War Horse

Last week I was able to see the show War Horse at the Capitol Theatre.  It was absolutely incredible! It is based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo (I haven't read the book but I absolutely loved the movie version), a touching story about the bond between a boy and a horse set against the backdrop of World War I (a particular interest of mine).  The play is every bit as powerful as the movie but with the greater intimacy that the theatre always provides. The horses are full-sized puppets, created by the Handspring Puppet Company in South Africa, and each are controlled by three puppeteers. They reminded me of the puppets used in the musical The Lion King.  The horses have their own personalities and they snort, whinny, and flick their ears just like real horses.  They were astonishing and, after a few minutes, I actually thought they were real and I couldn't see the puppeteers any more.  I thought the staging was exceptional.  The rural village of Devon and the battlefields of the Somme are portrayed with projections on a large screen with very few props and the minimalist style is very effective.  The performances of the actors were wonderful but I sometimes had a hard time understanding the accents.  However, I felt that the horses were the real stars of the show!  I really loved the musical score;  it reminded me of the music in a movie.  The war scenes were sometimes very hard to watch and I actually cried when the horse Topshorn died (I cried again when Albert and Joey were reunited).  My only complaint was that the second act seemed to drag on a bit but it was worth it to get to the heartwarming end.  I highly recommend seeing this wonderful show if you have the opportunity.