Horse Play

At the beginning of “War Horse,” those watching the play may notice Gregory Manley, one of the six puppeteers on stage.

He doesn’t think that will last long. As the audience sinks into the story, they’ll forget all about him and the other two members of his team inside or beside Joey, the half-thoroughbred, half-draft horse that is the star of “War Horse.”

Manley, along with Danny Yoerges and Brian Burns, have been working together to bring life to Joey since the start of the current national tour of “War Horse” that began in the spring of last year. The tour comes to the Walton Arts Center for a series of seven shows that begin Wednesday and continue through May 26.

“The puppeteers are not hidden. But the puppeteers are fading away,” says Manley during a recent conference call with Yoerges and Burns. “The audience forgets about us.”

But they don’t forget about the exploits of Joey, who is sold to the cavalry for service in World War I, or Albert, his dedicated former trainer.

“War Horse” was first conceived as a children’s book by Michael Morpurgo. It would also be made into a movie by Stephen Spielberg, but not before it debuted as a play on London’s West End and then Broadway, where it won five Tony Awards, including Best Play.

To make the show work, the actors - including those beside or underneath the lifesized horse puppets - must be believable. Much work has gone into making that so, and the production company chose actors, rather than puppeteers, to manipulate Joey and theother horse in the show, a darkskinned thoroughbred named Topthorn.

When he was researching his role in “War Horse,” Manley spent some time at a stable.

A formative moment came when the stablehand allowed the horses into the same pen, unguarded. The animals checked each other out and interacted. Manley would later translate that friendly revelry between the horses into the actions he and his teammates replicate onstage.

Through the actors’ own personalities, and throughtheir research, the two horses developed distinct personas.

Yoerges describes Topthorn as a regal, powerful presence.

Joey, meanwhile, has a lot more spirit.

“He has this real fiery sort of nature,” Yoerges says.

The production, in addition to telling a story about a boy and his horse, provides a history lesson, one that’s particularly painful for horses. Burns says that as military technology evolved during World War I, some fighting methods did not.

Calvary charges, glamorized in the Civil War, were this timemet with automatic weapon fire. One million horses were killed during fighting in World War I, Burns says.

Because “War Horse” does provide a lesson on World War I - and the cursing and carnage that often came with it - the puppeteers suggest caution when considering it as a family show.

Even so, it can provide a valuable lesson about friendship, battle and compassion. And, of course, something about horses.

“Even to this day, we’re still learning about horses,” Yoerges says.