Jeff Younger <jjyoga@gmail.com>

Puppet Happenings - June 12, 2026

The Jim Henson Foundation <happenings@hensonfoundation.org>Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 6:02 AM
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June 12, 2026

Puppet Happenings Newsletter


Featuring highlights from the complete online listings:


NYC Adult | NYC Family | National

Puppetry Festivals | Museum Exhibits | Professional Classes


PUPPET HAPPENINGS - TOP PICKS

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE *

Heather Henson and The Jim Henson Company

The New Victory Theater - 209 W 42nd Street New York, NY

Now - June 21

see website for details


Whoopee! Dance your cares away with Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock LIVE, a brand-new stage musical from The Jim Henson Company based on the Emmy Award-winning Apple TV series. The legend of the lost Celebration Stone promises untold party potential—if the Fraggles can find it! Their beloved world bursts to life with walk-around versions of the Fraggles, puppet-sized Doozers, new characters and even a visit from a larger-than-life Gorg, all from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.



*Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Presenter's Grant (2026)

T-Rex Took My Toothbrush *

By What If Puppets of Kansas City, MO

Center for Puppetry Arts - 1404 Spring St. NW at 18th Atlanta, GA

Now - June 14

see website for details


This is the story of Mr. Greene, a paleontologist who finds a dinosaur egg on a fossil dig. Upon the egg’s hatching, Mr. Greene becomes the surrogate parent to a T-Rex! Soon, he and his dinosaur ward are negotiating bedtimes, testing each other’s boundaries, and ultimately finding joy in their oddball little family.


Tickets include the show, access to the museum, and a take-home Create-A-Puppet Kit!


*Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant (2025)

PERFORMANCES - NYC

Bequeathed *

J Hann

Dixon Place - 161A Chrystie Street New York, NY

June 24 - 27

7:30pm


A young person, questioning their assigned gender identity, receives an unusual gift of an embroidery hoop on their birthday. The hoop acts as a portal, and the young person is swooped up into a Georgian/Regency era world of strict gender roles, and sewing notions. Through a series of trials and tribulations, the young person struggles to perform the ideal view of womanhood. Ultimately they see what’s behind the embroidery hoop – a sparkly and wonderful fluidity.


*Recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Workshop Grant (2024) and Production Grant (2026)

Big Umbrella Day

Lincoln Center - 10 Lincoln Center Plaza New York, NY

June 13

the day begins at 11am


Our celebrated Big Umbrella Festival returns this summer with a free day-long campus takeover, welcoming neurodivergent audiences and their families for a day of multidisciplinary programming, with an emphasis on dance and movement. Performances include Steve Reich’s The Four Sections by Paraorchestra; The Naughty Penguin, an interactive puppet performance created by Spellbound Theatre; salsa dancing for Deaf or Hard of Hearing led by Silent Rhythms; performances by Thingumajig Theatre’s roaming puppet duo The Flying Dodos; visual arts stations; numerous relaxed spaces; and more multi-sensory activities, performances, installations, and workshops.

PUNCH Puppet Slam: The Odyssey

The Tank - 312 West 36th Street New York, NY

June 16

7pm


Join us for another PUNCH puppet slam - where a diverse group of puppet artists use a wide variety of puppet styles to tell one story or collaborate on one wonderful puppet experience.

This time we are taking on the epic story of Odysseus. Come for Sirens and Cyclops, Gods and Goddesses, Lotus-Eaters, the Underworld and more!

An Evening with Dame Granny Smith

David Salter

Soho Playhouse - 15 Vandam St. New York, NY

Now - June 21

see website for details


Ripe from a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe season, the world's most celebrated apple, Dame Granny Smith, returns for an intimate on-stage interview with ventriloquist David Salter.


From her vaudeville debut at age five to her breakthrough role in Disney’s Snow White, Dame Smith will take you on an incredible journey through her storied life and multi-decade career, all told with her trademark candor and wit.

Free Puppet Shows in Bryant Park

WonderSpark Puppets

Bryant Park - 35 W 40th St New York City, NY

Now - June 24


June 17th - 10:00am

Goldilocks & The Three Bears



June 24th - 10:00am

The Little Red Hen

Pinocchio

Puppet Works Inc.

Puppetworks - 338 6th Avenue (at 4th Street) Park Slope Brooklyn, NY

Now - August 9

Saturdays & Sundays 12:30 & 2:30


Adapted by Puppetworks Artistic Director Nicolas Coppola, from a WPA script given to our founding company Suzari Marionettes in 1938, by Pinocchio's Broadway author, it tells the adventures of a marionette, from being carved out of wood, to becoming a real live boy through good deeds, after several misadventures.

PERFORMANCES - NATIONAL

Let Them Eat Melon

Ow WOW mEow

In The Heart Of The Beast - 2411 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN

June 13

7:30pm


oW wOw mEow presents their surrealist puppet show: Let Them Eat Melon: A puppet show inside a watermelon, inside a stomach, inside of a anti folk music show, looking at themes of microbial ecosystems, health autonomy, death and decay, and connecting systems of body to systems of ecology and politics. We use music and puppetry to explore how the worlds inside us connect us to the worlds beyond us and create stories that are equal parts hilarious, grotesque, and beautiful.

Amplify: The Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers Showcase

Puppet Showplace Theater - 32 Station St. Brookline, MA

June 13

8pm


Discover innovative works at a one-night-only finale to the 6th edition of the Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers (CRBP). The evening will feature “puppet slam”-style performances by the five artists of the 2026 cohort, plus performances by other artists from the CRBP community.


Featuring performances by the 2026 cohort:

  • Beyonce Armstrong (Brooklyn, NY) | The Hood Babies' Tapes: Volume 2
  • Majeedah Johnson (Parkville, MD) | Under the Microscope
  • Samuel J. Lewis, II (Chicago, IL) | Black Episcopalian
  • Danyett Tucker (Baltimore, MD) | A Fly Girl's Travel Journal

Boundless / Sin límites

All at Once

Pillsbury House + Theatre - 3501 Chicago Ave S Minneapolis, MN

Now - June 14

see website for details


All at Once is a Twin Cities–based collective of visionary puppeteers of color combining shadow, tabletop, and rod puppetry to create bold, immersive storytelling experiences.


Developed through story circles with BIPOC South Minneapolis residents, Boundless / Sin límites follows a young person sheltering in place from ICE who is swept into a time-traveling journey by Coyote, a trickster deity. Moving through layered Southside histories, the work explores migration, identity, memory, and community connection through myth, visual storytelling, and live performance.

WORKSHOPS, LECTURES, PRESENTATIONS, FILMS, SPECIAL EVENTS

Earth Paper Cut: A Shadow Play & Hands-On Puppet Building Workshop

by ShadowLight’s Jess Nguyen

Red Poppy Art House - 2698 Folsom Street San Francisco, CA

June 14

1pm - 4pm


Created and performed by ShadowLight’s Jess Nguyen, Earth Paper Cut is a youth-scripted, surreal story translated into a shadow show: Earth Paper Cut follows two children navigating the moral quandaries around staying or leaving their planet behind at the end of the world as we know it.


This performance will be followed by a guided exploration of transforming a story into a shadow play and a puppet-building workshop.

Group Coaching for Puppet Artists

Little Shadow Productions, Hosted by Jean Marie Keevins

Zoom

June 17 - August 26

Wednesdays at 8pm via Zoom


Feeling stuck, isolated, or unsure of your next creative move as a puppet artist? Group Coaching for Puppet Artists is a 10-week mindset mastery program led by Emmy-nominated creative executive and certified coach, Jean Marie Keevins.

Connect with a supportive community, receive expert guidance, and develop the confidence to grow your practice—no matter where you’re starting from.

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Tours

Jim Henson's Creature Shop   37-18 Northern Blvd Suite 400, Long Island City, NY

New Tickets Released!



Now - September 26

Saturdays, time slots between 9:40am and 4:20pm


The approximately 80-minute tour includes a walk through of the award winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop, founded by legendary puppeteer and director Jim Henson, as well as special photo opportunities with beloved and iconic characters, a puppetry demonstration from an actual Henson puppeteer, a meet and greet with one of Jim Henson's Creature Shop's talented puppet builders, and other special surprises!

MUSEUM & GALLERY EXHIBITS

Frame by Frame: Opening Screening and Artist Talk

Center for Puppetry Arts - 1404 Spring St. NW at 18th Atlanta, GA

June 12 - November 1

7pm


The evening features screenings of two acclaimed stop-motion short films, followed by an engaging conversation with contemporary artists shaping the field today. Exhibition curatorial advisor Emily D. Myers (Pinocchio, Boxtrolls) will share her perspective on the artistry behind the medium. Filmmakers Andrés Eduardo and Michael Granberry will present their works, Con Fuerza and Les Bêtes (Winner, Jury Prize, Best Short Film –Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025) and will offer insight into their creative processes and professional journeys.

 PUPPET HAPPENINGS - COMPLETE LISTINGS
The Jim Henson Foundation's Puppet Happenings Newsletter are highlights from the complete online listings, updated every Wednesday:



Puppet Happenings Submission Form:

Jim Henson Foundation | 37-18 Northern Blvd. Suite 400 | Long Island City, NY 11101 US

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