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PUPPET HAPPENINGS:
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Wonderful Joe *
Ronnie Burkett
Lincoln Center
165 W 65th St
New York, NY
https://utrfest.org/program/wonderful-joe/
Joe and his dog Mister lose their home, and facing separation, head into the world for one last grand adventure together. The world seems broken, but Joe sees magic in the mundane, beauty amidst brutality, and life in the lost and lonely. He and Mister encounter Mother Nature, Santa Claus, Jesus and the Tooth Fairy, witness a troupe of homeless players in a cardboard theater, and show a disenfranchised teen how to jump over the moon in a playground rocket ship. A seemingly simple tale of a simple man, Wonderful Joe is a love letter to imagination, hope, and the art of filling broken hearts with gold. Ronnie Burkett brings Wonderful Joe to life with his signature style of beautiful puppetry and solo performance, with a glorious score and soundscape by John Alcorn.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Presenter's Grant
January 7 - 12, 2025
Tuesday - Saturday at 7:30pm
Sunday at 3:00pm
$35 Suggested
Dead as a Dodo *
Wakka Wakka
Photo by: Richard Termine
Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue (25th Street between Lexington and Third)
New York, NY
https://www.wakkawakka.org
Deep within the underworld, two skeleton friends, a Dodo and a boy, tirelessly dig for fresh bones. Their ancient skeletal forms are deteriorating and without them they will disappear completely. One day something peculiar happens: The Dodo miraculously sprouts feathers! A wave of transformation begins, shattering the established order of the dead. As the Dodo continues to grow flesh, fear and chaos erupt The two friends must flee, fighting to stay together as they are drawn into the heart of an epic battle between life and death. Infused with puppetry, humor, and stunning visual effects, Dead as a Dodo is a mesmerizing musical odyssey about survival, transformation, and the power of true friendship.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Presenter's Grant
January 8 - February 9, 2025
January 8-January 12: Wed/Thur/Friday at 7 pm, Saturday at 3 and 7 pm; Sunday at 2 & 5 pm
January 14-February 8 : Tue/Wed/Thur/Friday at 7 pm; Saturday at 3 & 7 pm; Sunday at 3 pm
Tickets January 8-19 (UTR Festival): $40; January 20-February 8: $55
Song of the North *
Hamid Rahmanian, Fictionville Studio with support from Two Chairs
The New Victory Theater
209 W 42nd Street
New York, NY
newvictory.org/tickets-and-events/2425-live-performance-song-of-the-north/
During a time of fragile peace between rival kingdoms, the princess Manijeh must summon all her strength and skills to rescue her beloved, Bijan, from a perilous predicament of her own making. Can their love quiet the drumbeat of war? Shadows from 9 performers and 483 handmade puppets play against stunning animated projections in a cinematic performance as epic as the story that inspired it. Pulled from the pages of the Shahnameh—the thousand-year-old Persian Book of Kings—Song of the North trumpets unity, compassion and the beauty of Iranian culture. Created, designed and directed by Hamid Rahmanian.
* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Production Grant (2021)
March 14 - 23, 2025
Fridays at 7:00pm
Saturdays at 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Sundays at 12:00pm and 4:00pm
$24
Perfect Christmas Cookies
Carrie Fowler
Photo by: Sammantha Ford
Tootles & French
3615 Ditmars Blvd.
Astoria, NY
https://www.tootlesandfrench.com/
In Perfect Christmas Cookies, Darla’s extreme optimism can’t mask the fact she’s a terrible pastry chef. Oven runs away to avoid choking on her baking. Scrooge is mad in, heretofore, forbidden love. Santa can’t get his act together since losing Mrs.Claus. Perfect Christmas Cookies is an incredibly unique, fantastical, campy, and tender Broadway-inspired hand puppet musical. It has drawn great affection from audiences and is filled with much needed life-affirming acceptance and understanding of diversity.
Book & Lyrics are by Carrie Fowler. Music is by Carrie Fowler and Silvia Gopalakrishnan. Starring Carrie Fowler and Alyson Doyle, both 2024 graduates of the University of Connecticut Master of Fine Arts in Puppet Arts program.
December 21 - 22, 2024
Saturday, December 21 at 8:30pm.
Sunday, December 22 at 3:00pm.
Additional Dates
Dec 23 at 7:00PM at Don't Tell Mama 343 W 46th St New York, NY
$50
Year-Beginning Spaghetti Dinner
Great Small Works
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Sq S
New York, NY
https://www.facebook.com/events/1224432219027135/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D
Join us around the campfire as we sing, eat and dance together to welcome in the New Year. Also livestreamed on Great Small Works' Facebook page. Spaghetti will be served! Masks encouraged. To-go spaghetti will be available to those unable to eat in large groups.
January 2, 2025
7:30PM
$20
Illuminated Skies - A Night of Puppetry
SFX Festival 2025
Wild Project
195 E 3rd St
New York, NY
https://thewildproject.org/performances/sfx-2025/
The Special Effects Festival (SFX) has championed groundbreaking, genre-defying work since 2014. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the festival is back to rekindle the spirit of the avant-garde and create a shared space to gather for contemporary performance. Held every year in the midst of the Annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference in NYC, SFX celebrates the eclecticism of contemporary performance.
Illuminated Skies is curated by Amanda Card and features Emily Batsford, Amanda Card, Jacob Graham & Jon Riddleberger
January 9, 2025
7PM
See website for details
Cool Zone: The Lost Episode
Vape Kid Jr.
The Brick Aux Studio
628 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY
www.bricktheater.com/event/the-exponential-festival-and-the-brick-present-cool-zone-the-lost-episode/2025-01-16/
Hey kids! Do you remember “Vape Kid’s Cool Zone?”
A fascist brainwashing program disguised as a public access children’s TV. It’s PeeWee Herman meets RoboCop!
Follow America’s Darling- a 5-foot sentient puppet named Courtney as he learns what it means to serve his country?. Join the live studio audience for the lost episode the US government doesn’t want you to see!
Find them: ?@VapeKidJr @DailyRaptorOfficial???
Content warnings: Child Abuse, Police brutality, Gun Violence, puppets
January 16 - 18, 2025
7PM
$15
The Best of Broadway Puppetry at 54 Below
Puppetry on Broadway
Photo by: Art by Richard Michael Gomez
54 Below
254 W 54th St
New York, NY
54below.org/events/the-best-of-broadway-puppetry/
Calling all the lovers, the dreamers, and YOU! Calling all the lovers, the dreamers, and YOU! From Mushnik’s Flower Shop on Skid Row to the Pridelands, puppetry plays an integral part of the magic we love on Broadway. In this show at 54 Below, your favorite puppeteers will go above the frame and sing their favorite Broadway songs…with no strings attached! Hosted by the Bad Idea Bears of Avenue Q, this show features puppeteers from iconic Broadway shows such as Shrek the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, The Lion King, Warhorse, Water for Elephants, Avenue Q, How to Dance in Ohio, and Life of Pi. Bringing your own puppet is not required, but highly recommended for maximum fun!
Conceived and Produced by Julia Darling (Puppetry on Broadway)
Directed by Peter Charney and Jake Bazel
January 27, 2025
9:30 PM
$34.50-73.00
Little Shop of Horrors
Off-Broadway
Westside Theatre Upstairs
407 West 43rd St
New York, NY
littleshopnyc.com
The world's most ravenous plant has returned to its acclaimed, sold-out run at the Westside Theatre! Winner of the 2020 Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is “wildly exuberant” (The Hollywood Reporter), and a New York Times Critic's Pick. Get tickets now and enjoy a taste of what we’ve all been craving: live theater!
Tuesdays & Thursdays - 7:00pm
Fridays - 8:00pm
Saturdays - 2:00pm & 8:00pm
Sundays - 2:00pm & 7:30pm
Starting at $59
Water for Elephants
Broadway
Imperial Theatre
249 45th St
New York, NY
waterforelephantsthemusical.com/
The critically acclaimed bestselling novel comes to “thrilling, dazzling” life (Time Out New York) in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical with “one of the more remarkable ensembles ever seen on Broadway” (New York Daily News)! Hailed as a Critic’s Pick, The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional and gorgeously imaginative.” After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age.
Ongoing, tickets on sale through December 30, 2024
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:00pm
Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Sundays at 3:00pm
Starting at $84