B. Someday Productions, with new home at The Walking Fish Theatre, is proud to announce the second show of the third season, opening on Friday, November 6, 2009, starting at 8:00 PM,with previews November 3 & 4 and running through November 22nd. The Good Puppet of Szechwan is Stan Heleva’s adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s play The Good Person of Szechwan, based on Chinese fables. This performance will take place at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, 19126. Tickets are $16. Call 215-427-9255 for more information, or visit our website at http://www.walkingfishtheatre.com.

What does it take to be a good person in a corrupt world? While Stan Heleva was rebuilding the shell that is now Kensington’s Walking Fish Theatre, his mind kept returning to Brecht’s classic play, The Good Person of Szechwan, based on Chinese legend. Shen Teh, a prostitute is visited by three gods who give her 1,000 silver dollars and charge her with being a good person. Now, she must maintain that goodness, at all costs. But what about Sun, the out of work pilot she falls for? And her best friend, Wang, the corrupt water seller? They all want a piece of the pie as well. To quote Shen Teh, "How can one remain good when everything's so expensive?" To up the ante of the story about a divided soul, Heleva placed the story in the context of puppetry, raising it from a tale about altruism versus profit, to also a story about free will and faith. Heleva directs a cast of Philadelphia all-stars, including Michael Dura (IRC’s Ohio Impromptu), Michelle Pauls (B. Someday’s Entertaining Mr. Sloane), Carol Raviola (Allen’s Lane Theatre’s Fuddy Meers), Johnny Smith (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Henry V), as well as the promising Jody Gross’ Philadelphia debut. Original music written by Max Guerin (The Absinthe Drinkers) and Melissa Santangelo (The Oubliette Ensemble). Rounding out this production is an army of unique puppets, each one an individual work of art, designed and made by Zac Palladino (The East Kensington Bear Baiting Association) and Leslie Rogers (Puppet Uprising). The Good Puppet of Szechwan promises to be a poignant and unique cultural experience of variety and depth.

To root this piece in local context, B. Someday will be hosting post-performance talkbacks. On November 11, The Professional Women’s Roundtable, an organization whose mission it is to provide networking, leadership, educational and personal growth opportunities to a diverse group of emerging women business leaders in the Philadelphia region, will visit. Stacy Richards, President of the Board, and members Liza Herschel and Karen Moustafellos will discuss the challenges that face women in the professional world that exist in this play, such as personal transformation and business ethics. On Thursday, November 12, Brett Mapp of Making A Progressive Philadelphia will talk after the performances about the challenges of philanthropy in a for-profit world.

The Walking Fish Theatre is the performance/workshop space for the community of Fishtown/Kensington. Other upcoming offerings at The Walking Fish include Crawling Fish Mummer Play in December and Gravedigger: The Plays of Mark Borkowski in the spring.

WHAT: The Good Puppet of Szechwan
WHERE: WALKING FISH THEATRE, 2509 FRANKFORD AVENUE, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 19125
WHEN: November 4-22, 2009, Wednesday & Thursdays @ 7pm, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm, Sundays @ 2pm
COST: $16/$12, students & seniors
For more details, call: 215.427.9255 or email: info@bsomeday.org.