The Fabulous Johnny Frog (2018) — Dragoncillo Puppet Troupe

JohnnyFrog Poster, 2.jpg — The Fabulous Johnny Frog (2018)

Heroic. Brilliant. Tenacious. Johnny Frog is none of these things. Tossed around in a world of calamities and contradictions the hapless Johnny Frog is a simple man, a cowardly man, hungrier for a sandwich than for adventure. He’s the mayor of his village but most of the time he has no idea what’s going on around him. Why, for example, will he die if he smells his favorite foods? How did he get challenged to a duel? And probably most perplexing, how is it possible that he, a man, is pregnant? This entertaining and educational presentation uses innovative shadow puppetry to introduce young audiences to seventeenth century Spanish theatre and a play format known as the entremés, featuring Spain’s most celebrated stage bufoon, Juan Rana: the Fabulous Johnny Frog!

The Fabulous Johnny Frog (2018), produced by members of the Dragoncillo Puppet Troupe using puppets designed and built by Jason Yancey. The play is an original adaptation of five theater pieces by seventeenth-century Spanish playwrights. This entertaining and educational presentation used innovative shadow puppetry to introduce young audiences to Golden Age Spanish theatre and a play format known as the entremés and was featured at the AHCT Symposium in El Paso, Texas, in Grand Rapids, MI, at the Latin American Film Festival, and in public schools in the Grand Rapids community.

Juan Rana.png

The play is a translation/adaptation based on the following works:

“Juan Rana comilón,” by Anonymous

“Las burlas del doctor a Juan Rana,” by Pedro Rosete

“El desafío de Juan Rana,” by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

“El parto de Juan Rana,” by Francisco Pedro Lanini y Sagredo

“El triunfo de Juan Rana,” by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Concept, Casilda and Toribio.png

Concept, Johnny and Gil.png

Concept, Casilda and Toribio.png

Concept, Johnny and Gil.png