Famous PEOPLE Players

The cast of Famous PEOPLE Players with founder Diane Dupuy (image © Famous PEOPLE Players).

I recently spotted this video about Famous PEOPLE Players, arguably Canada’s most successful puppetry troupe. Aside from a TV special or two in the late `70s and the odd appearance in films like Special People and TV shows like 7th Heaven, they work almost always exclusively on stage, but their show is very cool and unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else.

The video is (mostly) culled from old segments that originally aired on CBC and ABC many years ago, but it’s still great to watch, especially if you unfamiliar with the company. It includes some footage of the troupe’s first meeting with pop star Phil Collins, who went on to become a patron of the company and helped build their theatre in Toronto which I highly recommend if you’re ever in or near Toronto. Their blacklight shows are one style of puppetry that video simply doesn’t do justice to.

Those Elvis and Tina Turner numbers you see in the video, are for my money two of the coolest choreographed musical routines with puppets ever.