The puppets and puppeteers at Puppetworks in Park Slope are preparing to take their final bow at the theater they have called home for the past 35 years.
The four-story building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fourth Street that houses the puppet theater has been sold to a developer, and the ensemble is now searching for a new home, hoping to continue delighting children and adults alike.
Puppetworks has been a neighborhood institution since 1991. During the week, its marionettes have mesmerized generations of elementary school students from across Brooklyn. On weekends, the theater, founded by artistic director Nicolas Coppola, hosts performances for the general public, as well as birthday parties.
Swing puppeteer Ronny Wasserstrom emphasized that the theater is not closing, but relocating. He told Brooklyn Paper it is a matter of finding the “right” space — one that meets the specific needs of running a theater, such as emergency exits, ample storage and access for school buses, but also feels “heimish,” a Yiddish word describing a place that is warm, cozy and familiar.
“We have other options, and other people do want us, but we have to find the right space, because we’ve been very lucky with this space,” Wasserstrom said. “But the most important part is to find a place where we can continue all week long, where the school buses can come in and not disturb the neighbors, and be safe. So that is the biggest challenge.”
While the theater is typically busy, Wasserstrom said that since news of the impending move spread, it has been “pandemonium,” with the venue packed over the weekend with grandparents, parents and children.
“Every single one of them was saying they’ve been coming since the 90s. So when I started here, it wasn’t like that. Maybe it was parents and kids, but now it’s multi-generational,” Wasserstrom said, adding that the ensemble has been heartened by the outpouring of community support.
The marionettes’ final curtain call is expected sometime this summer. Currently, “Pinocchio” is running through Aug. 9, 2026, and the theater also plans to host a nostalgia night before its move.
One visitor who used to bring his daughter to the theater as a child told Wasserstrom that his favorite memory was not just the shows, but the introductions afterward, when children could meet the puppets.
“He was like, ‘I just want to relive that.’ So then he came, and he was like, this one lone older guy, and he was just basking in it,” Wasserstrom said. “We get lots of adults coming, like, let’s say it’s their birthday and they’re like, 30-something years old, and they just want to relive it. And it’s a very heartening moment, and now it’s become more and more so, because I think now that people know we’re leaving, we’re going to get more and more of that.”
Wasserstrom, who had hoped the theater could remain at its current location a few more years so he could propose co-naming the street “Marionette Way,” said one reason for the theater’s long success has been its affordability.
“That’s the main thing. The prices are really so much better than other places,” Wasserstrom said.
For Lori Citron Knipel, visiting Puppetworks has become a family tradition. When her children were younger, they attended performances and celebrated birthdays at the theater.
“And Rachel, my daughter, carried on the tradition by doing it for her daughter, because she loved it so much. And [my kids] were both very much into puppeteering. And my granddaughter is too. So it is definitely a tradition. They definitely loved the place,” Citron Knipel said, noting that Puppetworks has played an important role in the lives of many children and their parents.
“We truly will support them to continue. We think they have done great over the years, and we have loved their shows and their creativity, and we don’t want to see them go; that’s for sure,” she said.
Her daughter, Rachel Knipel, added, “We love puppetworks! We had two of my daughter’s birthday parties there. I am 40 now, but I remember having my own birthdays there as well. It was always such a unique spot and a step back in time.”
