Marionettes end summer season

The Robbins-Zust Family Marionettes perform Jack and the Beanstalk at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge.

STOCKBRIDGE – The Robbins-Zust Family Marionettes last week performed Jack and the Beanstalk, the last show of their summer season, at St. Paul’s Church.

The well-known family has been entertaining children from one to 90 years old for more than 40 years.

Even though the summer season has ended, the Robbins-Zust Family  Marionettes are available to perform at birthday parties, schools, libraries and other community events throughout the year.

Started in 1971 by Genie Zust and her late husband, Richard Robbins, the company is now run primarily by a son, Dion Robbins-Zust.

He skillfully maneuvered all the puppets at last week’s show, including Jack; the cow, Bossy; Jack’s mother; Dufor, the dog; and the gypsy who sold seven magic beans to Jack.

When buried, the beans produced the beanstalk that Jack scaled to enter the land where the giant lived.

Mr. Robbins-Zust mesmerized both little guests as well as big ones in the audience with his animated gestures and voices as he brought the marionettes to life.

He totally engaged the audience from start to finish.  Even the big kids appeared to enjoy themselves to the hilt.

Gabe Jones, originally from the Midwest, played guitar and provided sound effects for the final show.

Milo Robbins-Zust, Dion Robbins-Zust’s young son, enthusiastically played the part of the scary giant.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on September 6, 2012. Filed under Arts and Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry