The Road to Brody
(2007) is a retelling of a short story by Russian Jewish writer Isaac Babel. Babel was born in Odessa, lived through war and revolution, and wrote many short stories, newspaper articles, and filmscripts, before being murdered by Stalin in the 1930s. In turning his keen eye towards the small everyday life interactions of ordinary people, Babel deftly reveals greater truths about the generosity and avarice of human beings and the sheer beauty of life, despite all of its brutality and disappointments. The show is performed in the Toy Theater style, using a miniature proscenium stage, puppets, cardboard cut-outs and the magic of toy theater trompe l’oie tricks to retell this powerful story of war.