Hard Headed Heart

Blair Thomas, Chicago's most acclaimed puppet master, comes to the CWT with Hard Headed Heart, a wonderful trio of interconnected solo shows including:

The Puppet Show of Don Cristobal – Based on the bawdy script by Federico Garcia Lorca, this play, performed with wooden hand puppets and a drum kit, is a humorous retelling of the traditional trickster Cristobal's wooing and marriage to the delectable Dona Rosita.

St. James Infirmary – Based on the traditional New Orleans folksong, this is a clever, romantic show performed with rod marionettes, a motorized paper scroll and a one-man pit band.

The Blackbird – Based on Wallace Stevens' poem 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, The Blackbird is an engaging, inventive shadow puppet show performed on a set of four rolling paper scrolls, lit entirely by lamplight.


For anyone who loves the performing arts, Blair Thomas & Co. provides magical theatrical experiences and illuminating connections to unique cultural traditions by combining live music, narrative literature and handcrafted objects.

As co-founder of the highly successful Redmoon Theater, Blair spent a decade leading a vision to create large-scale spectacle theater. He was the principal creator behind all of its productions, parades and pageants, including Frankie & Johnny, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, the Winter Pageant, and the All Hallow's Eve Halloween Parade until he left in 1998. Blair then served as co-curator for both of Chicago's International Puppet Festivals in 2000 and 2001 and became an Associate Adjunct Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 2002, Blair founded Blair Thomas & Co. to create a distinctive Chamber Puppet Theater. With the company, Blair has toured to Boston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix, Madison, Bloomington, Mexico, and Spain, and has built a repertoire of work for adults and for children. He was awarded the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship for New Performance in 2002 and 2004, and was hand-picked to serve in the inaugural position of Jim Henson Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland in College Park for the 2006-07 academic year.

For more information, visit blairthomas.org.

September 11 - 12, 2010 Saturday and Sunday at 8pm Tickets: $25 Students and Seniors: $20 Buy tickets online!