Canadian genius Robert LePage is currently wowing them in the Big Apple. The writer, director, and performer's The Far Side of the Moon, part of the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theatre, has been getting rave reviews. Apparently it's not the puppets that are commanding the attention -- it's Monsier LePage. The puppets (imagine Punch and Judy as astronauts), operate on a more metaphoric level, acting as background characters for LePage's story about the U.S./Soviet race for the moon. Audio and video clips add historic verisimilitude, but what's really interesting is the mirroring device the director employs. While the puppets racing neck and neck to reach the moon, the play is also about sibling rivalry between two brothers estranged after their mother's death.

LePage plays both roles. Philippe is an introspective philosophy student. Andre is a selfish TV weatherman. A host of other characters (from LePage's troupe Ex Machina), attempt interaction with the brothers, trying to help or hinder. As usual LePage gets creative with sets, creating a laundromat "out of a couple of chairs, a water cooler, a porthole in the back wall and a behind-the-wall camera that projects the inside of a washing machine onto a screen for the audience." An ironing board becomes a gym and a stage length mirrored tabletop is transformed into a sleazy lounge.

Minimalist music queen Laurie Anderson provides the avant-guard, weirdly beautiful score. Let's hope The Far Side of the Moon comes back to Canada. It was here last spring at the DuMaurier Theatre Festival.