All aboard! The Loose Caboose
Hop on The Loose Caboose by Harry LaCoste: when a train engineer is left stranded, he discovers delightful puppet characters, musical stories, and hilarious jokes inside the suitcases left behind! On stage February 20-23.
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Feb 20 (Thu) 2025: 10:30 am
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets and live music
Feb 21 (Fri) 2025: 10:30 am
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets and live music
Feb 22 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets and live music
Feb 23 (Sun) | 9:00 am
A fun, interactive performance & play experience designed for very young children and their grown-ups!
Infants & preschoolers, with their grown-ups
Feb 23 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets and live music
March 8 ( Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Join Coati and a cast of Mexican wildlife for three original stories celebrating tacos and the place they were created.
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 8
Hand puppetry
March 9 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm (PWYC)
Join Coati and a cast of Mexican wildlife for three original stories celebrating tacos and the place they were created.
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 8
Hand puppetry
March 15 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When the Grimm family’s fabulous contraption malfunctions, they have to invent a new way of storytelling on the spot, with some help from the audience!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 10
Mixed puppetry styles and live music
March 16 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When the Grimm family’s fabulous contraption malfunctions, they have to invent a new way of storytelling on the spot, with some help from the audience!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 10
Mixed puppetry styles and live music
March 22 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When the Grimm family’s fabulous contraption malfunctions, they have to invent a new way of storytelling on the spot, with some help from the audience!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 10
Mixed puppetry styles and live music
March 23 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When the Grimm family’s fabulous contraption malfunctions, they have to invent a new way of storytelling on the spot, with some help from the audience!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 10
Mixed puppetry styles and live music
March 29 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Dive beneath the ocean’s sparkly surface to a wild and dripping-wet world — featuring actual underwater puppets!
Puppet Showplace Theater's Incubator Program is proud to present the world premiere of this new, underwater version of Little Big Eye!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 8
Underwater puppetry, mixed puppetry styles, and original music
March 30 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Dive beneath the ocean’s sparkly surface to a wild and dripping-wet world — featuring actual underwater puppets!
Puppet Showplace Theater's Incubator Program is proud to present the world premiere of this new, underwater version of Little Big Eye!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 8
Underwater puppetry, mixed puppetry styles, and original music
April 5 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Dive beneath the ocean’s sparkly surface to a wild and dripping-wet world — featuring actual underwater puppets!
Puppet Showplace Theater's Incubator Program is proud to present the world premiere of this new, underwater version of Little Big Eye!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 8
Underwater puppetry, mixed puppetry styles, and original music
April 6 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Dive beneath the ocean’s sparkly surface to a wild and dripping-wet world — featuring actual underwater puppets!
Puppet Showplace Theater's Incubator Program is proud to present the world premiere of this new, underwater version of Little Big Eye!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 8
Underwater puppetry, mixed puppetry styles, and original music
Apr 12 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Which little pig will build a house that can withstand the powerful puffs of the Big Bad Wolf — surfer Georgie, farmer Jeremiah or Amelia, the avid reader?
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3 – 8
Glove and tabletop puppets
Apr 13 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Which little pig will build a house that can withstand the powerful puffs of the Big Bad Wolf — surfer Georgie, farmer Jeremiah or Amelia, the avid reader?
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3 – 8
Glove and tabletop puppets
Apr 18 ( Fri) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
What happens when a father and daughter create puppet shows together?! A collection of playful bedtime-themed tales featuring a cat-and-dog talk show, a fantastical adventure, and more!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 5 – 10
Mixed puppetry styles, including hand puppets, marionettes, and shadow puppets
Apr 19 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
What happens when a father and daughter create puppet shows together?! A collection of playful bedtime-themed tales featuring a cat-and-dog talk show, a fantastical adventure, and more!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 5 – 10
Mixed puppetry styles, including hand puppets, marionettes, and shadow puppets
Apr 21 (Mon) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3 – 7
Hand puppets and live music
Apr 22 (Tue) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
The classic story of a young woman whose good heart transports her from rags to royalty, with a few unexpected twists!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 8
Marionettes
Apr 23 (Wed) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
When his caboose is stranded, a train engineer discovers puppet characters and enchanting musical stories inside a suitcase!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3 – 7
Hand puppets and live music
Apr 24 (Thu) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Eight-year-old Lucy and her goofy pal Little Chucky are searching for buried treasure, but a gang of bumbling pirates keeps getting in the way!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 9
Mouth and rod puppetry
Apr 25 (Fri) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Eight-year-old Lucy and her goofy pal Little Chucky are searching for buried treasure, but a gang of bumbling pirates keeps getting in the way!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 9
Mouth and rod puppetry
Apr 26 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Eight-year-old Lucy and her goofy pal Little Chucky are searching for buried treasure, but a gang of bumbling pirates keeps getting in the way!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 9
Mouth and rod puppetry
Apr 27 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Eight-year-old Lucy and her goofy pal Little Chucky are searching for buried treasure, but a gang of bumbling pirates keeps getting in the way!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 – 9
Mouth and rod puppetry
Feb 17 (Mon) - Feb 21 (Fri) | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Calling all jokester kids and Muppet fans! Join Resident Artist Sarah Nolen for week of puppet-building and performing, focused on moving-mouth puppets and the art of comedy!
Open to students in grades 2–6; grades 7–9 can apply to be Junior Puppet Counselors!
Apr 21 (Mon) - Apr 25 (Fri) | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Puppetry is exercise for your imagination! Join the Teaching Artists of Puppet Showplace Theater for one week of fun puppet-building and performance activities during your school vacation week.
Open to students in grades 2–6; grades 7–9 can apply to be Junior Puppet Counselors!
Feb 28 (Fri) 2025: 8:00 pm
Join Susan and her trusty avian sidekick in pondering the important questions of life, death, art, and the universe.
Recommended for adults 18+
Ventriloquism and hand puppetry
March 1 (Sat) 2025: 8:00 pm
Join Susan and her trusty avian sidekick in pondering the important questions of life, death, art, and the universe.
Recommended for adults 18+
Ventriloquism and hand puppetry
Tuesdays Mar 18 - Apr 22 2025 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Developing the character and voice for one puppet, while practicing the essential skills of ventriloquism!
Recommended for adults and teens ages 18+
Mar 19 (Wed) 2025 | 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Cultivate the ability to react spontaneously and truthfully in this playful workshop with improv comedian, interactive theatre-maker, and theatrical clown Stoph Scheer.
Recommended for adults 18+
Mar 20 (Thurs) 2025 | 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Explore the basic mechanics of one-person and three-person-style puppets in this fun, hands-on workshop using Sandglass Theater’s approach to puppetry training.
Recommended for adults 18+
Apr 3, 10, 24 (Thurs) 2025 | 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Want to build your own rod or tabletop puppets, but don’t know where to start? In this class you will design and create a fully articulated, actual-size test puppet!
Recommended for adults 18+
As a supporter of Puppet Showplace, you know that theater brings us together. But for some families, even an $18 ticket is a barrier to joining in.
It’s a summer afternoon and Natsumi, age 10, is here to express herself. She doesn’t want to act in a play — “I don't like it when eyes are on me,” — but she loves designing her own puppets and creating shows in our vacation week programs.
As I write this, Puppet Showplace is preparing to announce the 5th cohort of our Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers (CRBP). This program is expanding from two months to six months so that we can offer more support, mentorship, and community-building to support early-stage works by Black artists.
Each year we receive hundreds of thank you cards from children who have come to Puppet Showplace Theater on field trips.
Today we want to share their thanks with you.
Now in its 5th year, Puppet Showplace’s Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers has invested in 20 Black artists since 2020 by supporting creative research at the earliest stage of production development.
This fall, shows that were nurtured at Puppet Showplace are spreading their wings, and performing at amazing venues all over Boston and New England.
“We've found that audiences really respond to the relaxed environment of an outdoor show. By nearly doubling the number of shows and quadrupling the neighborhoods reached, we aim to reach diverse communities and connect with new audiences through the joy of puppetry."
Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping Puppet Showplace kick off our 50th anniversary year so joyfully! Thank you for eating all the popcorn, playing with all the free-play puppets, filling our window with birthday flags and our sidewalk with chalk art.
On Sunday, June 2, we officially turned 50, and I came across a letter that touched me, written by Puppet Showplace Theater's founder Mary Churchill in 1990: "The theater will have existed for twenty years. How many other people have had the opportunity to set up and run a great place like this, that some will remember long after we are dead?"
We're still buzzing with excitement from the premiere run of Don't Make Me Get Dressed by The Gottabees last month! With over 1,700 attendees, the show was definitely a hit — 9 out of 23 performances were completely sold out.
Puppet Showplace Theater is dedicated to presenting outstanding puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach activities.
Puppet Showplace Theater is supported by...
Puppet Showplace Theater is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and the Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan from the National Endowment for the Arts.
We are thrilled to announce the recipients of Puppet Showplace Theater’s 2025 Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers!