Back again at the Fringe, Mum Puppettheatre presents The Fantoccini Brothers Return -- the surprise hit of the theater season just past -- a naughty, bawdy and hilarious puppet cabaret that takes your imagination where your mother never let you go. The Fantoccini Brothers Return features pieces written by some of the world's leading puppeteers and greatest performers, as well as work created by members of Philadelphia's growing community of puppet artists, including Aaron Cromie, the director of Mum's critically acclaimed production of The Fantasticks.

The Fantoccini Brothers Return runs from August 31, through September 9 at Mum Puppettheatre, 115 Arch Street, in Old City Philadelphia. Tickets are $15 and are available by phone at 215.925.7686, online at www.mumpuppet.org or at the Philly Fringe Box Office.

"We think that the Fantoccini Brothers are right at home in the Philly Fringe Festival!" explained Robert Smythe, who directed The Fantoccini Brothers Return. "This show takes you on a ride through more than a hundred years of puppet history, from the 19th century, through the debut of puppetry on TV, and beyond. Fantoccini is not only an entertaining introduction to a lot of puppetry that people don't know about, but a terrific sample of the award-winning work of Mum Puppettheatre, which has a national reputation for changing people's ideas about the art of puppetry."

This latest Fantoccini installment received critical acclaim last season, with reviewers exclaiming that the "element of surprise and enchantment is what makes this production so much fun," (Inquirer) and "'Fantoccini' is a chance for the company to showcase . its hidden gems." (Metro)

The Fantoccini Brothers explores humanity's often sordid relationship with puppets. They showcase works created by puppeteers such as Burr Tillstrom ("The Berlin Wall"), Nina Efimova ("The Monk and the Bear"), Sergei Obraztsov ("The Habanera"), and contemporary puppeteers inspired by Mum (Corinna Burns, "Applehead"), as well as works from Mum's own award-winning repertoire. Some particularly hilarious pieces were created for the show by The Fantoccini Brothers themselves, actors Dave Johnson, Genevieve Perrier and Bradley K. Wrenn.

Mum Puppettheatre, located at 115 Arch Street in the Old City district of Philadelphia, creates art that moves. The company has toured all over the world, won 13 Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, and was voted Best Theater in Philadelphia Weekly (2004), and Best Local Theatre Company in the City Paper's Readers Choice Awards, (2004).