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   The current productions cover a wide range of stories, subjects and issues.  Some are physically largerbackstage1.jpg (40459 bytes)than others; some are more complicated to perform.  Though all have been presented to people of all ages, some were definitely created with specific audiences in mind.

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

The plays are:

Naftali the Storyteller; The Nightingale; Stone Soup; Just So Stories;
The Flight of Icarus;
The Steadfast Tin Soldier; Hobnobbin' Goblins;
Tale of the Name of the Tree; The Bugtown Follies; The Legend of Pecos Bill.


Their descriptions are as follows: 


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  In this play based on a story by Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer,parents2.jpg (18840 bytes)                  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.                                                                     

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   Set in China, this marvelous tale by Hans Christian Andersen, tells about the special nightingale-aa.jpg (40001 bytes)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.


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   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.
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   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.


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    Greek mythology lives again!  The dreamworld of heroes and villains, gods and monsters,icarus.jpg (49804 bytes)fortunes and fates plays out once more
through the magic of puppetry.

   Zeus, on Mount Olympus, is the tyrant who  toys with the lives of humans down below.  The  Minotaur - half man; half bull - chases his prey in a giant labyrinth.   Daedalus and Icarus - father and son - fly with wings made of feathers and wax.   With characters like these, it's no wonder the stories are forever captivating.

Best for grades 3 and up.

Performed with rod puppets.


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   Based on a heart-warming story by Hans Christian Andersen, for holiday-timetinsoldier-a.jpg (34782 bytes)or anytime.  Our hero is a brave tin soldier who was made with only one leg (because a toymaker ran out of tin).  He wins the respect of his fellow toys - all except a disgruntled Jack-in-the-Box, who pushes him out a window in a jealous rage.   It rains and the unfortunate soldier rusts, then falls down a sewer and floats out to sea.  How does he survive?  And does he get home?

Enjoyed by all ages.

Performed with hand and rod puppets.


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  A rousingly spooky (but not scary) Halloween celebration.  Elaborate marionettes (string puppets) expertly brought to life, with angoblins-aa.jpg (37883 bytes)enchanting musical score accompanying them.

   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.

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

Enjoyed by all ages.

Performed with marionettes.


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   An old Bantu tale about a fruit-laden tree with a complicated name.  The name is important because someone needs to remember it, so that the fruit will fall and the animal kingdom can be saved from a terrible famine.tale.jpg (35846 bytes)

   The lion sends emissaries to the great Chief of the Mountain, but each one forgets the name before he or she returns home.

   Only the modest tortoise - in whom no one has ever had faith - is determined enough to save the day.

Best for grades K - 3.

Performed with hand and rod puppets.


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  Rudyard Kipling, 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 justso-aa.jpg (30269 bytes)hump; How the Alphabet was discovered.

   Though not necessarily true, they are funny and unpredictable - and who knows?  Maybe the elephant did get its trunk because of the sharp teeth and firm clasp of the crocodile!

Best for grades K - 2.

Performed with large hand puppets.




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   Look down at the ground with a magnifying lens and what do you see?  Insects, of course. bugg.jpg (44714 bytes)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 special skills to perform great feats.

   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 the wondrous show.

Best for grades K - 3.

Performed with hand and rod puppets.



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  Born in the 1830's, it's said that he tamed the Wild West and left his mark on American folk lore.  Legend tells us that he was raisedpecos-aa.jpg (24290 bytes)by a coyote, rode a mountain lion, and tamed a tornado.  This is a tall tale about an honest-to-goodness, larger-than-life, genuine hero, who stood up for all things right.

   A rootin' tootin', high spirited adventure about a young man who becomes the greatest cowboy who ever lived.

Best for grades 3 and up.

Performed with rod puppets.                                                                     

 

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