By Pat Ciarrocchi

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The lobby of the Academy of Music is an unlikely place to find a horse – unless it’s Joey, the “War Horse.”

“War Horse” has been called “theatrical magic.” It’s set during World War I, when Joey, a beloved horse, is enlisted to fight for the English.

Joey is eight feet tall, 10 feet long and has 20 major joints – vertical levers that curl his knees and lift his hooves.

In the Academy’s lobby, you could see the hands and feet that bring Joey to life.

“We create all the movement and all the sounds that the horse makes together, as a group of three people,” explains Nick Le Medica, of Philadelphia.

All of the actors in the play learned how to become puppeteers and learned to resort to sounds for dialogue.

We asked Danny, Brian and Gregory to lift the veil on their magic.

“When we first came into rehearsals, they had us lay down in a circle and played these noises for us. Gradually, they started playing these horse noises, and we’re like, ‘I don’t know how to do this. This is hard,’” says Le Medica.

But transformative, as you follow the horse through countries and conflicts.

“He’s not taking sides on the war…he’s just trying to survive, and that is a real anthem for peace.”

“War Horse” runs through December 2nd.

For more information, visit: www.kimmelcenter.org