River City Puppets return to Fitton

Hamilton, Ohio – Many lessons await along the shores of the Wiggly River. 

River City Puppets brings The Wonders of Wiggly River to the Fitton Center for Fitton Family Fridays at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 20. Puppeteer Dylan Shelton breathes life into a Paul Strickland script loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, “The Fisherman and his Wife.”

“The stories are probably not the most familiar, but they are very accessible,” Shelton said. “As with a lot of Paul’s work, there’s a twist that draws people into it. It’s clever storytelling.”

Strickland – an award-winning storyteller in his own right, whose 90 Lies an Hour played the mainstage Fitton Showstoppers series a few seasons back – is known for his clever wordplay. For example, one of the three stories within the larger fable concerns the fishing cat and the catting fish.

While Shelton is the only living performer on stage, his puppets create a rich roster of characters to tell the trio of stories in the show. It’s a one-man performance, but that one man plays many roles. It’s an opportunity for Shelton to exercise his acting skills along with his ability to animate puppets.

“That’s one of the things I love best about puppetry,” he said. “It allows me to be a character actor. I love playing the wildest characters. The challenging part is to maintain that energy level and energizing that younger audience to go along with me.

“The puppets do a great deal of the heavy lifting, but it’s the fable I hope people find compelling.”

Audiences should be ready for the scale of the puppets to grow along with the stories they craft.

“When each puppet emerges, there’s a reaction from the audience and it builds up to the biggest surprise,” Shelton said. “I think of it kind of like a fireworks show. You save the biggest bang for the end.”

Tickets for The Wonders of Wiggly River – sponsored by Jim & Emily Fuhrman - are $9 for Fitton Center members, $11 for non-members and are available online right here, by phone at 513-863-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office.

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

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