David Worobec: One-Man Show

The hand of David Worobec enters from stage left at Tophat Toy Theater, –a DIY dinner-theater experience
in a townhouse on Portland's West End– during a recent performance of "Les Miserables." Worobec - a
one-man theater troupe - sang all the parts while simultaneously manipulating about 45 toy characters,
running the lights and music cues, and changing sets that were designed by his mother, Polly Plimpton.

David Worobec is a very talented young man. Only 25, he has created single-handedly a theater company, built the theater, created sets for several productions, designed them all, cast and created all the characters, does all the lighting, directing, props, etc., plus plays all the parts and does all the singing. How does he do it? Find out, in this revealing and fascinating article!

David Lewis Worobec Documentary

David Worobec's Enchanted World from Narratively on Vimeo.

Recently the amazing David Lewis Worobec was the subject of a short documentary.  For those of us who follow David from afar, it was the closest we've had yet to the "next best thing" to actually being there...

Earlier this year, David and his mother Polly were featured in a story on Maine Public Broadcasting...

Toy Theatre Salon

Painting by Jill Hoy

Jill Hoy created an extraordinary painting of a real-life event.  It shows a toy theatre performance that took place in a private home to a group of invited guests.  In fact, it was a full-blown dinner theatre.  A quite rare event, so a very special occasion to all those in attendance.

I recently spoke to Jill to ask her how the painting came to be.  She shared with me how "...the salons are a very rich environment for everyone - the diverse mix of people, including professors and artists who are friends of the family and invited to a dinner theatre in their home."  A dinner theatre of the small.  "It's total magic!  All the different voices for all the play's characters, all the songs sung, all done by David."

That would be David Lewis Worobec, the man behind it all.

Jill Hoy wanted to create a painting that captured the camaraderie of one of these events, all held in David's home.  The focal point of the painting is David.  He is in mid-performance far right in the back, the lights from the stage illuminating him from below.  Joy herself can be seen doing some sketching of the scene before her - sketches that she would later paint - just below the figure of David.  "The owl is a symbol of David's mother," Jill added.

I asked David to share what the salons have meant to him.

Top Hat Toy Theater Presents...

David Worobec, a Boston Conservatory student and creator/owner of Top Hat Toy Theater, is the man behind a recent series of adaptions of musicals for the small stage.  In the videos shared here, David performs Rogers & Hammerstein's South Pacific.  David does all the voices and sings all the parts in his production, quite a feat!  As one person recently put it, "David has a terrific operatic voice, and his one man show is definitely unique."

He has had a long love affair with toy theatre; David was a featured performer in Great Small Works' toy theatre festival back in 2003 when he was only 14 years old!

Focus on Toy Theatre: DAVID'S VOICE (film)

David Worobec is a classically trained vocalist who performs musical theater on miniature stages. Not content to play merely one character, he sings and performs every part with the help of an ensemble of action figures he’s carefully cast in each role. Through a series of intimate performances and conversations with David, his mother and others close to him, there emerges a portrait of an artist searching for his place in life.

I've posted about David before. Even other films about him. But this film is my favorite, because it's the most intimate, sharing with us a bit more 'behind the scenes'.  What an amazing performer!

David in the Dark

David Worobec performing at King Friday’s Dungeon Puppet Slam,
a scene from "Sweeney Todd" (October 2018 in Portland, Maine...)

Featured: One Man Show

A recent article featured the amazing David Lewis Worobec
[Click to Enlarge & Read]