The Ice River: A Monkey King Story

Performed by Galapagos Puppets and the Jimmy Zhao Music Ensemble

As the Monk Tang and his disciples travel to India, their way is blocked by a raging river. In the neighboring village, everyone is hungry. A river monster who controls rain has demanded two giant buns with all the villagers’ food. Can the Monkey King, the rowdy Pig and disciple Wu Sha-jing find a way to help the villagers and continue their quest? Join Galapagos Puppets and the Jimmy Zhao Chinese Music Ensemble for a lively episode of Journey to the West performed with Bu Dai Xi hand puppetry. The 45-minute performance will be followed by a hands-on puppet demonstration and is best for ages 5 and up.

Galapagos puppeteers Margaret Moody and Madeleine Beresford studied Bu Dai Xi puppetry with Taiwan’s master puppeteer Li Tien-lu and his sons in the 1980s and are thrilled to be performing the show with Malden-based musician Jimmy Zhao and his daughter Iris Zhao. The musicians will improvise with percussion instruments to accent puppet movements and fight scenes and use stringed instruments such as erhu and gu-zheng to enhance gentle scenes. Jimmy Zhao began performing Chinese folk instruments as a teenager in China. In the U.S., he has introduced countless students to the rhythms and melodies of traditional Chinese music as a performer and teacher.

The Ice River: A Monkey King Story is made possible by a generous grant from the Acton-Boxborough Cultural Council, a local agency of the statewide Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Summary in English | Summary in Traditional Chinese | Summary in Simplified Chinese