Puppet Showplace Theater — Attraction in Brookline

My family and I have loved the Brookline Puppet Showplace Theatre for many years. My three kids used to enjoy going to shows as children and we have many fond memories of vibrant birthday parties full of fun and adventure.  In fact we all have some very lovely memories of Mary Churchill and Mr Davis (I forgot his first name, oh dear) from back in the days that the children were small. It all started because my eldest son fell in love with the puppets on the Mr Rodgers show and wanted to see "a real live puppet." My wife and I had no idea where to go to find such a thing but were very pleased to discover a puppy theatre in our very own Brookline!

As I mentioned before we had several birthday parties there and organized more than a handful of school field trips so that other kids could see the puppets and the marionettes.  My daughter in particular admired Mary Churchill and at one point wanted to become a "Mary puppet lady," as she called it. That sadly never happened but she did instill a lifelong love of puppetry in her own children as well as her nieces and nephews. As a very little girl my daughter once wrote Mary a long letter filled with childlike questions and Mary was gracious enough to not only write her back but to send her pictures of all the special puppets. I believe that they kept up a correspondence for some time and she was very influential in my daughter's life. She even credits Mary with helping her open her heart to her path to teaching.  Mary was always kind and she had a special way of making each and every child feel important and listened to.  She had the most bright and pretty smile too.

Even though my daughter never really became a puppeteer we have continued to love the Showplace Theater. One of the best family adventures we ever had was to go to the Zoo to see the Zoo at Midnight show. We at first had thought that the giant monsters and spooky things would be too scary of the children and we were almost correct. At first they were very scared, but the staff, especially a lovely young gentleman named Paul, were always right there to help the kids through. By our second trip to the show none of the children were afraid at all!

We were very saddened to hear of the departure of that very dear Paul Wattkins.  As a very young boy my grandson J (I hear that I am not supposed to give out their real names online) was terrified of the puppets. The first time he saw them he shrieked and burst into tears. Paul seemed to notice this and went right over to him and showed him how th4 puppets worked which made them not so scary. Paul always seemed to have a very intuitive understanding of kids and what it was they needed. He was quite a musicial too and my grandson (who I think had a little crush on Paul after the scary monster incident) used to love to be part of the musical parades and interactive singing.

It will be a sad day when my grandchildren say they are too old for puppets but I know that day will come. However I hear that they offer classes and maybe our family can continue our love of the puppet theatre by learning to perform...

We arrived for an engaging show with a 4 1/2yo soon after moving to Boston, and now our daughter can’t wait to receive her Puppet Showplace postcard of upcoming shows. We often arrive via the Brookline Village T stop across the street, and upon entering the theater, find ourselves transported to another part of the globe, in awe of some inspiring marionettes, and amazed at the shadow puppets. During a recent visit, we learned about some tiny little monsters and their antics to find their way home, accompanied by live music. As members, we love the variety of shows and themes, ability to visit during a school break and/or weekend shows, and the break on member tickets. The member's afternoon tea in early October is a fun and lively addition to our Autumn calendar. We have found staff to be very helpful with our questions and genuinely engaged in ensuring a fun visit for all, especially during my daughter’s 7th birthday at...

Although I had been to Puppet Showplace Theater when our son was young, I didn't fully appreciate what an incredible resource it is until I became a grandfather. I have two granddaughters, six and eight. I began taking the 8 year old when she was three. She enjoyed the shows so much, we started doing puppet-making workshops together, and her interest in puppets and children's theater was launched. My younger granddaughter was at first a little afraid of the strange puppets talking to her in a dark theater, but once she caught on, she couldn't wait to go up up to the puppeteers after a show to look at the puppets, ask questions, and even make suggestions! I myself am very interested in the performing arts, and Puppet Showplace Theater is the perfect way for grandparents to begin sharing their performing arts interests with their grandchildren. Don't miss this...