When Juliette Dunn’s son was 3 years old, he was diagnosed with regressive autism. After two years, he suddenly became very quiet and stopped talking.
“When you tell somebody your child has autism, they say things like ‘Oh no’ or ‘I’m so sorry,’ ” said Dunn, an actor, teacher and playwright. “It was really hard to hear things like that. Then a friend of mine called and told me it would be OK. That was the first time I felt like it was a blessing and not a curse. We were introduced to the Son-Rise Program. It’s all about engaging with your child. Through it, I learned about joining him in his world, building bridges between the worlds. So, there was so much joy that I found just being with him and being with him in his world.”
Having worked in the theater world for years, Dunn got the inspiration to put her thoughts onto paper.
About 11 years after the first click of inspiration, Dunn’s “The Puzzle” will run at the Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Road, May 17-28.
“The Puzzle” follows two clowns, Finneas and Quinton, as they strive to escape a surreal scrap yard, and The Boy — a nonspeaker with autism — whose arrival upends their plans.
The play introduces the world of a young person with a vast inner life, the nonspeaker with autism. This production explores what it means to meet one another where we are in full humanity.
“My son, he is so funny and so joyful,” Dunn said. “I saw (the play) ‘Fool Moon’ in 1993 and I just … it was a transformative experience.”
‘Fool Moon’ played on Broadway until 1999. It is a two-man play developed by legendary clown performer David Shiner.
The play has been described as “a series of sketches and stunts featuring two grandmasters of physical lunacy in an evening of sly humor, chaos and music.”
“His purity brings me the greatest joy,” Dunn said. “His struggles bring me the greatest agony. I wanted to tell not only his story, but the story of those on the spectrum who are underestimated and devalued. Additionally, my love for the clown, who constantly walks the balance between joy and agony, fused together with that desire to become ‘The Puzzle.’ ”
Not only has Dunn created the type of play she so adored while keeping it grounded, she was also able to get Shiner to play one of the clowns. Shiner has performed and created shows with Cirque du Soleil, on Broadway and around the world.
He is joined by Daniel Passer, another world-renowned Broadway performer. The Boy is played by Michael Stahler.
“As an actor with autism, it’s rare to see stories about people like me told respectfully or accurately on the screen or stage, much less get the chance to tell those stories myself,” Stahler said. “ ‘The Puzzle’ is the kind of play that would have meant a lot to me as a kid growing up neurodivergent, and so it is my greatest honor to play this part and share this part of me on the stage for the very first time.”
Seeing her work come alive on stage is not something Dunn ever really dreamed about.
“It’s just amazing watching these theater giants,” Dunn said. “I’m now getting to have my name amongst them is like nothing else. it’s an incredible honor.”
Meanwhile co-director Bill Fennelly has been amazed as well.
“I’ve worked in the theater for my entire life and I’ve always loved comedy, but to see the vulnerability and the incredible possibility that exists through the clown to help human beings really see themselves is an amazing experience,” Fennelly said.
It’s not like Fennely, who is now an associate professor of theater at Drexel University, doesn’t know a thing or two about great plays.
He was the original assistant director on the creation of the Tony Award-winning “Jersey Boys” and was the resident director for the Broadway First National Tour of Disney’s award winning “The Lion King.”
When not working with some of the best on Broadway, Fennelly spent years as a director with Cirque du Soleil and saw the work of Shiner and other great clowns on a daily basis.
“(‘The Puzzle’) is an incredible intersection of a variety of things,” Fennely said. “It is new play development. It is new clown act development. It is a little bit of a devising process with the variety of people in the room. This story is so personal for Juliet. She’s lived this experience of raising an autistic child and her openness, her generosity, her curiosity in the room is extraordinary.”
Tickets for “The Puzzle” are $20 to $35 and are available online at www.hedgerowtheatre.org.
