By Alix Cohen

It’s the 1950s. We meet Charlie, a regular guy with a penchant for swing music, draped across an old (full sized) radio console. A fedora covers his face. One day he spots Ruby across a room. It’s love at first sight.

His dreams find them dancing and floating. Charlie gifts Ruby flowers and a Ray Charles album. Courtship is swift and sweeping. “You know you please me/Don’t ever leave me/ I always want you near…” (“Love And Kiss Me And I Will Make You My Bride,” Milton Suggs plays and sings.)

Puppeteers wear classic black apparel and black fedoras. When not manipulating a character, they stand, backs turned. Both of these creative decisions enhance overall mood. Puppet personalities come to light with articulated movement.

A sweeping succession of dates features artfully made, miniature props. Attending movies, there’s a diminutive carton of popcorn. The park bench becomes a ferris wheel seat with a bar table serving as its horizontal safety brace. “Oh, ain’t that love that I feel (that I feel), In my heart for you?”. (Ain’t That Love?”-Ray Charles) They go dancing. And marry to much confetti.

Life takes on a pattern. Charlie reads the paper, Ruby cooks. She brings him his hat. As he leaves for work, she playfully pats his bottom. When he returns, he pulls her onto his chair. For awhile it’s playful and loving. They go out together, come on to one another.

Over time, things grow automatic. She cleans, she waits. Repeat. And repeat. Show of affection, even attention diminishes. She unsuccessfully attempts to instigate intimacy.

Ruby buys a radio console to surprise Charlie. Putting on “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” she pulls him into dancing. He’s impatient and upset about the price tag. For the first time, they partner badly.

Charlie turns off the music, Ruby turns it on. He turns it off, she turns it on. He takes the record and breaks it. The entire audience moans. She slams down the pan. He slams the door. We hear melancholy piano, bowed bass, mournful trumpet.

Sympathy emerges naturally, egged on by music and vocals. The story is small but universal. We feel like voyeurs. They separate… going through the motions of daily life, missing one another. To the tune “Georgia”, the couple reflects on respective past. It’s possible they knew one another as children. “Come Rain or Come Shine” offers pathos. Musical choices are apt.

Spoiler- the story ends happily with an enthusiastic, effectively detailed jitterbug. The audience is invited to get up and dance. They do.

Sweet and captivating.


Jeremiah Flack, Jordyn Davis, Milton Suggs

Photos by Richard Termine

Ruby & Charlie
by Jessica Simon & Co.
Directed by Jessica Simon
Music Direction by Jordyn Davis
Puppeteers: Victor Ayala, Tau Bennett, Maria Camia, Monica Lerch, Kayta Thomas, and Ashley Winkfield
The excellent band: Jordyn Davis- Bass & Vocals, Jeremiah Flack-Trumpet,and Milton Suggs- Piano & superb Vocals

Developed with funding from The Jim Henson Foundation at the O’Neill Theater Center and The Freight.
February 21 at 2:00 and 7:00
HERE 145 Sixth Avenue https://here.org/