Len Levitt’s name may not ring a bell, but if you’re even slightly tuned in to pop culture, you’ve undoubtedly seen his work. The American Israeli puppet master and costume designer has had a hand in numerous hit films and TV shows, including “The Muppets,” “Men in Black,” “Star Trek,” “Hook” and “Batman Returns.”
Now the father of two young boys is making a return to the theater. In Hebrew, no less.
A year ago, Levitt, his wife, Orna, and their sons, Ben and Matan, left a comfortable life in Los Angeles and moved to the community of Ra’anana, just outside Tel Aviv.
From his childhood days as part of the Zionist youth movement Young Judaea, to performing puppet shows at synagogues and writing three episodes of the “Shalom Sesame” series, Levitt dreamed of living and working in Israel.
“We had a nice life in L.A.,” the 55-year-old Levitt said. “Some people thought I was crazy to move to Israel, but most people who knew me well knew this is something I was thinking about for a long time.”
And while he knew that Israel had a puppetry scene, Levitt said he has been amazed by how creative and innovative it is. “There’s a vibrant, busy industry here,” said Levitt, who makes all his own puppets. “I’m surprised just how much puppetry there is here. It’s an exciting scene for a little country.”
Last summer, Levitt and his puppets made their debut at the International Puppet Festival in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, and he regularly performs Jewish-themed puppet shows at local schools.
In addition to his
history working with the biggest names in Holly-wood, Levitt has extensive experience on the Jewish educational beat. For years, he performed a holiday-themed puppet show of short five- to 10-minute skits at U.S. synagogues and schools.
While American audiences loved the skits, he has found that the Israeli audience wants a more mature level of theater. So he combined some of his old material and meshed it with fresh material to produce his new show, “Puppet House Friends.” Levitt is performing in Hebrew, even though his mother tongue is English.
“When I got to Israel,” he said, “everyone said to me they want to see something with a beginning, middle and end. I’m trying to keep some of what I have and adapt it to the Israeli market. It’s a higher level of theater when you tell a full story.”
He says puppetry has an advantage over other theater because “puppets can do things that are impossible.”
“I have a zebra and a giraffe that fly and ride a unicycle and juggle. Anything you can think of, you can do with puppets. You can do it with animation, too, but you can’t see it live. A lot of puppetry work that used to be on TV and in movies now goes to computer animation so we [puppeteers] are glad there is theater.”
He recently performed the piece for a “who’s who” of Israeli theater, hoping to secure a place on playhouse bills, and has lined up shows — for the 3- to 9-year-old crowd — at Tzavta Theater in Tel Aviv.
“My shows are always sort of silly and lighthearted,” he said. “My goal is to make the children laugh and to keep them entertained, interested and involved.”
People often request a custom-made puppet, he said, but then change their mind when hearing his prices are not like those of puppets mass-produced in China. After he comes up with an idea for a character, it usually takes him a week to sew and glue together the puppet. One of his challenges in moving to Israel is finding materials.
“I’m learning where things are,” he said after a failed outing to five hardware stores in search of a certain type of magnet and metal strips. “In L.A., I know where to get [all the materials]. In Israel, I don’t. And that makes the process more challenging. I guess that’s an allegory for what life is like here.”