Award-Winning Puppetry Company from Montreal to Present Children’s Production of POMELO at Flushing Town Hall

Get ready to welcome the winter with Québec-based troupe, Ombre Folles, whose performance for ages 3 and up tells a story about the changing seasons

On Dec. 1 and 2, Flushing Town Hall will host the Montreal-based puppetry and theater company, Ombre Folles, as it presents its new family performance: “Pomelo.”

Without words, using puppets, shadow theater and live music, “Pomelo” tells the story of a tiny, handsome, pink elephant, born under a dandelion in a garden. With a lot of humor and sensitivity, Pomelo discovers the world around him, and the change in seasons. He experiences a shock: the arrival of autumn, then winter! In love with his garden, sad at the sight of strawberry plants collapsing, and amazed by a snowflake, Pomelo is the very embodiment of childhood.

This new production of Ombres Folles is recommended for ages 3 and up. It is an ode to nature and the cycle of the seasons, seeing things die and then be reborn, turning us upside down from one extreme to the other. “Pomelo” provides a captivating and enveloping experience for all audiences.

“Pomelo” is based on the book “Pomelo est amoureux” by Ramona Badescu and Benjamin Chaud (Illustrator).

“At Flushing Town Hall, we’re excited for the return of international touring artists and especially ‘Pomelo,’ a performance geared to the youngest of audiences and their caregivers. Adults and children alike will be charmed by tiny Pomelo and his explorations and discoveries,” said Ellen Kodadek, Executive and Artistic Director of Flushing Town Hall. This wordless piece is enchanting for all! It’s been proven time and time again that bringing children to the theater, whether through a school performance or for the whole family to enjoy together, powerfully inspires children’s life-long creativity, self-confidence and appreciation for others.”

During “Pomelo’s” run at Flushing Town Hall, the performance will take place for school audiences on Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. On Dec. 2, there will be a workshop with the cast and crew at 11 a.m., and performances following at 12:15 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets

Performance: $15 Adults / $12 Member Adults / $8 All Children

Workshop: $5 for non-members/$4 for members 

For the venue’s Fall 2023 schedule, visit https://www.flushingtownhall.org/fth-presents

For those unable to attend events in person, Flushing Town Hall has launched Culture Stream. Subscriptions start at $5 per month.

“Pomelo” Cast and Crew:

Adaptation, Direction, Set Design and Interpretation: Maxime Després and Maude Gareau

Composition and Live Music: Pierre Alexandre Maranda

Lighting, Set Design and Technical Direction: Rodolphe St-Arneault

Costumes, Puppets and Accessories: Leïlah Dufour Forget

Puppets: Colin St-Cyr Duhamel

Paper Engineering and Set Design: Isabel Uria

Advisor: Olivier Monette-Milmore

About Ombres Folles

Founded in 2005, the Ombres Folles company has created 8 shows and given nearly 550 performances in Canada, the United States, France, Serbia and Ukraine. The company today enjoys recognition in youth theater and puppet circles.

Ombres Folles defends a world driven by the imagination by creating shows that awaken the fanciful spirit of young and old. Committed to the development of contemporary puppetry and theater for young audiences, the company explores the intersection of genres between puppet, shadow and object theater, while probing our fears, our failings and our taboos.

With its shows, Ombres Folles offers a luminous and inventive vision of the world. By choosing stories that have a strong dramaturgy and infusing them with a good dose of poetry, humor and humanism, the company’s artists create works capable of traveling, both geographically and in the hearts of spectators.

Ombres Folles also has the mandate of:

Create crazy shows that turn away from self-righteous fairy tales.

Reaching underprivileged audiences with intimate shows.

Promote the recovery of materials through hybrid shows, highlighting scenographic elements.

For more information, visit ombresfolles.ca.

This program is generously supported by the Jim Henson Foundation, the Québec Government Office in New York, and the Guru Krupa Foundation.

COVID Policy: 

Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety

Support Global Arts with a Gift Today!

All gifts of $50 or more give you exclusive Flushing Town Hall Circle of Friends membership with benefits including a Smithsonian membership, ticket discounts, and more! Donations in any amount are appreciated to support the artists and the nonprofit cultural organization as they continue to provide programming and entertainment across New York and the world.

https://www.flushingtownhall.org/circle-of-friends

Flushing Town Hall is a not for profit organization and receives major support from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim; The City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Laurie Cumbo; Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; The New York City Council, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams and New York City Council Members Sandra Ung, Tiffany Caban, Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Vickie Paladino, Lynn Schulman, and Julie Won; Howard Gilman Foundation, Guru Krupa Foundation, Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation; Lily Auchincloss Foundation; Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.

To view current donor lists, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/donor-listings

About Flushing Town Hall

Flushing Town Hall (FTH), a Smithsonian affiliate, presents multi-disciplinary global arts that engage and educate the global communities of Queens and New York City in order to foster mutual appreciation. As advocates of arts equity since 1979, we support local, immigrant, national, and international artists, developing partnerships and collaborations that enhance our efforts. As a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), we serve to restore, manage and program the historic 1862 landmark on behalf of the City of New York. FTH celebrates the history of Queens as the home of Jazz, by presenting the finest in Jazz performance. We are committed to arts education and hands-on learning, for the arts-curious, arts enthusiasts, and professional artists. We serve one of the most diverse communities in the world and strive to uphold the legacy of inclusiveness that has defined our community since the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657.

Flushing Town Hall is a proud member of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a collective of 34 nonprofit museums, performing arts centers, historical societies, zoos, and botanical gardens across all five boroughs with a distinct private-public partnership with the City of New York and a commitment to serving all New Yorkers.

Land Acknowledgement:

Flushing Town Hall acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Matinecock People, one of the original tribes of New York, and the first people of Flushing, Queens. The Matinecock continue to live and work on this land to this day. Flushing Town Hall honors their elders who have stewarded this land throughout generations.