"a bit of scene-stealing"

New York —— At a recent preview, the star trotting the stage of Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater had a command that was palpable.

The audience seemed to watch his every victory with cries of delight, and shouts of dismay at his peril. Not a bad bit of scene-stealing, especially since the performer in question has no lines and is, in fact, made of leather, wire and cane. Even so, Joey, the life-size horse puppet at the center of the play "War Horse," has the power to eclipse anything — and anybody — on the stage.