New York

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Kayfabe *

Josh Rice

Photo by: Kat Kuo

Dixon Place
161A Chrystie St
New York, NY
dixonplace.org/performances/kayfabe/

A puppet wrestling entertainment spectacular! Table-top puppetry meets pro wrestling meets a rock show! High art meets low art meets Samuel Beckett!! This 70-minute frenetic frenzy of puppet wrestling action is an absurdist love letter to professional wrestling written, directed and designed by aspiring wrestler and inspired puppet artist, Josh Rice. Philosopher Roland Barthes wrote, “the function of the wrestler is not to win; it is to go exactly through the motions that are expected of him.” What is expected of a puppet when the persona of Dr. Kiss, and the tropes and trappings of the professional wrestling world are thrust upon them, as they barrel toward their destiny as the main event of PuppetMania?? Expect the unexpected when form meets function, when reality and fantasy collide, when the lines between real and fake blur—this is Kayfabe.

* Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Production Grant (2024) and Workshop Grant (2023)

May 30 - June 7, 2024
May 30 - 31, June 6 - 7
7:30pm

$30

Madama Butterfly

Anthony Minghella, Puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre

The Metropolitan Opera
30 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY
metopera.org/season/2023-24-season/madama-butterfly/

The title character of Madama Butterfly—a young Japanese geisha who clings to the belief that her arrangement with a visiting American naval officer is a loving and permanent marriage—is one of the defining roles in opera. The story triggers ideas about cultural and sexual imperialism for people far removed from the opera house, and film, Broadway, and popular culture in general have riffed endlessly on it. The lyric beauty of Puccini’s score, especially the music for the thoroughly believable lead role, has made Butterfly timeless. Three extraordinary sopranos—Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleonora Buratto, and Asmik Grigorian (in her highly anticipated Met debut)—tackle the demanding role of Cio-Cio-San, the loyal geisha at the heart of Puccini’s devastating tragedy. Tenors Matthew Polenzani and Jonathan Tetelman co-star as the callous American naval officer Pinkerton, whose betrayal destroys her. Mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth DeShong and Eve Gigliotti share the role of the steadfast maid Suzuki, and baritone Davide Luciano and Lucas Meachem are the American consul Sharpless. Acclaimed maestro Xian Zhang makes her Met debut conducting Anthony Minghella’s vivid production.

January 11 - May 11, 2024

$40

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.

March 21 - September 8, 2024
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:00pm
Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Sundays at 3:00pm

Starting at $84

John Adams' El Niño

Puppetry by James Ortiz

The Metropolitan Opera
30 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY
metopera.org/season/2023-24-season/el-nino/

Eminent American composer John Adams returns to the Met after a decade-long hiatus for the company premiere of his acclaimed opera-oratorio, which incorporates sacred and secular texts in English, Spanish, and Latin, from biblical times to the present day, in an extraordinarily dramatic retelling of the Nativity. El Niño brings together three of contemporary opera’s fiercest champions, all of whom make highly anticipated company debuts: Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors of our time, who has led more than 200 new-music premieres; soprano Julia Bullock, a leading voice on and off stage; and pathbreaking bass-baritone Davóne Tines. Radiant mezzo-sopranos J’Nai Bridges and Daniela Mack take turns completing the principal trio. The moving, fully-staged new production also marks the Met debut of Lileana Blain-Cruz, resident director at Lincoln Center Theater, who received universal acclaim for her Tony-nominated 2022 production of The Skin of Our Teeth.

April 23 - May 17, 2024
See website for dates and times

Starting at $47

Exagoge

Untitled Theater Company No. 61

Photo by: Edward Einhorn

La MaMa
66 E. 4th Street
New York, NY
lamama.org/shows/exagoge-2024

An immersive opera/play/Passover seder, based on the oldest known Jewish play, written in Alexandria in the second century BCE by Ezekiel the Tragedian. Written and directed by Edward Einhorn, music by Avner Finberg. Puppet design by Evolve Puppets (Tanya Khordoc and Barry Weil), additional puppets by set designers Tom Lee & Grace Grace Needlman, masks by Ramona Ponce, electronic effects by Jim Freeman. Puppeteers Rebecca Jay Caplan, Yanniv Frank, and Parker Sera. The audience gathers round the seder table or watches from the risers, joining the performers for a traditional 15-part modern seder. An opera composer, Zeke, has brought home his girlfriend Aliya, a non-practicing Muslim, for the first time. Meanwhile, in the middle of it all, opera performers sing an adaptation of the ancient Greek interpretation of the Book of Exodus.

April 26 - May 12, 2024
Thu - Sat at 7pm, Sun at 3pm
and Mon, April 29 at 7pm
Livestream: May 3 at 7pm Eastern Time

$35

Small Acts of Daring Invention

Mason Holdings Theatre

Here
145 6th Avenue
New York, NY
masonholdings.org

Small Acts of Daring Invention, inspired by the life and work of Dare Wright, is an image rich, musically driven exploration of the space between this life and the next. The play teases the realness of the unreal and investigates the endless resources of the imaginative realm. With one actress and four puppeteers, Small Acts follows an unmoored woman, adrift in the isolation and fog of forgetfulness, towards an encounter with her long-lost companions – and life. Puppetry Designed and Directed by Simple Mischief Studios.

May 1 - June 1, 2024
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:30, Saturdays at 4:00pm

$35

Hymn to Love: A Cabaret with Piaf

Yael Rasooly and Daniel Rein

Don't Tell Mama
343 W 46th St
New York, NY
donttellmamanyc.com/

A Cabaret with Edith Piaf, featuring puppetry and performances by Yael Rasooly and Daniel Rein.

May 7 - 8, 2024
7:00pm

$20.00 cover charge and a $20 Minimum (must include 2 drinks) per person, Cash Only

David Leon: A Divine Echo

Puppets Designed and Constructed by Yuliya Tsukerman

Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn, NY
roulette.org/event/david-leon-a-divine-echo/

For his 2024 Roulette Commission, saxophonist and composer David Leon premiers A Divine Echo, a hybrid work of chamber music and wordless puppet theatre. Engaging with love and compassionate sacrifice, aging, decay, and familial duty, A Divine Echo tells the story of a boy and his grandmother whom live together. The piece is inspired by bunraku puppetry and contemporary musics alike, expanding on Leon’s compositional practice to include a trio of puppeteers alongside a trio of musicians on vibraphone, cello, and clarinet. Together, the disciplines work in measured counterpoint, elucidating the parallels between them while weaving a narrative about the bonds we share with loved ones. All puppets designed and constructed by Yuliya Tsukerman featuring puppetry by Dorothy James, Emily Batsford, and Andy Manjuck.

May 14, 2024
8:00pm

Advance $25 / Doors $30 / Student & Senior $20

Prologue Part II

Double Image Theater Lab

Photo by: Spica Wobbe

14Y Theater
344 E. 14th Street
New York, NY
14streety.org/adult-programs/celebrate-arts-festival/

Prologue Part II explores the unique journeys of a group of senior Chinese women from Brooklyn, who share their life stories through object manipulation, shadow play, and music. Created and performed by Spica Wobbe and Margaret Yuen, this show delves into the emotional depths of packing a suitcase for the unknown and the bittersweet sense of leaving home. The event is part of “CelebratEArts 2024: An Annual Arts Celebrating the Creative Works of Older New Yorkers.”

May 14, 2024
2:00 pm

Free

Boyish Charms Release Screening & Talkback

Yanniv Frank/The Brother Earth Collaborative

Macaulay Honors College
35 W 67 Street
New York, NY
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boyish-charms-release-screening-talkback-tickets-887152837017?aff=oddtdtcreator

Yanniv Frank's UConn Puppet Arts MFA Film Boyish Charms aims to challenge and expand young audiences' understanding of masculinity. Join us on International Day of the Boy for a special celebratory screening! Immediately following the film, Jessica Shaw (Sirius XM, EW, The New York Times) will moderate a talkback about the production process and the film's mission featuring cast, crew, and creatives. This event is suitable for both adults and children.

May 16, 2024
7:00pm

$0-20

Paloma and the New Death

Tom Tuke

Jalopy Theater
315 Columbia St
Brooklyn, NY
boxcuttercollective.org/events/upcoming-events/5-17-24-tom-tuke-at-jalopy/

Boxcutter Collective is thrilled to bring New Zealand puppeteer Tom Tuke with Anthony Sellitto Budney and William Lewis to The Fabulous Jalopy Theater with his show Paloma and the New Death. After Tom Tuke's puppet show we will screen the still relevant Boxcutter original short film from 2020, Judy for President . Join us May 17th at 8pm (doors 7:30) for this evening of tough as nails old puppet ladies and their misadventures.

May 17, 2024
8:00pm

$15 in advance, $20 at the door

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