Rumpelstiltskin

 Following our hit production of “Rapunzel,” we’re mounting another fairytale that starts with “R.”

“Rumpelstiltskin”

11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Saturday April 29

2 p.m. Sunday April 3

11 a.m. & 2 p.m Saturday May 6

2 p.m. Sunday, May 7

As usual, we put the Fever River Puppeteers’ spin on a classic fairytale. So, besides the boastful miller and his poor daughter (the victim of his boasting), as well as the greedy and powerful king and Rumpelstiltskin himself, you’ll find our own Witch Hazel Green as well as a cameo performance by everyone’s favorite — Bossy the Cow! 

If you’ve ever been bothered by the fact that the miller’s daughter has to marry a king who seems particularly odious, then we think you will like our version in which the king eventually learns the error of his ways.

This show will also be available for mid-week touring, such as school groups after the first weekend. Please contact Sandye (608-732-7129) for more information.

‘Be 

Rapunzel

It gets expensive to buy enough hair care products for a girl with VERY long hair. That’s what Witch Hazel Green discovers in our production of

 “Rapunzel”

The marionette show will run the weekends of 

March 11-12 and 18-19

 at the historic 1891 Hazel Green Opera House, 2130 Main St. 

The Saturday shows are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Sunday shows are at 2 p.m.

The story begins with a forbidden garden inhabited by a scarecrow and a very unusual caretaker. Next door lives a pregnant queen who simply must have lettuce from the witch’s garden. Little does she know that the witch has been waiting for someone to activate a spell that will give her a child of her own to raise. By the time the witch figures out how difficult it is to keep a teenage girl in a tower, a handsome prince has made an appearance. And the rest is fairy tale history.

Tickets for the 45-minute marionette show are $5 per person. Tickets are not sold in advance. The doors open a half hour before each performance. 

For information, please call 608-732-7129 or email voight1970@me.com

Happy 2023!

 After a wonderful 2022 season of puppet shows, we are settling in to the quiet time of January and February. It’s a good time to make puppets and plan other projects. We are looking forward to an equally fun year of puppetry ahead. 

This spring, we are bringing back two fairy tales that start with R! We haven’t performed “Rumpelstiltskin” or “Rapunzel” for many years and thought it was time to bring back these old chestnuts.

They will be available to school and other audiences during the week.

This summer, we will dust off “Ivanushka and the Magic Horse.” This is a handpuppet show based on an old Slavic fairy tale. We were set to perform it for libraries during the first summer of Covid shutdown. We made a YouTube video of it available for libraries and 2 did generously take us up on that offer. But now, we have decided to bring it back live. It is a rollicking tale of 3 brothers, the youngest of whom is a kind of male Cinderella. Meanwhile, there is a Rapunzel-like princess in a tower and a horse that serves as a fairy godmother.

Our “Halloween Adventure” is a spoof of the “Wizard of Oz,” which finds Hazel and her little cat, Momo, trying to find their way to the Big Cheese. 

And finally, we are going to spend this quiet winter time working on NEXT December’s Christmas show, which will be a new production, “The Gingerbread Chronicles.” Inspired by a non-puppet production — the Gingerbread House Fundraiser we hosted for Family Promise of Grant County in 2022, we plan to create a show that’s a mash-up of “Hansel and Gretel” and “The Gingerbread Man.” Wish me luck! 

December is busy!

First, a quick note that our email is no longer centurylink. Please use: voight1970@me.com. 

Besides making gingerbread and puppets, we have been rehearsing one of our favorite shows:

“Singalong Nativity”

11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 10

2 pm Sunday, Dec. 11

11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 17

2 pm Sunday, Dec. 18

11 am & 2 pm Wednesday, Dec. 28

Saturday, Dec. 3, come to the opera house between 2 and 4 p.m. for the first-ever Gingerbread House Fundraiser. It’s a benefit for Family Promise of Grant County, which helps and houses homeless families in the area. There will be gorgeous gingerbread buildings to view, vote for and bid on. There will also be yummy cookies and hot beverages to purchase.

Then, on Sunday, Dec. 4, come to the Hazel Green Craft Fair at Southwestern HS, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. We will be there with the new 2023 schedules as well as puppets for sale.

After all that, we will rest up! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year and enjoy your holiday traditions. And be healthy.

Happy Halloween!

Witch Hazel Green always hosts a magic contest on her birthday, which happens to be Halloween.  Her nemesis, the Goblin who lives in the lead mines, knows that Hazel needs her black cat, Momo, to do any magic. 

What will happen if Momo disappears? What is a witch to do? Will her son Frankie help? Find out in 

“Hazel’s Halloween Birthday” 

11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 22

2 pm Sunday, Oct. 23

11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 29

2 pm Sunday, Oct. 30

“Sleeping Beauty”

We are pleased to bring back this spring favorite.

We first built this show with an eye to springtime and it will definitely be spring by the time we perform it, during the last weekend in April, May Day and Mother’s Day weekend.

Our version of  this beloved fairy tale includes a gaggle of witches (familiar to our audiences!) who bestow gifts on a baby princess, an overprotective father, a mean witch-turned-snow monster, a princess who loves to garden and a cloud of colorful butterflies. Butterflies, of course, are a metaphor for life after death.

Side note: The spinning wheel was one of my mother’s “tchotchkes.” One day, I noticed that it was puppet-size and blatantly asked for it. It’s perfect for Sleeping Beauty as well as Rumpelstiltskin.

Also, we are making this show available through the end of May for mid-week school (and other) groups. The opera house can seat 80. This is a perfect show for end-of-the-year school trips.

 

“Sleeping Beauty”

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. April 30

2 p.m. Sun. May 

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. May 7

2 p.m. Sun. May 8

Spring shows!

 Hi! We will be offering two marionette shows at the opera house this spring — in a departure from our usual scheduling.

First up:

“Irish Cinderella”

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. March 12

2 p.m. Sun. March 13

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. March 19

2 p.m. Sun. March 20

Liam the leprechaun steps in for the fairy godmother in this St. Patrick Day-ish take on the classic fairy tale. Poor Colleen wants to go to the king’s Irish step dancing contest but she hasn’t a thing to wear, among other problems. 

This approximately 50-minute show is fun for all ages. No reservations necessary, however, we will be taking reservations for any school groups who might want to visit during the week days in between. Call me: 608-732-7129. 

After “Irish Cinderella,” we will be doing a quick turnaround to offer 

“Sleeping Beauty”

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. April 30

2 p.m. Sun. May 1

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. May 7

2 p.m. Sun. May 8