SUGARBETCH GOULASH: A Puppet Performance by Rasputin’s Marionettes

SUGARBETCH GOULASH: A Puppet Performance by Rasputin’s Marionettes

Sugarbetch Goulash is the fiendish story of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt, the "Black Widow Murderers", an unlikely friendship with a macabre twist. Based on true accounts, Helen and Olga met in the mid 1980s in a woman's fitness center and formed a toxic bond that would carry them through 3 decades of petty crimes and cons, until their arrest on charges of mail fraud and an accidental confession of homicide caught on surveillance camera. Our story hilariously takes us through their nefarious acts and inevitable incarceration based on revelations during their 2007 Los Angeles trial. Join Helen and Olga through the years in this campy, comedic story, told with beautifully carved stringed puppets, hand puppets, and shadows by Rasputin's Marionettes, and witness the almost true story of M**der, greed, and self gout. You might just die laughing!

Imagine if you will, The Golden Girls meets Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, with a dash of Arsenic and Old Lace, performed with the caustic story telling of John Waters, and an all puppet cast, you'd begin to scratch the surface of this uniquely bizarre, incredibly true story, you won't want to miss.

Suggested for mature audiences only.

Running time 1 hr. 40 minutes, in two acts with intermission

Matt Scott began his career in puppetry 30 years ago in Los Angeles's historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Under Bob's tutelage, he learned the art of performing and building marionettes until his calling to the art took him to the cultural epicenter of puppetry in Europe's underground theaters. He spent 6 months wandering in and out of the backstages and workshops of puppet builders in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands, picking up what he could learn before returning home again to start his own adventure into the arts as Rasputin's Marionettes. His first full marionette show, Freakshow Follies, premiered in 2001 and drew the attention of Reverend Tommy Gun, and was featured on the stage of his Empire Amusement Hall in Hollywood, CA. Thus began a niche career in the vaudeville circuit beginning with his own stage on the Queen Mary for the yearly Ink N Iron festival, and leading to a traveling career appearing on side show stages across the country including the infamous Coney Island boardwalk. Since then he has grown a repertoire that has been seen in numerous commercials and theatrical stage productions, cross country tours, multiple puppet festivals including the 2019 National Festival for Puppeteers of America. Rasputin's Marionettes creations have been featured in music videos for RuPaul drag alumni Trixie Mattel, GoGo's veteran Jane Wiedlin, the cult heavy metal, fast food band Mac Sabbath, and television work on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and horror cult sensation "Boulet Brothers Dragula". Rasputin's Marionettes was a featured attraction at Long Beach's own Dark Harbour seasonal haunt for 5 years before the pandemic. Most recently, Rasputin's Marionettes is honored to have been commissioned to build life sized puppets for the new funhouse attraction at the Santa Monica Pier, opening in Fall 2024.

Ticket Price: $25 in advance / $30 day of performance (in-person event only)

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ACCESSIBILITY

PRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] before showtime and we will be happy to assist you.

REFUND POLICIES

All sales are final. There are no refunds or exchanges for PRS events, except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test.

In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.

PARKING

Limited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd.  We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking, many thanks.

PRS EVENT POLICIES

• We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
• Events are subject to change without notice, including guest speakers and/or performers.
• We encourage you to arrive at least 30 min. before the scheduled event start time to find parking, enjoy the Bookstore and take your seats.
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Host or Publisher The Philosophical Research Society