Puppets and Humans Rub Shoulders This Weekend at COCA

A colorful stage production from Montreal arrives in University City this weekend.

The latest edition in the Center of Creative Arts' Family Theatre Series combines the talents of French-Canadian puppeteers and actors from the Théâtre de l’Oeil (Theater of the Eye) production company. COCA's Founders Theatre will play host to five performances of Holy Cow!, a musical show designed to delight children and parents alike.

The plot revolves around a pair of eccentric investigators, Tom and Bob, who go undercover disguised as a cow in order to find a girl's lost teddy bear.

"The two detectives are not necessarily a hundred watts; they’re not too bright," said Jocelyne Losier, Théâtre de l’Oeil's marketing coordinator. "They’re Laurel and Hardy to a certain extent."

A few musical numbers with tap dancing performers and singing puppets later, the plush toy is found, but not without questions arising as to the true origins of the animal. Does the toy really belong to Henrietta after all?

"In life, things are not always a clear-cut 'yes' or 'no.' Sometimes it can be 'maybe,'" Losier said. "I think for the parents, it’s a topic that can be a good discussion (with their children)."

The ambiguity and style of Holy Cow! create a unique flavor of children's performance, said COCA Director of Marketing Nancy Goldstein.

"These French-Canadian productions have a European feel," Goldstein said. "It’s a slightly different aesthetic than something you might have coming out of Kansas."

European? Make that South American. The show's creator, Javier Swedzky is from Buenos Aires.

"It's our company’s production, but he wrote the play in Spanish first," Losier said. "For us, this show has a very different signature because it’s Southern, Argentinean. They have a lot of festivals and feasts."

The show, called Ah, la vache! in French, has entered its fourth year of touring, Losier said. This is a return of sorts for the production company, which brought The Star Keeper to St. Louis several years ago.

One of the five performances -- Saturday at 2 p.m. -- has sold out. Tickets, which cost $14 or $18 depending on the section, are still available for the Friday at 7 p.m. show, the Saturday at 5 p.m. show, and the Sunday afternoon shows at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

The show runs approximately one hour.

Holy Cow! marks the seventh performance in the Family Theatre Series. The annual program wraps up with the nationally renowned Dan Zanes & Friends on March 11-13.

As of Monday afternoon, only 450 tickets remained for the entire weekend of five Dan Zanes shows, Goldstein said.

The series books a variety of kid-tested, mother-approved touring performances to perform in COCA's intimate theater. The season begins each year in September and concludes the following March.

"We often bring in some expensive productions that audiences don’t typically see in a 400-seat theater," Goldstein said. "It’s a treat for families; every seat is close to the stage. It's very, very expensive for us to do, and that’s why we spend a lot of time getting corporate sponsors and individual donors to make this possible."