The year is 1916 and the arrival of the railroad brings the diversions, delights, and dangers of the outside world to a coal-mining boomtown in the Appalachians. The Sparks Family Circus comes to town, led by Ringmaster Charlie Sparks and featuring his beloved, five-ton elephant, Mighty Mary, “the largest living land animal on Earth." Amidst the excited throngs, Red, a newly hired worker, strikes Mary with tragic results. The sad, bloody fiasco that follows threatens to derail the circus permanently unless Mr. Sparks can placate the enraged townspeople.

A darkly comic story of circus life, mass-hysteria, and loss created by Philadelphia artists Aaron Cromie and Gwen Rooker, told through macabre vignettes, shadows, original music, eye-popping visuals and puppetry, The Trial of Murderous Mary critiques alarmists, rips irrationality, and denounces the mistreatment of circus animals, while enthralling audiences with its circus-inspired song and spectacle.

Gwen Rooker was featured in our PIFA video blog! (Youtube)

April 11 - 20

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