There was not a dry eye in the house, as War Horse performed on tour at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. The matinee performance of the off-Broadway show brought transcendence in time, space, and humanity as the cast told the story of a boy and his horse through the horrors of war. The modern use of technology and storytelling made this a must see show.
The life sized horses on stage were made of mesh and wire and mastered by a team of puppeteers. Every twitch and gallop the horses made were absolutely lifelike, putting all the attention on the horses and not the puppeteers. Characters could even ride the horses around the set, adding to the authenticity of the horse as a character. Besides horses, other mechanical animals, such as geese and vultures, enforced the story through attention grabbing blocking.
Having no curtain on stage, the technology used to alert the audience to scene changes and development were incredible. Light played a major role in the set by making characters disappear into darkness or spotlight in bright white. The sounds of gunfire, smoke, and a huge army tank gave this show a theatrical appeal.
Limited space was not an issue for this show, because of the creative use of the stage. Trying to fit a whole war on stage was masterfully accomplished by making the horses run sideways or stay put while portraying a huge amount of space. There was also a strip of a screen at the top of the stage that flashed images of movement and dates.
Of course, it was not all about the set. The characters were brought to life through the creative use of slow motion storytelling. To emphasize a scene, time would slow down around the characters speaking in real time by having other characters move in slow motion. Then in a flash, everything would be going full speed again. It was an ingenious way to show a different angle of the story and drive home a point.
Since the story was about World War I, English, French, and German languages were all interpreted in English, although the characters could not understand each other on stage. Once again, it was a creative solution for the audience to be able to understand while allowing the story to unfold.
There was much more music than expected in the show as the cockney sounding Song Man, played by John Milosich, added a nostalgic voice in the bardic tradition to emphasis the plot. He was accompanied by an accordion, played by Spiff Wiegand and created the sound of European heritage.
The full house could be heard weeping as the story of the horse, Joey, and his loyal caretaker, Arthur, struggled with the wickedness of war and mankind. As the show ended, a well-deserved standing ovation was granted to the incredibly talented and creative cast. War Horse was an inspiring show that theatergoers and families alike should definitely see.