“This ambitious production — directed by Mr. Lott, who also designed the puppets — does many things well, foremost the puppetry...”
“Lott and his cast of five actor-puppeteers not only make us empathize with the inanimate but also remind us of the rich inner life still possible for those in mental decline.”
“Lott tackles a difficult subject with this project, one that despite its ubiquity in real life, is often clumsily or condescendingly handled in art. Blossom, however, never deprives its central character of individuality, even as the universality of age and loss is also apparent. There is a gentleness that imbues the entirety of this production to which this style of puppetry is especially suited. The closing scene’s bare simplicity is beautiful, profound, and moving.”
Artwork by Mariana Ikuta
A new play about art, Alzheimer's and adventure. Blossom was commissioned by Dixon Place for the 2016 season and will premiere September 9th, 2016.
A cinematic and surreal world blooms when James Blossom's daughter moves him into an assisted living center after the grim diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. While communication becomes increasingly difficult, James Blossom never loses his artistic passion for transforming the world around him.
The small ensemble cast uses a variety of puppetry styles and portrays nearly a dozen different characters that shift between Blossom's realities in a moment. Blossom explores what it means to keep your identity in the face of tragedy.
DONATE TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF BLOSSOM
Interested in the development of this production? Please consider making a donation to support the team of artists behind Blossom! Your donation supports artist fees, materials, publicity and more. Thank you! https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/store/171/alldonations/25680
Photography by Michael Yu.
This Dixon Place commission is made possible with public funds from NY State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov Andrew Cuomo & the NY State Legislature, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and private funds from The Jim Henson Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Peg Santvoord Foundation & The Jerome Foundation.
VIDEO
TRAILER - BLOSSOM
A new play by Spencer Lott premiering at Dixon Place (NYC) in September, 2016. Footage from a 2015 workshop performance.
Trailer features footage from the development process of this new original play.
THE STORY
Synopsis: James Blossom was proud to be one of the last working scenic painters in Hollywood. But a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease forces him into retirement and leaves him stranded at Garden Ridge, the local Assisted living center. His daughter placed him there so that he could get the care he needed, but he struggles to adjust to community living. As he searches for a way to escape, he befriends a former CEO, breaks a nurse’s nose, and even falls in love with another resident. He finds an unlikely collaborator in a young art teacher and together they transform his bedroom into a lush biographic mural. As Blossom paints with the young woman, he shares the stories from the mural, such as the the time he wrecked his motorcycle or the affair with a Hollywood starlet. Over time, he grows weaker and slips into a colorful fog. James Blossom passes away, leaving his daughter, the art teacher and the mural.
James Blossom. Puppet design/construction by Spencer Lott.