St. George & the Dragon

The Paul Mesner Puppets go back to the time of dragons, damsels and dungeons with the production of St. George and the Dragon. This production features a princess named Georgette. Her father, the King wants her to stay in the kitchen, do her needlepoint and get married. But Georgette has ideas of her own. The story unfolds as Georgette disguises herself as “George the Knight” who fight the earth shaking the dragon. Georgette conquers the dragon with brains and wit, which forces her father to recognize her true talents. The King sends her to college and they all lived happily ever after.

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Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
(used with the permission for Penguin Young Readers Group)

This Caldecott award-winning book, adapted by Paul Mesner Puppets is about Little Sal and her mother who go to Blueberry Hill to pick blueberries. Mother wants to can, or preserve, the berries so they will have food for the winter. On the other side of Blueberry Hill, a mother bear and her cub are eating blueberries to store up fat for the winter. Sal and the cub stop to rest, and when they get up, they start to follow each other's mother. Little Sal's mother and Little Bear's mother discover their children are missing and go off to find them.

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The Nativity- A collaboration with Grace & Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral made possible by a grant from the Perry and Charlotte Faeth Music Fund

Between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, miracle or mystery plays began in the churches of England and France. These pageants began with the nativity and then grew to other stories form the bible. They were first performed by the priests but eventually the guilds took over their performance and production and the performances moved outside of the church and became more secular. Some early references to the figures called them motions, an early word for puppet. In France, the story goes that these dramas were called little Marys or marionettes. The priests and later the guilds would set up stations and the dramas could be viewed throughout the church as the audience moved from station to station. Today you get to sit still, but we hope our little play moves you as well.

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Anansi Returns

Celebrate Black History Month with Anansi Returns, a new collection of classic folk tales from Africa and the Caribbean. All these humorous stories feature a trickster spider who sometimes gets tricked himself.

Traditional African and Caribbean stories adapted by Paul Mesner and Mike Horner

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Martha Speaks^sm (used with the permission of Susan Meddaugh, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and WGBH Educational Foundation; a series based on the Martha books is coming to PBS in fall 2008 )

When Finney feeds alphabet soup to her dog Martha, Martha begins to speak. The letters go to her brain instead of her stomach. But having a talking dog is not as fun as it seems. Paul Mesner adapts this Caldecott award-winning story for the puppet stage and lets the story of Martha unfold.

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Officer Buckle & Gloria © 1995 by Peggy Rathmann/Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
All rights reserved. Used with permission

In this Caldecott Award winning book Officer Buckle knows more about safety than anyone in Napville. But when he talks about safety tips, nobody listens. Until, that is, the Napville Police Department buys a new police dog, Gloria, a precocious pup with a vivacious personality! She has her own way to demonstrate safety tips – one that appeals to Napville’s residents. Paul Mesner Puppets brings this story to the stage with a cast of large rod puppets.

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The Paul Mesner Puppets presents the thousand year old tale of Cinderella, updated in a funny way. Cinderella is forced to do all the work, from the kitchen floors to the leaky roof, but her spirit shines through. She may be dressed in rags, but the prince realizes that she is truly beautiful on the inside.