Puppet horse named Joey to come alive at Lyric Theatre and enter your dreams

Animal lovers should troop with their children to the Academy for the Performing Arts between 10 May and 2 June to revel in antics of a life-size horse puppet called Joey. Against the backdrop of World War One with stirring music, “The Warhorse” tells the story of a horse loved by a Devon boy, Albert. War separates them after Joey is sold into the cavalry and shipped to France. Joey is caught up in the horrors of battle, serving on both sides. One day he finds himself in no man’s land. But Albert, too young to enlist, has made a dangerous journey to find his four-legged friend and bring him home.

The production in the Lyric Theatre is by National Theatre of Great Britain and the horse puppets are operated by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. The horses breathe, snort, walk, gallop and rear up as naturally as the real creatures. They quickly become characters as well developed as the actors on the stage. “War Horse” is based on the book by children’s writer Michael Morpurgo and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford.

(L to R on horseback) Grayson DeJesus and Michael Wyatt Cox in the national tour of the National Theatre of Great Britain production of “War Horse,” which has its West Coast premiere at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, June 14 through July 29, 2012. (Opens June 29.) “War Horse,” the winner of five Tony Awards, is based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford and presented in association with Handspring Puppet Company. For tickets and information, call (213) 972-4400 or go to www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Contact: CTG Media and Communications (213) 972-7376/CTGMedia@CenterTheatreGroup.org Photo by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

Some reviewers’ quotes: “The joy of the evening lies in the skilled recreation of equine life and the unshaken belief that mankind is enobled by its love of the horse,” wrote Michael Billington in The Guardian.

“… It is how Joey is summoned into being, along with an assortment of other animals, that gives this production its ineffably theatrical magic”– Ben Brantley in the New York Times. “… I would wager that for a good while, you will continue to see Joey in your dreams.”

For the entire time that Joey is on the stage the audience is noticeably spellbound. The ending makes the most sentimental cry.

More details and ticketing at https://premier.hkticketing.com/shows/show.aspx?sh=WARHO0519

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