Hansel and Gretel

A Marionette Show by
The Tanglewood Marionettes

I recently had the pleasure of seeing a marionette show at The Puppet Showplace. The show was Hansel and Gretel, performed by the Tanglewood Marionettes. I must say that I have never seen a show at The Puppet Showplace when the little children up front were not making a ruckus: this is the first show that captivated the audience completely, as they stared wide-eyed at the show.

The puppets were amazing, and apparently hand-crafted from wood. They were incredibly realistic, and if you had not seen the puppeteers or the strings connecting the puppets to the puppeteers, you might have mistaken them for real people!

The puppeteers did excellent voices for the puppets, and I'm not sure how, but they somehow managed to have marionettes pick up objects. I have never seen that done before. It was an excellent effect.

The backdrops were very good, set up to look like a giant storybook, and they would turn the "pages" each scene.

I would recommend this show mainly for younger children, possibly ages 3 to 8. I myself attended with 3 other children in that age range, and they all loved it. Although I am eleven years old, I have to admit that I myself loved it too!

I have been attending the Puppet Showplace shows since I was three years old, and I have gotten many years of enjoyment out of the theater. This was one of the best shows I have ever seen there.

Reviewed by Sam Reed,
age 11, Runkle School

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If you're in the second through sixth grade and want to write a review as one of our Kid Critics, please speak to someone in our Box Office for more information, or call 617-731-6400.