War Horse, a theatrical production based on a 1982 children’s book by Michael Morpoguo and adapted for the stage by Tony Award winning playwright Nick Stafford, is coming to the Palace Theatre at PlayhouseSquare on Tuesday, April 9 as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. The show will open at 8pm and will run through Sunday, April 21.
The play was first produced in 2007 at the National Theatre of Great Britain, and is about a teenaged boy named Albert and his quest to find his beloved horse, Joey amidst World War I. The play features puppets created by the Handspring Puppet Co. in South Africa. These magnificent puppets earned their creators, Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones a Special Tony Award.
The eponymous horse, Joey, is made from cane and fabric, with an aluminium frame for a spine, which allows riders on his back. He is controlled by three puppeteers, weighs 120 pounds and can move his tail and ears much like a real horse.
A movie version of the story was made in 2011, directed by Steven Spielberg. Tickets to see the War Horse theatrical production cost from $10 to $80. They are available online at playhousesquare.org.
PlayhouseSquare is located at 1501 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.
