Naftali the Storyteller

The current productions cover a wide range of stories, subjects and issues.  Some are designed for larger venues than others; some are more complicated to perform, and some require more puppeteers.  Though all have been presented to people of all ages, some were definitely created with specific audiences in mind.  Amazingly though, when it comes to children, as time goes by, so do their awareness and sophistication sharpen.  And not just from one grade level to the next.  What may have satisfied 6th graders twenty years ago, now speaks to the lower grades much more appropriately So we are always reevaluating our repertoire.

Each play is usually performed with one of the several different types of puppets that puppeteers use: string (marionettes), hand or rod.  The choice depends upon which type is thought best to bring each story to life.

Our audiences always discover that the play script, musical score and songs in each production play as important a role in the puppets' performances as their physical design and the construction of the costumes and scenery.

In this play based on a story by Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer, a young boy's unquenchable curiosity about the world leads to a life-long quest to learn stories and legends and to read and collect books of all kinds.

Naftali's journey takes him from his home in a quiet country village to the exotic capitals of far and wide.  He meets kings and queens, poets and peasants.  He delights at the wonders of the circus and the inventions of science.  And even as he grows old, his sense of excitement and his love of life never dims.

Enjoyed by older children and adults.  Performed with a variety of marionettes, hand and rod puppets.

A new musical version of the old folk tale which answers the question, is it possible to make a soup from a stone?  The answer is a resounding "yes."  But there's more to it than that.

Trust, compassion, and generosity are the lessons learned by this deceptively funny tale.

A soldier, on a journey far from home, comes upon a village of very selfish people.  When he asks for food and shelter, and no one obliges to help, the soldier amazes everyone with a pot of boiling water and, yes, just a stone.

Best for grades 3 and up.  Performed with large hand puppets.

Set in China, this magical tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the world's greatest writer of stories for children, tells about the special friendship between a mighty emperor and a little bird.  When a mechanical nightingale is sent to him as a gift, the emperor's affections shift, and the real bird is shunned.

Darkness falls upon the palace; the emperor becomes ill.  The only cure is true friendship, and of course, there is a happy ending.

Best for grades 3 and up.  Performed with rod puppets.

All action and all music, this tour de force marionette production is truly a delight for the eyes and the soul.  Not just an array of puppet clowns and acrobats, but a carefully choreographed series of performances set to the classical musical suite, especially composed for young people, "The Comedians," by Dmitri Kabalevsky.

The puppets are worked in full view of the audience, which gives the performance an extra added dimension.  Volunteers from the audience add to the fun.

The roster of puppet performers includes: a stilt walker, strong man, trapeze artist, juggler, elephant, clowns, poodles and more.

Enjoyed by all ages.

A rousingly spooky (but not scary) Halloween celebration.  It's the perfect occasion for elaborate marionettes (string puppets) expertly brought to life, to bring out the mischief and the fun of this special holiday.

As the midnight moon shines over a wicked countryside, a cast of ghosts and goblins rise out of the ground and fly down from the sky to do their haunting best.

Marching broomsticks, dancing pumpkins, bats, rats, a witch, a wizard, a disjointed skeleton, ghosts and goons and lots, lots more.

Enjoyed by all ages.  Performed with marionettes.

Rudyard Kipling, most famously known as the author of The Jungle Book, also wrote these fanciful stories that explain How the Elephant got its Trunk; How the Leopard got its Spots; How the Camel got its Hump; and How the Alphabet was Discovered.

Though not necessarily true, they are instructive, funny and unpre- dictable.  And who knows?  Maybe the innocent little elephant did get its trunk because of the sharp teeth and firm clasp of the cunning crocodile!

Best for grades K - 2.  Performed with hand puppets.

Look down at the ground with a magnifying lens and what do you see?  Insects, of course. But they're doing things you wouldn't expect.  As a matter of fact, they're singing, they're dancing, they're clowning around and using their unique and varied attributes to perform great feats of skill.

They're staging a hilarious vaudeville pageant led by Master of Ceremonies Bugsby Berkeley, grasshopper extraordinaire.  Acrobatic ants, tap-dancing spiders and butterfly beauties are but part of this imaginative study of Nature.

Best for grades K - 2.  Performed with hand and rod puppets.

A play based on a heart-warming story by the greatest children's author of all time, Hans Christian Andersen.  Our hero is a brave tin soldier who was made with onlyone leg (because a toymaker ran out of tin).  He wins the respect and admiration of his fellow toys - all except a disgruntled Jack-in-the-Box, who pushes him out a window in a jealous rage.

Caught in a rain storm, the unfortunate soldier is swept down a sewer and floats out to sea.  How does he survive?  And does he ever get home?

Enjoyed by all ages.  Performed with hand and rod puppets.