As David Simpich begins his evening show, called Portraits, the atmosphere is one of edgy half-attention. Young men indulge in the boisterous and ironic laughter that lets a performer know they may be too cool for this show. Perhaps they expect a typical puppet show: the crude humor of Punch and Judy, or the maudlin comforts of the late Shari Lewis's beloved Lamb Chop.

But Simpich works with marionettes—elaborately sculpted and jointed dolls that wear costumes rich in period detail. Using an intricate collection of strings, Simpich breathes new life into such characters as King David, Francis of Assisi, Abraham Lincoln, Pinocchio, Helen Keller, and John Merrick (the Elephant Man). When Simpich reaches the closing moments of his 70-minute show, several hundred students listen in a rich silence. He receives a lively ovation.

"There is a preconceived idea of marionettes and what they're going to do," Simpich tells Christianity Today the morning after his performance at Wheaton. "It's exciting to me to have the marionettes overcome that."

To enter the world of David Simpich is to step into a narrative spanning centuries. Many of his characters quickly gasp for breath between their sentences, conveying a greater urgency and pathos than an observer normally expects from puppets.

In addition to Portraits, Simpich takes on an array of challenging classical stories, including A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Pilgrim's Progress, and The Little Mermaid. Watch Simpich working and you'll ...