Stony Creek Puppet House facts for kids
The Stony Creek Puppet House was a special theater in Stony Creek, Connecticut. This area is close to New Haven and the famous Thimble Islands. It was built in 1903 as a movie theater. Later, it became a place for community plays and summer shows. Famous director Orson Welles even put on a play called Too Much Johnson there in 1938. During World War II, it was used as a parachute factory. After the war, it became a puppet theater. Today, the building is a Connecticut Historical Landmark. It has been updated and is now a live theater called the Legacy Theatre. It opened its doors on April 23, 2021.
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The Story of the Stony Creek Theater
The Stony Creek Puppet House started as a silent movie theater in 1903. It was first called The Lyric Theater. In 1920, a local group bought the building. They were called the Parish Players. They renamed it The Stony Creek Theater. This group worked with Lee Shubert, a famous theater owner. Together, they put on a play called Death Takes a Holiday in 1929. This play later went to Broadway.
Summer Plays and Famous Visitors
In the 1930s, the theater became a place for professional summer plays. In August 1938, the well-known director Orson Welles brought his play Too Much Johnson there. This play was based on an old comedy. The theater did not have movie projectors. So, parts of the play that needed film could not be shown. This made the story confusing, and the play was stopped. Too Much Johnson was performed from August 16 to 29, 1938. The cast included actors like Joseph Cotten and Mary Wickes.
From Factory to Puppet Stage
During World War II, the theater building changed. It was used as a factory to make parachutes. In 1960, the building went back to being a theater. It became The Stony Creek Puppet House. The building closed in 2009 because of safety rules. A new owner bought it in 2013.
Today, the building is called the Legacy Theatre. After its grand opening concert, it showed Neil Simon's play Barefoot in the Park. This was the first of many live shows in 2021.
Amazing Puppets of the Puppet House
The Puppet House was home to a special collection of puppets. These were traditional Sicilian puppets. They were used in a type of puppet show called Opera dei Pupi. These puppets were about 4 to 5 feet tall and weighed around 80 pounds. They were some of the last puppets made by Sebastiano Zappala. He was a master puppet maker in the early 1900s.
How the Puppets Were Made
The puppets' bodies were made of strong wood with steel inside. They were covered with hemp and canvas. Their heads were carved by hand from solid walnut wood. They were painted with great detail. Each puppet had its own colorful costume. Some wore simple clothes. Others wore shiny embossed brass suits of armor. These armors had special coats of arms for emperors, kings, and knights. Some puppets wore bright, flowing robes, like those worn by Moors from North Africa.
Stories Told by Puppets
These puppets told stories from old European poems and epics. Some famous stories included "La Chanson de Roland" and "Orlando Furioso". They brought to life stories of the Crusades. They showed battles between knights and kings. They also showed heroes fighting villains and evil wizards. The stories were about glory, fame, justice, love, and big dreams. A funny character, called a buffoon, often made the audience laugh. This character also connected the audience to the ancient stories.
The puppet shows used sound effects like drums and trumpets. They also had sounds of battle. The puppets were very large and impressive. This made their world of history and fantasy seem real. But their puppet-like movements also reminded everyone it was a play.
Puppeteers at Work
The puppeteers stood on a platform called "the bridge." It was six feet above the stage. They moved each puppet using a rod attached to its head and body. Another rod moved the puppet's sword hand. A string moved the shield hand. Puppeteers needed to be strong and skilled. Each one had to control several puppets during a play. They gave each puppet a different personality through its movements.
