I was at the show last night and absolutely loved it. The entire cast is doing excellent work, but I would especially love to see Steven Boyer get recognition for the work he's doing as Jason and Tyrone. This might sound silly, but I think the fact that he's not doing ventriloquism made his performance that much more impressive (and the relationship between Jason and Tyrone that much more intense). We can clearly see where Tyrone's voice is coming from, and yet interactions between Jason and Tyrone seemed natural and organic.
The audience was also so engaged in the show. (Spoiler alert?) When Jason took off Tyrone and threw him on the stage towards the end of the second act, the entire mezzanine leaned forward, as if expecting this puppet to move on its own like it was actually possessed. Clearly it's Steven Boyer's hand that's actually possessed, not the puppet.
I just have one question though: how old are Jason, Jessica and Timothy supposed to be? I thought 15/16, but the friend I went with said she did puppets in a church youth group when she was 12, and I assumed these characters were a little older than that.
Also, I thought I had read about a hysterical scene reveal in Act II, but when it didn't happen at the top of the act, I thought I was confusing it with something else. Then it happened and I was certainly not disappointed.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad