Lifestyle
In “The Last Showgirl,” Jamie Lee Curtis Dazzles
The conversation continues as Annette wrestles her flesh free of its spandex prison, pillbox still on head. She’s left standing in her bra, thong, and sheer support pantyhose. The camera shoots Ms. Curtis here from multiple angles, each shot exposing a real, 65-year-old woman’s body, rounded tummy, slight sag, and all.
Yet the scene is not remarkable because Ms. Curtis lets us see her in her underwear. It’s remarkable because of Annette’s (and Ms. Curtis’s) utter comfort in her own skin. Annette never stops chatting with Shelly, and never makes a move to conceal or cover herself.
Also remarkable is the director’s refusal to objectify Annette’s body. It’s simply an organic part of the moment. And this, in turn, encourages viewers to take it similarly in stride: It’s just two women talking, and one is half-naked — as happens every day in gyms and dressing rooms.
Annette may be a former showgirl taking off her clothes, but this was not a striptease. What gets unveiled in the locker room is not a “body,” or a collection of fetishized parts, but a person. Annette has performed an anti-striptease.
Later, Ms. Coppola gives Ms. Curtis a second, poignant scene in which to reimagine — and undo — classic showgirl motifs. This time, a possibly drunk Annette, wearing her leg-and-bosom-revealing uniform, climbs atop a casino table and, unbidden, launches into a solo dance to Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” the ’80s ballad of desperate longing. We can’t tell whether the music is actually playing or if it exists only inside Annette’s head, but it’s immaterial. The dance is a wholly internal experience for her.
Annette dances with more heart than mastery. She writhes and swivels, clenches and releases her fists, arches her back, runs her hands over her body, closes her eyes in concentration. And although she’s on a tabletop, a makeshift stage, it’s clear she is dancing for herself alone, enjoying her own sensuality, inhabiting her body from within.
The Tin Soldier, one of Nicolas Coppola’s marionette puppets, is the main character in The Steadfast Tin Soldier show at Coppola’s Puppetworks theater in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Every weekend, at 12:30 or 2:30 p.m., children gather on foam mats and colored blocks to watch wooden renditions of The Tortoise and the Hare, Pinocchio and Aladdin for exactly 45 minutes — the length of one side of a cassette tape. “This isn’t a screen! It’s for reals happenin’ back there!” Alyssa Parkhurst, a 24-year-old puppeteer, says before each show. For most of the theater’s patrons, this is their first experience with live entertainment.
Puppetworks has served Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood for over 30 years. Many of its current regulars are the grandchildren of early patrons of the theater. Its founder and artistic director, 90-year-old Nicolas Coppola, has been a professional puppeteer since 1954.
The Puppetworks theater in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
A workshop station behind the stage at Puppetworks, where puppets are stored and repaired.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
A picture of Nicolas Coppola, Puppetworks’ founder and artistic director, from 1970, in which he’s demonstrating an ice skater marionette puppet.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
For just $11 a seat ($12 for adults), puppets of all types — marionette, swing, hand and rod — take turns transporting patrons back to the ’80s, when most of Puppetworks’ puppets were made and the audio tracks were taped. Century-old stories are brought back to life. Some even with a modern twist.
Since Coppola started the theater, changes have been made to the theater’s repertoire of shows to better meet the cultural moment. The biggest change was the characterization of princesses in the ’60s and ’70s, Coppola says: “Now, we’re a little more enlightened.”
Right: Michael Jones, Puppetworks’ newest puppeteer, poses for a photo with Jack-a-Napes, one of the main characters in The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Left: A demonstration marionette puppet, used for showing children how movement and control works.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Marionette puppets from previous Puppetworks shows hang on one of the theater’s walls.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
A child attends Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, Dec. 6, dressed in holiday attire that features the ballerina and tin soldier in The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Streaming has also influenced the theater’s selection of shows. Puppetworks recently brought back Rumpelstiltskin after the tale was repopularized following Dreamworks’ release of the Shrek film franchise.
Most of the parents in attendance find out about the theater through word of mouth or school visits, where Puppetworks’ team puts on shows throughout the week. Many say they take an interest in the establishment for its ability to peel their children away from screens.
Whitney Sprayberry was introduced to Puppetworks by her husband, who grew up in the neighborhood. “My husband and I are both artists, so we much prefer live entertainment. We allow screens, but are mindful of what we’re watching and how often.”
Left: Puppetworks’ current manager of stage operations, Jamie Moore, who joined the team in the early 2000s as a puppeteer, holds an otter hand puppet from their holiday show. Right: A Pinocchio mask hangs behind the ticket booth at Puppetworks’ entrance.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
A child attends Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, Dec. 6, dressed in holiday attire.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Left: Two gingerbread people, characters in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits. Right: Ronny Wasserstrom, a swing puppeteer and one of Puppetworks’ first puppeteers, holds a “talking head” puppet he made, wearing matching shirts.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Other parents in the audience say they found the theater through one of Ronny Wasserstrom’s shows. Wasserstrom, one of Puppetworks’ first puppeteers, regularly performs for free at a nearby park.
Coppola says he isn’t a Luddite — he’s fascinated by animation’s endless possibilities, but cautions of how it could limit a child’s imagination. “The part of theater they’re not getting by being on the phone is the sense of community. In our small way, we’re keeping that going.”
Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing of The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Nutcracker Sweets on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Children get a chance to see one of the puppets in The Steadfast Tin Soldier up close after a show.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Left: Alyssa Parkhurst, Puppetworks’ youngest puppeteer, holds a snowman marionette puppet, a character in the theater’s holiday show. Right: An ice skater, a dancing character in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Community is what keeps Sabrina Chap, the mother of 4-year-old Vida, a regular at Puppetworks. Every couple of weeks, when Puppetworks puts on a new show, she rallies a large group to attend. “It’s a way I connect all the parents in the neighborhood whose kids go to different schools,” she said. “A lot of these kids live within a block of each other.”
Three candy canes — dancing characters in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits — wait to be repaired after a show.
Anh Nguyen for NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Anh Nguyen for NPR
Anh Nguyen is a photographer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can see more of her work online, at nguyenminhanh.com , or on Instagram, at @minhanhnguyenn. Tiffany Ng is a tech and culture writer. Find more of her work on her website, breakfastatmyhouse.com.
At least four injured after multi-vehicle accident involving bus in Bridgeport, per police
GOVERNOR MEYER ORDERS LOWERING OF FLAGS FOR STATE TROOPER KILLED IN DMV SHOOTING
Florida man charged in racially motivated attack plot
Georgia high school student tased by officer speaks out
Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is underway at Kīlauea | Maui Now
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
A 3-D Look Inside Trump’s Revamped Oval Office
Trump admin sues Illinois Gov. Pritzker over laws shielding migrants from courthouse arrests
Europeans show solidarity with Denmark after Trump’s Greenland threat
Explosion at a Pennsylvania nursing home kills at least 2, governor says
What does Christmas look like for Ukraine? | Global News Podcast
-
Iowa1 week agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Maine1 week agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland1 week agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
New Mexico1 week agoFamily clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
-
South Dakota1 week agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
Detroit, MI1 week ago‘Love being a pedo’: Metro Detroit doctor, attorney, therapist accused in web of child porn chats
-
Health1 week ago‘Aggressive’ new flu variant sweeps globe as doctors warn of severe symptoms
-
Maine1 week agoFamily in Maine host food pantry for deer | Hand Off