Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Ennio’s early work, from garbage bags and packing peanuts Boticelli’s Venus Ennio’s tablecloth works in progress R2? Are you out there? Ennio with the Osbournes Ennio with Boy George Inside: everything you’ll see onstage (except Ennio!) After the show

SUMMER FAMILY FUN AT BERKELEY REP ENNIO created and written by Ennio Marchetto directed by Ennio Marchetto and Sosthen Hennekam July 12–23, 2006 The Roda Theatre running time: 70 minutes, no intermission THURSDAY, JULY 13: night/OUT Berkeley Rep’s wildly successful series for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community. The post-show party features hors d’oeuvres and desserts by Bar Ristorante Raphael; drinks by Raymond Vineyards and Triple Rock Brewery; and music mixed by DJ rrrus. Ticket prices ($25.00/35.00) include access to both the performance and post-show party. Special discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more. To redeem a special discount from our friends at Bar Ristorante Raphael, click here. (PDF opens in new window. You must have Adobe Acrobat to view this document. Download a free Adobe Acrobat reader.) “Has the audience rolling in the aisles.”—Variety “Run to see it!”—Village Voice “A sustained hour of heaven…theatre at its crazy, creative best.”—Time Out, London “Like being transported to an alternate reality where all things are possible and most of them are funny.”—Los Angeles Times Internationally known as “the human paper doll,” Ennio makes the art of origami into theatrical magic. Don’t miss the original quick-change artist as he races through fifty life-size costumes in seventy minutes, lampooning politicians, celebrities and historical figures in a presentation that’s part Commedia Dell’Arte, part Walt Disney—and fun for all ages. “An absolute hoot,” claims the New York Times, while the Los Angeles Times says “watching Ennio is like being transported to an alternate reality where all things are possible and most of them are funny.” Bring your friends, bring your kids—bring your mother-in-law if you must—but don’t miss this limited-engagement event, this summer at Berkeley Rep! SEE THE PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND PRICES SEE A SHORT ENNIO VIDEO (13 MB, opens in new window) I DON’T GET IT: A HUMAN PAPER DOLL? HOW DOES ENNIO CREATE HIS COSTUMES? WHO HAS ENNIO BEEN? FIFTY CHARACTERS, SEVENTY MINUTES—WHAT’S GOING ON BACKSTAGE? READ A REVIEW FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES READ WHAT THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE HAD TO SAY ABOUT ENNIO’S LAST VISIT For more information about Ennio and his performances, visit www.enniomarchetto.com PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND PRICES DATES TIMES MEZZANINE ORCHESTRA Wednesday, July 12 7PM $20.00 $30.00 Thursday, July 13 8PM $25.00 $35.00 Friday, July 14 8PM $30.00 $40.00 Saturday, July 15 5PM / 9PM $35.00 $45.00 Sunday, July 16 2PM $30.00 $40.00 Sunday, July 16 7PM $25.00 $35.00 Wednesday, July 19 7PM $20.00 $30.00 Thursday, July 20 8PM $25.00 $35.00 Friday, July 21 8PM $30.00 $40.00 Saturday, July 22 5PM / 9PM $35.00 $45.00 Sunday, July 23 2PM $30.00 $40.00 Sunday, July 23 7PM $25.00 $35.00 Purchase tickets online, or call the Box Office Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 1.888.4BRTTix (1.888.427.8849). BACK TO TOP I DON’T GET IT: A HUMAN PAPER DOLL? Ennio is a one-man cartoon factory. Accompanied by non-stop music, he creates caricatures of pop culture icons ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Marilyn Manson, Celine Dion, Snow White, Madonna and more. Born and raised in Venice, Ennio discovered his interest in unusual mediums while creating costumes for Carnival—and you can still see the influence of commedia dell’arte in his work. Click here to see some of Ennio’s celebrity impersonations. Purchase tickets online, or call the Box Office Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 1.888.4BRTTix (1.888.427.8849). BACK TO TOP HOW DOES ENNIO CREATE HIS COSTUMES? One of the great advantages of working entirely with paper is that it’s easy to test out new characters. C3P0, for example, was created in a dressing room while on tour, and tested out that evening in front of a live audience. Usually, though, the process is a bit more complex. Ennio gets his best ideas the same way we all do—through lots of think-time best brought on by sheer and utter boredom. Some of his best ideas have come when he’s waiting in an airport. Once Ennio comes up with an idea, he and longtime collaborator Sosthen Hennekam sketch out a new character, and begin trying to figure out the logistics of it—Are extra props required? How will each piece transform? Who will it transform from—And into? Once these basic questions have been answered, the two create the costume—a process that can take up to two days, and requires markers, scissors…and a lot of paper. Then, Ennio begins rehearsing the character, often working in front of a mirror to capture each character’s specific nuances. He and Sosthen work together to choose music that fits with the character (for caricatures like Celine Dion, the music choice might be obvious, but for Boticelli’s Venus, it takes a little more finesse), and to choreograph Ennio’s movements for the sketch. Once all this is done—well, that’s when you come in! It’s often clear from the audience’s reaction whether or not a new character is a hit. You never know when inspiration might strike—you might be one of the first to see a brand-new character at your performance…or your evening might include Ennio’s all-time favorites. Regardless, it’s sure to be a night you’ll never forget. Purchase tickets online, or call the Box Office Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 1.888.4BRTTix (1.888.427.8849). BACK TO TOP WHO HAS ENNIO BEEN? During his world tour, Ennio has had the opportunity to meet several celebrities—and sometimes they’ve had the opportunity to meet themselves! Who has Ennio been? A partial list appears below… Aretha Franklin Barbra Steisand Britney Spears C3PO Celine Dion Cher Diana Ross Dolly Parton Ella Fitzgerald Elton John Elvis Eminem Gloria Gaynor Judy Garland Louis Armstrong Madonna Marilyn Monroe Mona Lisa Nancy and Frank Sinatra Shakira Snow White Stevie Wonder Tina Turner Venus De Milo Whitney Houston See who else appears with Ennio (or rather, who Ennio appears as) this summer at Berkeley Rep! Purchase tickets online, or call the Box Office Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 1.888.4BRTTix (1.888.427.8849). BACK TO TOP FIFTY CHARACTERS, SEVENTY MINUTES— WHAT’S GOING ON BACKSTAGE? Believe it or not, Ennio is on his own up there—no one’s helping him with his quick changes backstage. The show contains about fifty costumes, made of over 200 pieces of paper—and they all fit into one case. Before each show, each costume is checked for tears and structural flaws. It just takes a few minutes with gaffers tape to avoid a major disaster mid-performance! Then the costumes are assembled in the correct order on a special table backstage, so Ennio can easily get to them during the show. Many of Ennio’s changes happen right in front of you—but this is what it looks like backstage after the show (see bottom picture at left)…as you would expect, the backstage changes aren’t nearly as well choreographed! It’s crazy…it’s zany—and you won’t want to miss the fun, this summer at Berkeley Rep! Purchase tickets online, or call the Box Office Tuesday–Sunday, NOON–7PM at 510.647.2949 or toll free at 1.888.4BRTTix (1.888.427.8849). BACK TO TOP BACK TO TURN ICONS UPSIDE DOWN No one is safe when Ennio Marchetto picks up his paper cutouts Los Angeles Times by David C. Nichols, Special to The Times August 1, 2003 The late Martha Graham once said, “The unique must be fulfilled,” which may well make Ennio Marchetto the most satisfied nonesuch on the planet. In Ennio, performance artist Marchetto, co-director and designer Sosthen Hennekam and the most selfless paper cutouts in show business history return to the Geffen Playhouse, the site of their record-breaking 1999 engagement, and again create a knee-slapping tour de force. Audiences unfamiliar with the Venetian-born Marchetto will be unprepared for what lies in his storehouse. Drawing equally from commedia dell’ arte, drag balls and Disneyland, he seizes the stage in one outsized cardboard costume after another, sweetly upending popular icons through the ages. First seen in nightshirt-clad dreaming mode, Marchetto doesn’t need words. His dancing-mime’s body and liquid rubber-face speak volumes, and the spot-on timing of his gestures and expressions bespeaks an art that conceals art. Marchetto gets invaluable assistance from Hennekam’s extraordinary lighting (a dazzling show in itself) and zigzagging soundtrack, which provides content without missing a backbeat or split-second splice. Then there are those costumes, which conflate paper-doll clothes and every Tower Records window display ever installed. Their considerable effectiveness is doubly enhanced by the ruthlessly funny order of their programming. One hesitates to describe too much, though returning fans can rest assured that most of Marchetto’s previous side-splitters turn up again, albeit with some riotous twists. Like Marchetto’s Eminem, who with a flick here and a fold there, transforms into disco’s most indelible survivor. Shirley Bassey’s thunderous “This Is My Life” ends as a tribute to television’s longest-running current sitcom. Marchetto’s desecrations of Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion also return, retaining their incisive satiric punch. Ditto the Mona Lisa, defying physics and tongue depression, and Madonna, and the Three Tenors, ad infinitum. Audiences needing profound topical weight from their comedy are missing the point of Marchetto’s guileless approach, that of every kid who ever did a living room pageant for the pure joy of making people laugh. BACK TO TOP ENNIO SHOW UNFOLDS NEATLY INTO A ONE-MAN ORIGAMI EXTRAVAGANZA SHAPED BY CELEBRITY IMPRESSIONS San Francisco Chronicle by Robert Hurwitt, Chronicle Theatre Critic August 18, 2003 It isn’t just the number or bewildering variety of characters that Italian super-mime Ennio Marchetto impersonates that makes his solo show Ennio so entertaining. Nor is it the astonishing skill he demonstrates in the course of a hilarity-packed hour. What makes Ennio such a unique delight is the way one routine unfolds from another. Literally. Ennio, which has returned to the Bay Area for a three-week stint at the newly and beautifully renovated Napa Valley Opera House, is a one-man origami extravaganza of celebrity impressions. Marchetto and his co-director, co-designer and co-conspirator Sosthen Hennekam create elaborate paper cutout costumes, most of which fold out in unexpected dimensions to become another impersonation—and then another—in a living pop-up book of quick, often inspired spoofs. The Ennio that opened Friday in Napa is and isn’t the same Ennio that played an extended four-month engagement at Theatre on the Square three years ago. Still co-produced by Glynis Henderson and former Theatre on the Square impresario Jonathan Reinis, it’s the same concept, performed with the same skill and apparently inexhaustible energy. But it isn’t exactly the same succession of routines. The opening gambit is the same. Marchetto appears in full paper pajamas (over standard mime black tights), carrying a paper candle and acting sleepy. He blows out the candle, the paper flame disappearing as if by magic. After a quick blackout, he appears swaddled in a comfy-looking bed as Hennekam’s ghostly shafts of light signal that we’re slipping into a dream state. Then the bed morphs into the full-breasted, blond, white-gowned image of his reverie—Marchetto’s expressive face lip-synching Marilyn Monroe’s breathy rendition of “I Want to Be Loved by You,” the gown flying up in a clever take on the Seven Year Itch image. Marchetto has more than enough characters in his repertoire—100 and counting—to tailor his offerings for every separate town on his international tours. While the Napa show includes some of the routines seen in San Francisco—Gene Kelly “Singin’ (and dancin’) in the Rain” until he folds into Stevie Wonder wailing “Isn’t She Lovely” complete with keyboards and harmonica; Ella Fitzgerald in duet with Louis Armstrong; Barbra Streisand; Elvis Presley; all three tenors—it also includes many that are new. Snow White is back, but this time she folds over into Ozzy Osbourne, complete with bat. Eminem, Shirley Bassey and a few other names have been added to the mix. The link Marchetto makes between Frankenstein and the Sinatras—Frank and “These Boots” Nancy—makes odd comic sense. A new portrait of Madonna—from girlish “Virgin” through ballistic-breasted phase and on in to increasingly unfolding realms of self-exposure—is sympathetic as well as humorous. There are snatches of opera, too—one of which metamorphoses into a poignant-comic take on Marlene Dietrich as age-ravaged diva—as befits one of the inaugural shows in a restored opera house. An established hit that should encourage audiences to seek out the new performance space, Ennio fits quite nicely into its comfortable confines, showing off the theatre’s intimate feel and good sight lines. As varied as Marchetto’s impressions are, though, Ennio is still something of a one-trick pony. He and Hennekam haven’t yet found a way to take the act to its next level, whatever that may be, making its hour’s length seem both exhaustive and fully satisfying. But a return visit finds new joys not only in the new routines but in the most familiar ones, such as the crisply funny portraits of Whitney Houston and Cher, or the hilarity of Celine Dion singing the Titanic theme in a gown that contains its own doomed liner. It’s the joy of playing with paper dolls transformed into wonderfully playful theatre, but the ingenious costumes are only half the show. Marchetto’s remarkable mime skills are its engine and his elastic features and expressive eyes are its stars. There’s comedy, tragedy and psychological depth in the Venus de Milo’s eyes awakening to her nude and armless state, as well as the way those eyes dance to the theme from Zorba the Greek. And it’s Marchetto’s entire face—as well as his dancing limbs—that enliven the show’s singular highlight, a Mona Lisa of coy, bemused, flirty, trippy, knowing, daring, lascivious expressions rocking out to “Venus.” Ennio plays like a one-man Beach Blanket Babylon, glorying in its own distinct multiple personality. BACK TO TOP