Eulenspiegel Shows
Old and New, Big and Small: Eulenspiegel Has Them All
Shows for Families, Schools, Festivals, and Adult Audiences!
The Eulenspiegel Puppets are known for their performances of international folktales and regional historical fiction, many with live music. The company also provides community performances YOU can participate in as well as special shows for older audiences! If you wish to bring the troupe into your community, the puppeteers will help you select the best performance for you!
The Eulenspiegel Puppets have toured in 31 states and four other countries, at festivals and in schools, libraries, colleges, theaters, and community centers.
In addition to live performances, Eulenspiegel offers a series of shows-no longer performed live-as virtual experiences. Ask how you can get a download link to show these classic performances to your group!
Currently, grant funding is available to cut the price of Shenanigans: Animals in Charge!, Kate Shelley's Train Rescue, and Appleseed! Check our residencies page as well. Several of the community show residencies have funding support, cutting the price in half.
Shenanigans: Animals in Charge!
Eulenspiegel Puppets performs a brand new show featuring the fun adventures animals had while humans limited their community contacts. Based on true stories of animal antics during the pandemic, with a lot of imagination thrown in.
Curriculum Connections:
- Current Events
- History
- Folklore
- Art
- Music
- Drama
Bremen Town Musicians
Eulenspiegel Puppets presents a new adaptation of The Bremen Town Musicians, a beloved Grimm’s fairy tale! In this version, Till Eulenspiegel’s donkey retires and makes common cause with a bluesy hound, a rockin’ rooster, and a jazzy cat.
Age group: 3-93
Curriculum Connections:
- Art
- Music
- Drama
- Folk Literature
- Aging
- Teamwork
- Danger from scammers
The Big Election
Who will win the big election for Leader of the Beasts? Will it be Benny P. (for Progress) Beaver or Terry E.
Age group: 5-95
Curriculum Connections:
- Civics
- Folklore
- Art
- Music
- Drama
Uncle Rabbit's Adventures
Bring our bilingual show, Uncle Rabbit's Adventures, to your community!
Uncle Rabbit's Adventures uses large, beautifully crafted hand puppets and lots of fun props to tell the story of a wealthy land-owning goat who doesnʼt want to share with his neighbors.
Age group: 4-94
Curriculum Connections:
- Art
- Music
- Drama
- Nutrition
- Plant science
- Character Counts
- Bilingual education
- World Folklore
In the Mirror: Three Tales From Asia
A set of three tales from Korea, Japan and Turkey, these stories all feature atypical heroes. A favorite is the little old lady outsmarting two Onis (Japanese trolls) who imprison her in order to sample her delicious cooking. The show uses a clever stage that rises and folds out of a decorated box.
Age group: 4-94
Curriculum Connections:
- European folklore
- Comparative literature
- Art
- Drama
- Character Counts
- STUDY GUIDE PROVIDED
Remembering Buxton
Remembering Buxton is the story of Buxton, Iowa, a coal mining town in southern Iowa in existence from about 1900 to 1925. The town was half Black and half white. A total anomaly for its time, it was 100% egalitarian, with Blacks in mine management, city government, and professional life. Its neighborhoods and facilities were integrated.
Magical Fish and Mermaids
The Fisherman and his Wife is the ancient Grimm’s Fairy Tale of the magical fish who grants wishes until the beneficiaries become too greedy and too hungry for power.
Age group: 5-95
Curriculum Connections:
- Folklore
- Science
- History
- Art
- Music
- Drama
Kate Shelley's Train Rescue
Kate Shelley’s Train Rescue tells the story of the Iowa teenager who, in 1881, saved the train from plunging to a watery death. Created and performed by puppeteer Stephanie Vallez, this exciting tale unfolds in the pages of two giant pop-up books peopled with paper puppets, masks, and rod marionettes and fun, low-tech special effects.
Age group: 5-95
Curriculum Connections:
- History
- Women's Studies
- Art
- Music
- Drama
A Magical Winter's Night
Cece is a little girl with a vivid imagination. She loves to play in the woods with her pets, Pansy the cat and Lander the gander. This is the story of Cece’s adventures, of
the creatures, real and imagined, that she confronts in the woods, of the changing
seasons, and of a very special Christmas Eve.
Age group: 3-93
The Musical Ant
Developed by Monica Leo and Eli Portugal, her late partner puppeteer from Mexico, The Musical Ant follows Hormiguita (liitle ant) as he learns to play the piano and brings peace to his ant colony through music. The production uses hand puppets, rod puppets, masked characters, and music and incorporates some Spanish along with the English text.
Appleseed!
Eulenspiegel Puppets performs an exciting story about Johnny Appleseed's true adventures and his relationships with the settlers, the Native Americans, and the animals and plants around him.
Age group: 5-95 (best for K-6)
Curriculum Connections:
- History
- Iowa History
- Nature
- Agriculture
- Art
- Music
- Theater
The Emperor's Nightingale
The Emperor’s Nightingale is a brand new show created and performed by Eulenspiegel’s Stephanie Vallez. Using delightful Bohemian-style rod marionettes on a tabletop stage, the show tells the story of an emperor who loves nature, especially birds and most especially the nightingale.
Peter and the Wolf
Listen to Prokofief's beloved music as you watch Peter outsmart the wolf! Eulenspiegel Puppets use beautifully crafted large tabletop puppets and rod puppets to tell this classic tale of a young boy, his grandfather, his pets, and the creatures that live in the meadow and the forest.
Age group: 4-94
Curriculum Connections:
- Music
- Drama
- Art
- Social Studies
- Folk Literature
Dr. Germington Saves the Day
Good habits start young! Dr. Germington is here to encourage children to wash their hands, brush their teeth, and be more mindful of the viruses and bacteria around us. As the doctor goes through her day at the hospital and in her home, children will learn about the many ways that microorganisms can thrive or be thwarted!
Dr.
Little Red Riding Hood
Eulenspiegel's adaptation of this beloved Grimms fairy tale uses delightfully crafted miniature Bohemian marionettes created by puppeteer Monica Leo. The set is an extra-large pop-up storybook also designed and created by Leo. The script, laced with wit and whimsy, was written by puppeteer Teri Jean Breitbach. The production was directed by well-known director Michael Sokoloff.
Age group: 4-94
Curriculum Connections:
- European folklore
- Comparative literature
- Art
- Drama
- STUDY GUIDE PROVIDED
The Snow Queen
Eulenspiegel's adaptation of this beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale uses delightfully crafted miniature Bohemian marionettes that interact on the pages of two extra-large pop-up storybooks. The story follows Gerda as she travels to the ends of the earth to save her best friend, Kai, from the Snow Queen.
Age group: 4-94
Curriculum Connections:
- Character Counts (esp. Responsibility, Trustworthiness, and Caring)
- Folk and Fairy Tales
- Victorian Literature
- Girl Power (Feminist Studies)
- Art
- Music
- Drama
Nacho and Yoyo's Escapades
Nacho and Yoyo’s Escapades, a bilingual English/Spanish show, takes elements of Iowa City’s barrio history mixed with large doses of fantasy to create an original story detailing the adventures of a chihuahua and an escaped circus monkey.
Curriculum Connections:
- Bilingual Education
- Iowa History
- Immigrant Stories
Finding Home
Finding Home is a trilogy of pieces, poignant, joyful, and humorous, about puppeteer Monica Leo’s parents and their immigration experiences. The first piece, My Father’s Imaginary Friend, uses candlelight and shadows to interpret the story of her father’s hope and survival during his incarceration in a concentration camp.
Age group: 12-adult
Play to Play (or Hold Your Puppet Up!)
Play to Play (or Hold your Puppet Up!) is a touching and humorous glimpse into the private lives of the puppets and puppeteers created and performed by Monica Leo.
Age group: 12 through adult
