Columbia Marionette Theatre — Local services in Columbia

Going downhill fast! Jack & the Beanstalk was wonderful. I saw another show at some point, don't remember, but it was good. Pinocchio was ok, but the puppets were facing backwards half the time. The first 3 rows of the audience were filled with kids wearing tall party hats with fluffy things on top. I'm a tall adult & couldn't see over them. Ended up standing on the far side of the room so I could hold up my kid so he could see over the party hats. Those same party kids were running amok the whole show, screaming, playing in the aisles, jumping around. Parents & staff didn't do a thing to stop them. Then Christmas came. We thought a special holiday show must be good. What a disaster! They didn't even use marionettes for most of the show! Puppeteers were onstage, not wearing the masks that professional onstage puppeteers use. The lighting was on the full stage, humans and all, instead of being focused on the puppets. It was hard to ignore the humans standing there. One woman had bright pink hair that was uber-distracting in the bright lights. The Christmas show was a bunch of skits that had little to do with Christmas. It started with a hand puppet dancing to a pop Christmas song playing on a speaker, boring, but we stayed optimistic since it was only the opening. The first skit was ok, but the kids didn't understand the plot (a monster invaded a house). The humans were on the stage with the puppets, which this theater hadn't done before, so it was confusing. Kids up front kept asking what they were doing. Then they did something with 2 puppets fighting, no warning that this kids show would include violence! Just a straight 5-or-so minutes of fighting! One fighting puppet had bright pink hair, looked just like the pink-haired puppeteer. I guess they were supposed to be the same character & that's why she dyed her hair pink for the show. The pink-haired woman wasn't controlling the pink-haired puppet, though. She was just standing there herself and kept bashing the pink-haired puppet with a giant cookie. Mini doppelganger she had to defeat? They didn't explain. Then an 8-foot foil-covered robot came to the far edge of the stage, & the other characters went over to the robot, & the robot hit them with a giant cardboard question mark. The question mark certainly sums up what this whole show was about! Then they set up tables on the stage & put on table cloths that didn't cover the audience side of the tables so we were treated to the sight of wires, cardboard, & junk under the tables for the remainder of the show. The pink-haired woman & another woman came onto the stage & quietly played with toys on the table. The puppeteers kept running off & on the stage, playing with the toys. Several kids up in the front rows shouted "what are you doing?" My thoughts exactly. My 3-year-old said, in the middle of this oddity, "this is the worst thing I've ever seen!" Then there was a song with a tiny cut-out shadowy scene. That part was ok visually other than being too small, but the story didn't make sense & after the exhaustion of witnessing the other nonsensical skits, it was hard to enjoy. Of course it still wasn't a marionette skit. I think there was another skit after that, I don't remember. We were so bored by then that we were just being polite, trying to make it to the end, & the other kids in the audience had long given up on the show & were running around & asking parents when they could leave. Then they did some more hand puppets dancing to pop songs. The whole thing was a disaster. Unprofessional. Embarrassing. Cringy. If this had been our first show there, we'd never go back. I'm sure a lot of people's first time at the theater was the Christmas show, & I'm sure they will never go back. It's called Columbia Marionette Theatre & they didn't use marionettes. That toy-playing skit didn't use puppets at all! I doubt we'll go back. For the price, it's not worth the risk of another bad show or uncontrolled...

We've been coming to the Columbia Marionette Theatre for almost 10 years now, and it's just one of those unknowns in the area that continues to fly just beneath the radar for most. The theater itself is charming and has been landscaped in recent years. They put on independent productions of familiar fairy tale fare that isn't quite how you remember it (and I mean that in a good way).

Admission is a very reasonable $5 per person. Concessions are also available and very reasonably priced. My oldest daughter loves the Columbia Marionette Theatre, so we catch new shows whenever we can and we've booked a reservation for one of their party areas for her birthday for the third year in a row.

The four themed-party areas are nice and available for a $75 booking fee (plus $5 per child who attends, parents attend at no additional cost). A table, trash can and gift (a marionette, of course) are provided, and compared to a lot of the other birthday-type accommodations you could book, this remains one of the best values available, both in terms of the price and content. There is sufficient seating for 20 or so children at the tables, with seating for the parents.

The CMT is easily my favorite "children's" venue in the area, and there really is nothing quite like it elsewhere in Columbia (or the state, for that matter). The shows are entertaining and the craftsmanship that goes into the marionettes and the sets are impressive. Many of the different productions have completely different styles, so things can change quite a bit from production-to-production, with other types of puppetry often making appearances. It's really something that needs to be checked-out, and it's always interesting and entertaining for the...

This was THE BEST place to have my sons birthday party! It is unique, fun, entertaining, and cool. The kids can purchase popcorn and drinks, just like in a movie theater. The gift shop has really cool puppets and marionettes to purchase. You want to take pics of everything. This brings a certain nostalgia back for adults. This is pure, wholesome fun. My son picked the Wizard Of Oz seating for his party. It offers 2 long tables for the kids to sit and a long row of chairs for the adults. You also get an additional table for cake, gifts, etc. All of the parents were impressed 👌🏽! The show itself is amazing. A mixture of cartoon screens, stage props, amazing marionettes, awesome music, and more. The show is very detailed, and it takes a lot of talent to move the marionettes around the way they do. Lyon even took kids backstage after the show to show them how they are operated, made, and used . This was not only fun for everyone but also a unique experience and educational. We saw Hansel & Gretel but will be going back for future shows as well. During the show, when the lights were dim, I looked back, and all I saw were rows of children with big smiles on their face. That is worth...