The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host its 2024 Spring Puppet Show Series on four Saturdays from February to May 2024, featuring outstanding works of puppet theater by professional puppeteers from across New England and beyond. Each show will be performed at 11 a.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.
The schedule of the Spring Puppet Show Series includes the following:
Feb. 24: Little Red Ridinghood by A Couple of Puppets | Find out what happens when Little Red gets mixed up with Porquoi the pig, who is in the wrong story. Complete with changing scenery, music and charming hand puppets, this show will have audiences ratting on the wolf and cheering Little Red to safety.
Mar 23: Don’t Make Me Get Dressed by The Gottabees | For every child who has struggled to get into their clothes first thing in the morning (and for every parent who has fought valiantly in the battleground of the morning routine), comes Don’t Make Me Get Dressed – a gloriously silly and inventive ode to the feelings we have when we choose our clothes.
April 13: Hao Bang Ah, Dragon! by Chinese Theatre Works | Hao Bang Ah, Dragon! is the most recent in the series of Chinese Theatre Works’s hand-puppet productions that celebrate the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. This year’s show features a dozen different Dragons, serving up a spicy mix of song, skits, silliness and sage sayings.
May 18: The Legend of the Banana Kid by Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers | Little Chucky heads to the Wild West to outwit outlaws in this cowboy adventure! With a fistful of bananas, Chucky rides into town on his trusty goat for a showdown with Big Bad Bart and his gang of bandits. This show features 20 hand-crafted glove, mouth and rod puppets, and a slew of flying and twirling bananas.
Shows are generally recommended for ages 4+.
Ticket Prices: Adults: $12; Members/Seniors: $10; Students: $8; Kids: $6 (12 years and under).
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, by calling 860-486-8580, or online at bimp.ticketleap.com. A surcharge will be added to any purchases made online. Tickets may also be purchased at the Ballard Institute on the day of the performance starting at 10 a.m. There will be open seating and no reservations. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. For more information about these performances or if you require accommodation to attend this event, please contact Ballard Institute staff at 860-486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu.
Photos are available at bimp.ticketleap.com.