{"id":2210234,"date":"2025-12-23T20:08:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2210234"},"modified":"2025-12-23T20:08:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:08:16","slug":"in-brooklyns-park-slope-neighborhood-childrens-entertainment-comes-with-strings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/in-brooklyns-park-slope-neighborhood-childrens-entertainment-comes-with-strings\/","title":{"rendered":"In Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, children’s entertainment comes with strings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Every weekend, at 12:30 or 2:30 p.m., children gather on foam mats and colored blocks to watch wooden renditions of The Tortoise and the Hare,<\/i> Pinocchio<\/i> and Aladdin<\/i> for exactly 45 minutes \u2014 the length of one side of a cassette tape. “This isn’t a screen! It’s for reals happenin’ back there!” Alyssa Parkhurst, a 24-year-old puppeteer, says before each show. For most of the theater’s patrons, this is their first experience with live entertainment.<\/p>\n

\nPuppetworks has served Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood for over 30 years. Many of its current regulars are the grandchildren of early patrons of the theater. Its founder and artistic director, 90-year-old Nicolas Coppola, has been a professional puppeteer since 1954.<\/p>\n

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The Puppetworks theater in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A workshop station behind the stage at Puppetworks, where puppets are stored and repaired.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A picture of Nicolas Coppola, Puppetworks’ founder and artistic director, from 1970, in which he’s demonstrating an ice skater marionette puppet.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

For just $11 a seat\u00a0($12 for adults), puppets of all types \u2014 marionette, swing, hand and rod \u2014 take turns transporting patrons back to the ’80s, when most of Puppetworks’ puppets were made and the audio tracks were taped. Century-old stories are brought back to life. Some even with a modern twist.<\/p>\n

\nSince Coppola started the theater, changes have been made to the theater’s repertoire of shows to better meet the cultural moment. The biggest change was the characterization of princesses in the ’60s and ’70s, Coppola says: “Now, we’re a little more enlightened.”<\/p>\n

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Right:<\/strong> Michael Jones, Puppetworks’ newest puppeteer, poses for a photo with Jack-a-Napes, one of the main characters in The Steadfast Tin Soldier<\/em>. Left:<\/strong> A demonstration marionette puppet, used for showing children how movement and control works.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Marionette puppets from previous Puppetworks shows hang on one of the theater’s walls.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A child attends Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, Dec. 6, dressed in holiday attire that features the ballerina and tin soldier in The Steadfast Tin Soldier<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Streaming has also influenced the theater’s selection of shows. Puppetworks recently brought back Rumpelstiltskin<\/i> after the tale was repopularized following Dreamworks’ release of the Shrek<\/i> film franchise.<\/p>\n

\nMost of the parents in attendance find out about the theater through word of mouth or school visits, where Puppetworks’ team puts on shows throughout the week. Many say they take an interest in the establishment for its ability to peel their children away from screens.<\/p>\n

\nWhitney Sprayberry was introduced to Puppetworks by her husband, who grew up in the neighborhood. “My husband and I are both artists, so we much prefer live entertainment. We allow screens, but are mindful of what we’re watching and how often.”<\/p>\n

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Left:<\/strong> Puppetworks’ current manager of stage operations, Jamie Moore, who joined the team in the early 2000s as a puppeteer, holds an otter hand puppet from their holiday show. Right:<\/strong> A Pinocchio mask hangs behind the ticket booth at Puppetworks’ entrance.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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A child attends Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing on Saturday, Dec. 6, dressed in holiday attire.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Left:<\/strong> Two gingerbread people, characters in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits. Right:<\/strong> Ronny Wasserstrom, a swing puppeteer and one of Puppetworks’ first puppeteers, holds a “talking head” puppet he made, wearing matching shirts.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Other parents in the audience say they found the theater through one of Ronny Wasserstrom’s shows. Wasserstrom, one of Puppetworks’ first puppeteers, regularly performs for free at a nearby park.<\/p>\n

\nCoppola says he isn’t a Luddite \u2014 he’s fascinated by animation’s endless possibilities, but cautions of how it could limit a child’s imagination. “The part of theater they’re not getting by being on the phone is the sense of community. In our small way, we’re keeping that going.”<\/p>\n

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Puppetworks’ 12:30 p.m. showing of The Steadfast Tin Soldier<\/em> and The Nutcracker Sweets<\/em> on Saturday, Dec. 6.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Children get a chance to see one of the puppets in The Steadfast Tin Soldier<\/em> up close after a show.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Left:<\/strong> Alyssa Parkhurst, Puppetworks’ youngest puppeteer, holds a snowman marionette puppet, a character in the theater’s holiday show. Right:<\/strong> An ice skater, a dancing character in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Community is what keeps Sabrina Chap, the mother of 4-year-old Vida, a regular at Puppetworks. Every couple of weeks, when Puppetworks puts on a new show, she rallies a large group to attend. “It’s a way I connect all the parents in the neighborhood whose kids go to different schools,” she said. “A lot of these kids live within a block of each other.”<\/p>\n

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Three candy canes \u2014 dancing characters in one of Puppetworks’ holiday skits \u2014 wait to be repaired after a show.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Anh Nguyen is a photographer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can see more of her work online, at\u00a0<\/i>nguyenminhanh.com<\/i><\/a> , or on Instagram, at\u00a0<\/i>@minhanhnguyenn<\/i><\/a>. Tiffany Ng is a tech and culture writer. Find more of her work on her website, <\/i>breakfastatmyhouse.com<\/i><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

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