Not only do the shows go on at the Center for Puppetry Arts even as construction continues on its new Worlds of Puppetry museum scheduled to open this fall, but ambitious plans for more have been set, too.
The Midtown arts institution has announced an extensive 2015-16 lineup that will include a puppetry-center produced world premiere based on the 2001 Caldecott Honor book "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type" and a two-performance-only presentation of "The Sound of Music" by Austria's Salzburg Marionette Theatre.
The lineup (productions are by the puppetry center unless noted):
Family series
May 26-June 7: "My Life as a Fairy Tale: The Ugly Duckling" by Open Eye Figure Theatre of Minneapolis. Hans Christian Andersen story is told by Kimberly Richardson using only an assemblage of found objects and odd furniture.
Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
June 9-July 26: "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type." Jon Ludwig and Jason von Hinezmeyer adapt the tongue-in-cheek tale about bovines who refuse to provide milk until their farmer gives them electric blankets.
July 28-April 9: "The Reluctant Dragon" by Tears of Joy Theatre of Portland, Ore.
Aug. 11-Sept. 20: "The Tortoise, the Hare, & Other Aesop's Fables," a Theatre for the Very Young (ages 2 and up) show adapted from Aesop's fables by Michael Haverty.
Sept. 22-Oct. 25: "Peter Pan."
Oct. 27-Nov. 8: "The 3 Little Pigs & More," drawn from folk tales from around the world, by Grey Seal Puppets of Charlotte.
Nov. 10-Dec. 27, 2015: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." The Ludwig-adapted holiday favorite returns.
Dec. 29-Jan. 10, 2016: "Pinocchio!" a one-man "tour de farce" by Lee Bryan, That Puppet Guy, of Atlanta.
Jan. 13-24, 2016: "Brother Coyote and Sister Fox," a bilingual adaptation of the Mexican folk tale, by Thistle Theatre of Seattle.
Jan. 26-March 10, 2016: "Space!" Ludwig's final-frontier musical returns.
March 12, 2016: "The Sound of Music," Salzburg Marionette Theatre's detailed marionette adaptation featuring favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein songs.
March 11-April 3, 2016: "Galapagos George, The Little Tortoise That Could," an "eco-fable" by Barefoot Puppets of Richmond, Va.
April 5-May 22, 2016: "Beauty and the Beast."
New Directions Series (adults, teens)
Oct. 14-31, 2015: "The Ghastly Dreadfuls: Raising Spirits." Remounting of Ludwig's and von Hinezmeyer's Halloween show will include new scenes.
Feb. 23-28, 2016: "The Secret Garden" by Simpich Marionettes of Colorado Springs, Colo. Hand-carved marionettes are featured in this adaption of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel.
May 12-15, 2016: "Xperimental Puppetry Theater" by various artists. Not for kids or faint of heart.
1404 Spring St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-873-3391, www.puppet.org.
