Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! delivers what it promises to and so much more.
You might expect something weirder than a retelling of Kafka’s absurd Metamorphosis featuring musical numbers and puppets. That might be the bare bones of what Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! is about, but the heart of the play really centres around a son desperately reaching out to a distant father. Arguably, it’s two sons and two fathers, but as the musical goes on, the two families blend into one anxious but lovable mess.
You might expect the puppets themselves to be a gimmick to grab people’s attention, but it quickly becomes clear that they make definite narrative sense, creating an extra barrier between a clearly anxiety-ridden Franz and the audience and, at some points, his father.
Elsewhere, masterful shadow work brings the metamorphosis to life, blending the gaps between Gregor and Franz still further. The talent of the puppeteers means you’re left feeling heartbroken over a drooping pincer or a head-scratching Franz.
Writers Matt Chiorini and Travis Newton don’t skimp on the meta references, breaking the fourth wall to quip about the real-life Kafka and make self-deprecating jokes about puppet musicals in healthy measure.
While Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! is anchored to the son/father relationship, it’s a shame that the mother was not fleshed out beyond being an unfulfilled housewife. Grete, despite not being the central relationship, was more than her archetype, but the mother remains two-dimensional, only made more noticeable by how dynamic the other characters are. This is no fault of Kaia Fitzgerald, whose voice during solos was truly breathtaking.
Blake Du Bois’ Franz/Gregor understandably steals the show, however, in a portrayal that’s anxious enough to draw both belly laughs and pitying ‘aww’s from the audience. He doesn’t shy away from the intense physicality required, while still being able to switch between puppeteering, metamorphosing, and bantering with the audience.
Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! is a well-paced show with heart, ready to whirl you away on its journey of equal parts absurdity and heart.
