Family-friendly puppet fun takes the stage at the Lafon Center Saturday

Award-winning puppeteer Joshua Holden will bring The Joshua Show to the Rodney R. Lafon Performing Arts Center Saturday.

The show, which starts at 11 a.m., promises “to cheer up even the grumpiest grump.” While singing and tap dancing, Holden is joined by a cast of zany puppets as he sets out to convince a friend to ditch his plan to escape to outer space.

“I think people are consistently surprised by the way I engage both adults and kids with this show,” Holden said. “Too often performances for families ignore the hardworking adults in the room and talk down to the kids. Kids are smart and intuitive, and parents need that special recharge that comes with being at the theater. We use tap dancing, live music, singing, puppetry, and heartfelt storytelling to pull on the heartstrings of the audience and give them so much to smile about.”

Holden said it is abundantly clear to him that no matter how different people may feel from one another, joy is what unites us all.

“My goal is for audiences to leave feeling a little more hopeful and filled to the brim with a good feeling,” he said.

The Joshua Show made its debut as a 10-minute slam piece at the Nasty Brutish and Short Puppet Cabaret in 2012. It then developed into a full-length performance for 2013 Puppeteers of America’s National Festival, where it was awarded Best Performance and voted Fan Favorite.

Since 2013, The Joshua Show has been touring across North America to some of the most premier performing arts centers in North America, including the Lincoln Center Education, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Symphony Space, Imperial Theater, The Center for Puppetry Arts, The Skirball Arts Center, Cabot Theater and the Englert Theatre.

Lafon Performing Arts Center Director Chris Aucoin-Melohn said the show’s music, puppetry and charismatic leading role are sure to delight the audience.

“The show has a lovely theme that runs through it of being a good person and spreading positivity everywhere you go,” he said. “We hope it will inspire our young audiences and their families to perform acts of kindness and be thoughtful as they interact with the world around them.”

The Lafon Center is located at 275 Judge E. Dufresne Pkwy. in Luling. Tickets to the show are $15. For more information and to purchase tickets visit http://lafoncartscenter.org.

 

About Monique Roth 919 Articles
Roth has both her undergraduate and graduate degree in journalism, which she has utilized in the past as an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and a reporter at various newspapers and online publications. She grew up in LaPlace, where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply