Grand Pistachio is making a rare appearance in Suffolk County with its much-celebrated production of Layer the Walls at the Staller Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 22.
“It’s a really fun day out at the theater,” said co-founder Liz Parker of the show that kicks off at 4 p.m. in Stony Brook University’s performing arts center.
On a mission to make theater accessible to young audiences, she said, “We’re really excited to be coming to the Staller Center because we do serve Nassau County…. but we haven’t gotten out to Suffolk.”
Grand Pistachio targets elementary and middle school audiences with its original work recognized with a grant from Jim Henson Foundation.
Designed to delight children with its colorful presentation of immigration history, Grand Pistachio will bring to the stage everything from Japanese-inspired Bunraku puppetry to half masks, live action to shadow puppetry.
“We were inspired to make the show (back in 2016) after a visit to The Tenement Museum (in Manhattan) where they found a space with 40 layers of wallpapers still on the walls,” said Parker, communications director and performer. The show imagines what each layer might reveal about three families living there at the Turn of the Century.
The first story highlights the perils of working on the Brooklyn Bridge for an Irish father struggling to support his family and sick son. Another features two Russian Jewish girls in a quandary at the onset of New York's 1909 Garment Workers’ Strike. Yet another follows Italian brothers who survived the Great Blizzard of 1888.
The production has served over 60,000 young people and is the combined vision of Parker and Artistic Director Rachel Sullivan, both of whom have a master’s in applied theater and over 30 years as teaching artists.
For tickets and more information, visit the website.