Beautiful Tales

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Join the award-winning Rainbow Puppets as they share “Terrific Tales.” Through original music and colorful puppets, they present relevant re-tellings of some of the most recognizable tales of all times.

By not talking to strangers, Red Riding Hood makes her way safely to Grandma’s house. Hansel and Gretel are not so lucky. When their father heads off to work, they ignore his instructions and end up lost in forest. Fortunately, they are able to outsmart the woman at the candy house and are reunited with their father. Finally, Goldilocks benefits from the generosity of Three Bears.

Between tales, there are interactive songs and dancing which are a trademark of Rainbow Puppet presentations.

Between tales, there are interactive songs and dancing which are a trademark of Rainbow Puppet presentations.

The late, great movie legend Mickey Rooney provides narration for the show. Over the years, he recorded many shows with the Rainbow Puppets including “Toyland!” and “Pirate Party.” Other voices include Rainbow regulars Chris Bartlett and Granny, Deborah Carlos as Red Riding Hood, and James Cooper as the Announcer. Steve Scheffler engineered and produced the performances  

 There’s an acrobatic flea, a giant stegosaurus and practically everything in between in Rainbow Puppet Production’s latest musical, "Creatures Great and Small.

"Grandpa, a fixture in Rainbow shows starting with their first program, "Jack and the Beanstalk" in 1977 leads audience members on a musical review of animal songs and stories. During the course of the program, you’ll meet all sorts of marine life including singing fish, a Blue Crab and a Fiddler Crab.Farley the Fiddler Crab will lead the audience in a blue-grass styled hoe-down, Bert the Blue Heron will perform a high-stepping big band number.   Other highlights include Mother Goose stories like "The Three Little Pig Opera" and a pair of singing dinosaurs.

The program is a musical review of animal songs written by David Messick, an award-winning author who has created many touring children’s musicals including the long running "Amazing Adventures of Chessie the Manatee" Pirate Puppets in "A Pirate Party" and "Noah’s Floating Zoo."

This show has been adapted to perform for all ages including preschoolers and folks in retirement communities.  We've presented it in one-room libraries, at outdoor festivals, and on the stage of a Grand Opera House!

For generations "Peter and the Wolf" has been used to introduce children of all ages to the classical orchestra.  Add the Rainbow Puppets and you're guaranteed a fun experience.  Peter lives in a small meadow surrounded by a dark forest.  He enjoys the day observing his friend the song bird, his sneaky cat, and the duck who swims in the nearby pond.  Grandfather warns Peter to beware of the Wolf who roams in the woods... but Peter has no fear of wolves... until one day....

Put your mind at ease...  In Rainbow Puppet's version, Peter and all his friends, including the duck and the wolf survive the day's adventure.

This production features vintage narration by Hollywood's legendary Sherlock Holmes... Basil Rathbone.  Prokofiev's score is conducted by Leopold Stokowski... the conductor for Walt Disney's "Fantasia."  

We can present this production as a short, stand-alone telling of the story.  Or we can create a Wolf Extravaganza by adding "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Three Little Pigs."

Make it a deluxe event by combining our puppets with your orchestra, wind ensemble and a local celebrity narrator.

One of the world’s most beloved children’s poems teams up with one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars as legendary entertainer Mickey Rooney narrates “The Night Before Christmas” for Rainbow Puppet Productions.    

“T’was the Night Before Christmas” was written in 1822 by author Clement C. Moore. Since that time, it has become a favorite around the world. And who better to tell the story than Mickey Rooney?

Mr. Rooney has excelled in practically every entertainment medium he’s performed. He was born into a vaudeville family and practically grew up on stage. In the 1920’s he starred in silent movies. By the 1940’s he was the most popular star in Hollywood, appearing in movies with such luminaries as Judy Garland, Spencer Tracey, and James Cagney. When television arrived, Mickey provided voices to such holiday classics as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “The Year Without Santa Claus.”   Mr. Rooney began his association with Rainbow Puppet Productions in 2003 when he headlined the 100th anniversary production of “Babes in Toyland.” Since that time, he has also starred in Rainbow’s productions of “Pirate Party" and “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

This production features an original score by Rainbow Puppet Productions founder David Messick. The award-winning playwright has created programs for the Smithsonian Institute, the Virginia Aquarium, and in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.     “I’m so happy to be able to combine so many of my favorite Christmas memories into this program,” says Messick. “There are gingerbread cookies… a reminder of my great-grandmother’s secret recipe. There is a bell choir sequence where the bells come to life… a reminder of Christmas-eve services. We’ve included music from the Nutcracker, one of the very first shows I lit as a teen-ager. And then you add Mickey Rooney to the mix. He’s the star of so many of the Christmas television specials I watched as a child. He even does a dance sequence with a snow man who comes to life. Remember that from ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?’”    

Rounding out the vocal talent for the program are many Rainbow Productions veterans including Chris Bartlett, James Cooper, Kara Dennison, Steve Scheffler, and Michael Singleton.    Puppets are hand-crafted by master puppet maker Jill Harrington. Settings were created by Helen Spaetzel. Musical arrangements are by Steve Scheffler. 

"The Night Before Christmas" was originally created for the Virginia Children's Museum.  Since opening, it has been performed at schools, libraries, churches and town hall "Grand Illuminations."

This program can be presented in 20-minute sets throughout the day or as a longer, 45-minute presentation including Mother Goose and the whole gang!  At churches, we can add a re-telling of the Nativity Story complete with camels, angels, and more!