Deep in the historic heart of Palermo, a dragon stirs. A drumbeat thuds through the darkened room—once part of a luxury hotel—as the creature takes flight. The dragon lurches toward our armor-clad hero, Orlando, but he is no match for a knight. Orlando’s sword slices through the beast and its body falls to the ground. Its bloodied head dangles by a string above the stage. Off to one side, 10-year-old Martina Bumbello turns the crank of the puppet theater’s barrel organ, closing out the scene with a burst of funhouse…
