A NEW TWIST ON AN OLD TALE

Gumshoe McMonocle and the Strange Case of Rumpelsomething

For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Kruszka, Artistic Director
Phone: (661) 858-0831
Website: www.omnipuppets.org
Email: [email protected]

While contemplating the idea of mounting a production of the Grimm Brothers’ classic story of “Rumpelstiltskin,” Omnipresent Puppet Theater’s Don Kruszka posed a question: What if the baby-snatching elf’s main rival wasn’t the queen he helped turn straw into gold, but an intrepid detective she hired to figure out the little guy’s name?

The result is “Gumshoe McMonocle and the Strange Case of Rumpelsomething,” a comedic all-ages piece of “puppet film noir” playing this year as part of Fringe Family. It features all the elements of the original tale wrapped into an action-packed 1940s detective story. Gumshoe McMonocle is a brash, bombastic private eye who boldly attacks every case the only way he knows how – without a clue. He leads the audience on a not-so-mysterious journey through back alleys and goofy underworld figures to help the queen find the name and save her son. Along the way, we meet a kind-hearted Miller who can’t help going too far in his promises to cheer up his king; the miller’s daughter, always having to get her father (and herself) out of trouble; the king, who is very much just a big, playful kid; and Rumpelstiltskin, the imp with a different way of turning straw into gold. Kruszka wrote, produced, constructed, and is the only performer in the eight-character show, which has humor the adults will enjoy without talking over the kids’ heads.

Don and Kamala Kruszka founded Omnipresent Puppet Theater in Phoenix in 2003, and moved the company to Bakersfield in 2006, where they set up a full-time operation. Don has been performing puppetry professionally for 19 years, and has toured back and forth across the country with several companies. He has also performed shows in England, Scotland, Mexico, and China.

GUMSHOE McMONOCLE AND THE STRANGE CASE OF RUMPELSOMETHING
Theatre Asylum – 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard
June 19th at 1:00 PM
June 16th at 10:00 and 11:30 PM
June 23rd at 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM
Tickets are $8.00
www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/884