More in line with the Addams family than the Camdens, Erik Sanko and Jessica Grindstaff fell in love through a mutual interest in the macabre.
“One of the things we collect is glass eyeballs,” Grindstaff said. “Our apartment in New York (is a) Victorian cabinet of curiosity.”
Grindstaff and Sanko will soon share their unusual hobby Thursday night at Freud Playhouse, where they will be launching a run of “The Fortune Teller,” a morality play for grown-ups, created by Sanko with Grindstaff as the art director. The production also features an original score by Grammy winner and the couple’s long-time friend, Danny Elfman.
“The Fortune Teller” personifies the seven deadly sins through marionettes, all manufactured by Sanko. The characters embody each different sin and reflect those sins with their occupations. For example, “Greed” is the banker. The seven meet to claim their inheritance from a recently deceased millionaire. However, their downfall comes swiftly when a fortune teller arrives to predict their ominous fates.
The production began 12 years ago as a small recreational hobby for Sanko and now is an hour-long production.
“The puppets came first ““ before I wrote the story,” Sanko said.
Sanko is well-known in the world of puppetry; he has had multiple gallery showings of his puppets and creates pieces for private collectors. And in addition to creating the show, he also serves as a writer, director and puppeteer for “The Fortune Teller.”
Grindstaff brings the bizarre charm of the couple’s Victorian home to the production’s Edwardian mansion set, with a palette of fleshy tans and bloody reds.
“The set is a miniature version of our house, except more high-class,” Grindstaff said.
They also draw inspiration from Edward Gorey, the children’s book illustrator of similar dark predilections.
Working together on the show, Grindstaff and Sanko rely on each other’s strengths.
“(Grindstaff) came up with things that I never would have thought of in a million years. … Aesthetically, we complement each other well,” Sanko said.
And when it comes to the puppets, the darker, the better. Grindstaff believes that a puppet’s creepiness produces a far deeper psychological reaction than an actor could produce and that puppets also allow for a greater versatility in the production.
“You can do more with a puppet than with an actor. They can say more than an actor can and get away with it,” Grindstaff said.
Sanko feels that the very oddness of the puppets’ miniature, human-like features lends to its appeal among audiences.
“They’re little beings that freak people out in the same way that clowns freak them out. But they wouldn’t be entertaining if people didn’t imbue them with anthropomorphic qualities,” he said. “That’s a fun thing to have at your disposal.”