
Ambitious Animals on an Inspiring Adventure!
In The Bremen Town Musicians, four farm animals set out to pursue their dreams of stardom — featuring elaborate shadow and rod puppets, loveable characters, and CactusHead Puppets' signature sense of humor!
Join us for the last show in our Pay-What-You-Can Summer Sundays season!
Ensure that Puppet Showplace thrives for 50 more years to come! By donating to Puppet Showplace, you can help share awesome puppetry, champion artistry, and welcome everyone.
Aug 24 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am
What can a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster do when they have to leave their farm? Become world famous musicians, of course!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 8
Shadow & rod puppetry
Sept 27 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am (PWYC) | 1:00 pm (PWYC)
Meet the Fairy Tailor, who transforms everyday garments into extraordinary characters — with new twists on familiar fairy tales. This whimsical, interactive production is guaranteed to inspire audiences of all ages!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 9
Mixed puppetry styles
Sept 28 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
Meet the Fairy Tailor, who transforms everyday garments into extraordinary characters — with new twists on familiar fairy tales. This whimsical, interactive production is guaranteed to inspire audiences of all ages!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 4 - 9
Mixed puppetry styles
Oct 4 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
In this comedic version of the classic Washington Irving tale, school teacher Ichabod Crane helps the Headless Horseman find a new head and a spookier image!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by 4 - 8
Mixed puppetry styles: rod, mouth and rod ("Muppet style"), and shadow
Oct 5 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
In this comedic version of the classic Washington Irving tale, school teacher Ichabod Crane helps the Headless Horseman find a new head and a spookier image!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by 4 - 8
Mixed puppetry styles: rod, mouth and rod ("Muppet style"), and shadow
Oct 11 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am (PWYC)
Encounter magnificent creatures from the wilds of your imagination as their quirky human caretaker tries to teach them new tricks in this colorful show from CactusHead Puppets!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Mixed puppetry styles, including table top and direct manipulation
Oct 25 (Sat) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
The brave prince Ram and his allies must rescue his kidnapped wife Sita from the evil King Ravan in this ancient Indian story from the Ramayana! This silly puppet show introduces children to the core characters and story of the Hindu festival Diwali.
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets
Oct 26 (Sun) 2025: 10:30 am | 1:00 pm
The brave prince Ram and his allies must rescue his kidnapped wife Sita from the evil King Ravan in this ancient Indian story from the Ramayana! This silly puppet show introduces children to the core characters and story of the Hindu festival Diwali.
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets
August 21 (Thu) 2025: 10:30 am at TADPole10, at the Tadpole Playground in the Boston Common
Encounter magnificent creatures from the wilds of your imagination as their quirky human caretaker tries to teach them new tricks in this colorful show from CactusHead Puppets!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Mixed puppetry styles, including table top and direct manipulation
Aug 23 (Sat) 2025: 12:00 pm at Emerson College’s Stage at UnCommon Corner
Encounter magnificent creatures from the wilds of your imagination as their quirky human caretaker tries to teach them new tricks in this colorful show from CactusHead Puppets!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Mixed puppetry styles, including table top and direct manipulation
Aug 30 (Sat) 2025: 12:00 pm at Emerson College’s Stage at UnCommon Corner
Join puppeteer, ukulele rockstar, and all around funny guy Harry LaCoste for his family-friendly variety show!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 2 - 7
Hand puppets, live music, and more
Aug 18 (Mon) - Aug 22 (Fri) 2025 | 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Aftercare available!
In Marionette Maestro, kids will dive into the exciting world of string marionettes, designing their very own puppet and learning to control it with precision and musical flair!
Rising 2nd - 8th Graders
Aug 25 (Mon) - Aug 29 (Fri) 2025 | 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Aftercare available!
Blast off into an out-of-this-world adventure with Puppets in Space! Young creators will design, build, and control their own cosmic puppets, preparing them for a journey across the stars.
Rising 2nd - 8th Graders
Sept 16, Sept 23, Oct 7, Oct 28 (Tues) | 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Eastern
Are you ready to bring your puppet vision to life? This workshop-style class will cover every step of the process, from concept through final performance.
Adults & teens 13+
Sept 17 (Wed) 2025: 7:30 pm
What happens when decadently weird artists get together? Join puppetry collective We Wiggle Dolls for a handmade and high-concept puppet cabaret!
Recommended for adults and ages 14+ with guardian
Mixed puppetry styles, including marionette, rod, hand, glove, cardboard, and more
Sept 25, Oct 2, Oct 9, Oct 16 (Thurs) 2025 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Get out of your head and into your hands in this fun puppet improv class taught by veteran improviser and puppeteer Sarah Nolen
Recommended for adults 18+
Oct 18 (Sat) 2025: 8:00 pm
Join us for an evening of short-form puppetry for adults, featuring a range of puppetry styles, beer and wine, and a guaranteed good time.
Recommended for adults and teens 16+
You might notice that our ticketing checkout pages look a little different, and our new tool offers an improved ticket shopping and checkout experience:
Paul Vincent Davis, an acclaimed puppeteer whose artistry, mentorship, and advocacy helped shape American puppet theater for generations, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 on Monday, August 4.
That was the sweet exclamation from the audience during one performance of Party Animals by Sarah Nolen of Puppet Motion (and the resident artist of Puppet Showplace), during the show’s premiere run on June 7 - 15.
Puppet Showplace is a home for many artists, including musician Tony Leva of The Gottabees — who shares his “open letter to Puppet Showplace” below!
“If you’ve never caught a Puppet Showplace Theater show before, you’re missing out on some serious magic…”
Boston Magazine writes, “This delightfully homespun community hub showcases something completely unique in today’s world of Pixar animation: the precious art of puppetry.”
Recently, The Boston Globe sat down for an interview with Resident Artist Sarah Nolen of Puppet Motion!
“I took my kids to the Puppet Showplace Theater, now my grandchildren are going there. It’s a wonderful place!”
“Being able to connect with other puppeteers and their perspectives on how to tell stories empowered me to tell my own, and stretch the limits of my imagination…” says Fatima.
“Picture this: It's a warm summer evening and you finally arrive at a lush, peaceful park overlook. There’s already a crowd sitting comfortably on the grass, and a special kind of stage has already been put up…”