The Little Pirate Mermaid at the Center for Puppetry Arts is Another SMASH Hit

This original rhyming adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid by the Center for Puppetry Arts' Artistic Director, Jon Ludwig, was delightful! It's still the story of a young mermaid that longs to have legs, but instead of a prince, she falls in love with a pirate and wants to join him on his ship. Sailors have long sung about mermaids, so it just seems natural that the little mermaid would want to become a pirate. Although her version of a pirate is a little different then what you might expect.

The huge pirate ship set was more complex than many recent ones with the beautiful mermaid masthead as the narrator. Shadow puppet scenes took place on the ship's sails and there was a small side stage utilizing rod puppets. But, most of the action took place on the marionette stage which easily changed from ship's deck to colorful underwater scenes lit by a black light that made the neon colors pop. The hand-carved, wooden string puppets are suspended on fishing lines that are barely discernable, making the puppets appear to move unaided.  There are roughly 11 strings per puppet, enabling them to have a large range of movements such as swimming and dancing.

And dance they did! This show was filled with original swashbuckling music and lyrics that had Katie and Johnny dancing in their seats. Even the "scary scene" about the Sea Hag, was was a funny song about "gobble-goops" with dancing sea creatures and skeletons with heads that popped off in time to the music. It was Katie's favorite part of the show.

The action packed story with lots of pirate ship fun, including a naval battle, an attack by a monstrous squid and some hilarious antics between the sailors and pirates kept the kids on the edge of their seats, and lead to an unexpected ending that left everyone smiling.

Because there were 40 puppets in this production, I was expecting 7 or 8 puppeteers to come out after the show. I was amazed to discover there were only 4 very talented puppeteers that performed all of the many voices and animated the characters for this show. And the talent at the Center for Puppetry Arts doesn't stop there. I also discovered that all of the spectacular puppets, costumes and scenery were designed and made by the center.

Not only did the kids make a terrific Manta Ray Marionette in the Create-A-Puppet Workshop, but because they came dressed as a pirate and a mermaid, they received a voucher for a free cupcake from Smallcakes Cupcakery.

On the car ride home they both declared that THIS was their favorite show. They say the same thing every time we are the guests of the Center for Puppetry Arts and I must admit, so do I.

Tickets are available for $9.25 (MEMBERS) AND $16.50 (NON-MEMBERS) and include museum admission as well as the Create-A-Puppet Workshop, where kids can make their own Manta Ray Marionette Puppet. Tickets can be purchased online at  WWW.PUPPET.ORG  or by calling 404-873-3391.

Show times through July 15th are as follows: Tuesday – Friday*: 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.; Saturday: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Sunday: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

For information about other family events click HERE.