NOTE:Look for a BONUS REVIEW added at the bottom of this review page.
There will be 100 puppet-based events over 12 days in Chicago this January from the Chicago International Puppet Fest running January 21st to February 1st 2026.
This festival has quickly (over 8 editions) become a favorite for theater-goers, and Chicagoans are grateful for having something to look forward to other than flus and blizzards. Out of towners who visit for the festival are usually gobsmacked by Chicago’s cultural offerings during the darkest time of year, and as one of the few international theater festivals Chicago hosts, it’s no surprise that it has become wildly popular, with many shows selling out quickly.
This year, several regional puppet companies have decided to run adjacent and complimentary programming featuring Chicago-based puppeteers offering shows and puppet slams for folks who may have jumped too late and encountered sold out festival tickets, or who cannot afford festival ticket prices. (See below for a partial listing of these shows.)
The Chicago International Puppetfest is the brainchild of Blair Thomas, artistic director & festival founder. I’ve interviewed Blair a few times over the years as the festival has grown (links) but this time around I spoke to Sandy Smith Gerding (Executive Director) and Taylor Bibat (Festival Coordinator & Director of Education) about what to expect this January when the puppets take over the city, how the Fest is working to reach a wider audience in Chicago and trying to keep the local puppet-show going community looped in to the events while providing a diverse sampling of puppetry styles from around the world. Tune in as we dig deep into the programing and the fest philosophy.
Besides the festival, there are other January Puppet & Puppet Adjacent Stuff to See:
January 15-17 The Uncanny Attic Chapters E-H, Steppenwolf Theatre
January 17 Clowntown Playground -YOLO Fundraiser for Albany Park Mutual Aid9:30 PM – 3 AM, follow @clowntown.playground for more details
January 25th Stop Motion Plant, exact dates/times TB follow @stopmotionplant
January 26th Rust Belt, award winning show from Theatre Nobody, exact dates/time TBA @xtheatrenobodyx
February 1 Pooky Puppet Slam , location TBA, @pookiepuppets
This is a wonderful interview conducted by Chicago Broadcasting Network contributor Kim Campbell with guests Sandy Smith Gerding, executive director of the Chicago International Puppet Festival and Taylor Bibat, the festival coordinator and Director of education.
I urge you to listen, not only, for details of the 2026 festival events but also interesting tidbits about the art of puppetry and the world of puppetry as a creative art form.
BONUS REVIEW:The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness was produced by Untitled Theater Company No. 61 (with additional support by Yara Arts Group). It’s a long name, and the play itself follows suit, being a 2 hour puppet performance, itself an adaptation of a book that is over 300 pages long. But puppet fans wisely didn’t let that stop them from attending the sold out performances. Directed by NY director/writer Edward Einhorn and Tom Lee puppeteer/designer/teacher, this play presents in stunning detail the exquisite backdrop of Ursula Le Guin’s 1969 epic exploration of interplanetary politics, the universality of love and the futile constructs of gender.
As Genly becomes an emissary on an alien world, attempting to bring the residents into an inter-galactic alliance, he is greeted by suspicion, avoidance and hostility, except for his initial contact with Estraven, a gender fluid being with whom he develops a growing bond, until he gains insight into the alien culture and ultimately is forced to abandon his mission. It’s a love story at its core, beloved by so many because of Le Guin’s prescience in her understanding of gender. Lee and Einhorn have carefully attended to every detail of this complex, political, culturally rich world, creating a flawless rendition. Einhorn had floated the idea of it by Le Guin herself before she passed away. He says she softened to the concept of a stage rendition when he suggested puppetry as a medium for the adaptation.
Using multiple levels of staging and scale, the scenography and puppetry carry the story along across frozen tundras into hearts. Puppeteers Tom Lee, Chih-Jou Cheng, Gandul Gandulero, Justin Otako Perkins, Emma Wiseman and Fletcher Pierson provide the magic. They switch effortlessly between large Bunraku style puppets, table top puppets and shadow puppets, and the stately beauty of the story is upheld with every detail, even as the action and dialogue dictate where to look for transitional moments. The beautiful alien contraptions and fashions are as richly complex as the live music by composer Michael Zerang, and live acting from Winter Jones (playing Estraven) and Miguel Long (playing Genly). The level of design coordination itself is epic, with a large team, featuring Daphne Agosin (lighting) Chris Carcione (video), Jacky Kelsey (costumes, puppets), Grace Neddleman (set and puppets) and Linda Wingerter (shadow puppet), to name just a few. The end result is a triumph for the powers of medium scale puppetry on the stage.
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