By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Weekend Editor

Living in a world inundated with pop culture, we have seen many works recently that show us the secret lives of things many of us take for granted.

For instance, the films “A Bug's Life” and “Antz” showed us the secret world of insects, and “Toy Story” and its sequel dealt with the secret lives of toys. Starting Thursday, the Center for Puppetry Arts will give audiences insight into the secret world of plants with its new show, “The Plant Doctors.”

Dr. Green Onion and Dr. Spud, practitioners at General Botanical Hospital, lead singing and dancing vegetation to uproot themselves in order to stop Dr. Deadly Nightshade from closing the hospital. The performance also gives audiences an opportunity to learn about ecology, anatomy and history, as well as some unusual aspects of an ordinary plant's life.

The show is written and directed by Jon Ludwig, the associate artistic director at the center. “The Plant Doctors” features a wide variety of puppets, including hand and rod puppets, body puppets, rod puppets and shadow puppets. All of the puppets and the sets were designed by Elaine Williams. The show also features 10 original songs and an original score composed by John Cerreta.

The Center for Puppetry Arts runs workshops that run in conjunction with the current show, and operates a full museum that features classic forms of puppets as well as new exhibits from time to time. The current workshop allows patrons to create a Wise Old Tree hand and rod puppet.

“The Plant Doctors” will run from Jan. 6 to March 18. Shows will be presented at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday and at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is $8 for adults and $7 for students, senior citizens and children 2-13. The Create a Puppet workshop is $3.

For information, phone 404-873-3391.

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