughout the performance, the depth that having live musicians on stage brought was not hidden.

I want to tell you more about this performance but, at the same time, I don’t. Puppeteers for Fears is taking this show on the road, with Thursday night at a sold-out Turf Club in Saint Paul being the first stop on a pretty lengthy run. I feel like telling you much more about this show would ruin it and mean you have no reason to see it, so I’ll leave it at this- see this show. It’s creative, it’s fun, it’s quirky. There will be moments when you laugh, moments when you are left with your jaw on the ground, and other moments when you are just completely lost in the world that Puppeteers for Fears has created.

Line Up:

Puppeteers For Fears

Venue: The Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing

Average Age of the Crowd: 48

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability-0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Bodies

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 1

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Puppeteers For Fears – 0

Celebrity Sightings – Ann of Mostly MN Music

Overall Score- 7.9 out of 10

Show on Deck —They Might Be Giants

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