Bride of Wildenstein, Phoenix

2009 ©Marsian De Lellis
2009 ©Marsian De Lellis

On September 4th and 5th, 2009 I performed Pump that Pussy, an excerpt from Bride of Wildenstein –  The Musical at Great Arizona Puppet Theatre in Phoenix Arizona. 

In Bride of Wildenstein – The Musical, an aging socialite grows fur and claws to recapture her philandering game hunter husband’s attention. Using puppets and masks to augment the body, this solo cabaret performance playfully unpacks desire and the contagion of identity with songs that examine the making of a monstrosity.

The weird and tragic love story wildly reimagines tabloid accounts of the real-life “cat woman”, Jocelyn Wildenstein.

As the protagonist’s marriage dissolves, she begins to reinvent herself through drastic measures. But biomedical and surgical procedures to become more feline only heighten her sense of estrangement and embolden her quest to find a fiercer sense of self.

After being estranged from her husband, Jocelyn finds herself in a junk yard pumping party* where she encounters a rat doctor and a pigeon recovering from a beak job. A cockroach who’s just had his thorax pumped convinces Jocelyn to inject her face so she can feel beautiful again. 

*a gathering where participants inject industrial grade silicone to create low-cost curves as a dangerous, often fatal alternative to medically sanctioned cosmetic surgery

The performances were part of Great Arizona Puppet Theater’s puppet slam (an evening of short-form puppetry for adults that was hosted by Stacy Gordon and Mack Duncan.

CREDITS

Bride of Wildenstein – The Musical

Written and Performed by
Marsian De Lellis

Direction
Derron Wood

Written with
P.J. McWhiskers

Musical Composition
Josh Senick

Vocal Coach
Sarah Marie Ibrahim

Costume Design
Rachel Weir

Puppet Build
Sarah Sowell

SPECIAL THANKS

Original Co-Director
Dramaturg
Leila Ghaznavi

Originating Set Designer
EuGean Seo

Originating Co-Producer
Jennifer Koblosky

Originating Lighting Designer
Brandon Stirling Baker

Originating Sound Designer
E. Martin Giminez  

Originating Scenic Artist
Amanda Smith


 

Alice Boehm

Byung Lee

Chi Kyung

Chris Barecca

Ellen McCartney

Greg Ballora

Heather Henson

Janie Geiser

Larry Seigel

Leslie Cararra-Rudolph

Lynn Jeffries

Lynn Rosenfeld

Marianne Kubik

Marty Robinson

Pam Arciero

Rafael Lopez Barantez

Richard Termine

Robert Smythe

Ron Binion

Steven Levine

Susan Simpson

Tyler Bunch

Vandy Wood

Z. Briggs

SUPPORT

Bride of Wildenstein was developed at CalArts and the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center with funding from The Durfee Foundation and Ibex Puppetry.