Jack Prelutsky is a phenomenally popular poet for children and the first Children’s Poet Laureate of the United States, so it’s only fitting that we would perform not one, not two, but THREE of his poems. In addition to the whimsical magic of “The Goblin,” experience the wacky hilarity of “Do Not Approach an Emu . . .”
Do not approach an Emu,
The bird does not esteem you
It has a quick a wicked kick

That’s guaranteed to cream you!
But of course, you can’t tell some people anything . . .

eventually someone is going to approach the emu . . .

Vermont poet Geof Hewitt wondered what would happen if a fish tank’s glass were painted with a musical staff . . .

Goldfish would compose the song
With quarter and half notes,
Rests and hours of silence
Determined by their fits and starts.
What does goldfish song sound like? What does it look like?
The answers to these and other pressing questions can be found in Haiku, HipHop and Hotdogs!

PERFORMANCE TIME: 50 minutes

AUDIENCE SIZE: Up to 500

RECOMMENDED AUDIENCE: Grades K-6 and family audiences.

STAGE SIZE: Minimum 16' wide/ 12' deep/ 9' ceiling height

Creation of this production was funded in part by grants from the Jim Henson Foundation and the Puppeteers of America Endowment Fund.

Crabgrass Puppet Theatre is a participant in the Vermont and New England States Touring Programs.
Contact the VT Arts Council and the New England Foundation for the Arts for more information.

This page last updated on 6/10/10

All text and images copyright 2010 by the Crabgrass Puppet Theatre, Jamie Keithline and Bonny Hall.

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In Jack Prelutsky’s “The Goblin,”
a boy has an unwelcome visitor . . . 

There’s a goblin as green
As a goblin can be
Who is sitting outside
And is waiting for me. 

But what if the goblin just wants
someone to play with . . . and turns
out to be really, really fun?

The Grand Finale! The Piece de Resistance! The ultimate show-stopper! Jack Prelutsky’s “We’re Fearless Flying Hotdogs,” a tribute to aerodynamic sausages! Full of food puns and wordplay, this musical extravaganza brings “Haiku, HipHop and Hotdogs” to a thrilling (if mildly ridiculous) conclusion. The Blue Angels have nothing on these wieners!
“We're fearless flying hotdogs,
the famous "unflappable five,"
we're mustered in formation
 to climb, to dip, to dive.
We spread our wings with relish,
then reach for altitude,
we're aerobatic wieners
the fastest flying food.

Poet Calef Brown’s thoughts turn to a hiphop snowman:

“Funky Snowman loves to dance.
You’d think he wouldn’t have much chance
without two legs or even pants.
Does that stop Funky Snowman?
NO!!”
The audience watches as three snowballs roll onto the stage, play with each other, and assemble themselves into Funky Snowman. But that’s just the beginning! We hear a faint hiphop rhythm, and Funky Snowman twitches a little, bops a bit, and finally finds his groove. After that, the sky’s the limit:
“kick it, Funky Snowman!”

Imagine a symphony composed entirely by goldfish! Thrill to the adventures of “Fearless Flying Hotdogs!” Dance with the “Funky Snowman!” This exciting new fusion of poetry and puppetry includes poems by Jack Prelutsky, David McCord, Calef Brown, Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, and others. Haiku, HipHop and Hotdogs is a seamless tapestry of puppetry and poetry, performed by hot-dog vendors from a hot-dog cart that turns into a puppet stage. Using the poem as inspiration, we create a piece of theater which brings the entire poem and its world to life.

This isn't puppets reciting poetry – this show creates the world of the poem, the action of the poem, the emotion of the poem, blending the best of poetry and puppet theater! The poems in performance range from gentle strokes of the imagination – to wacky hilarity – to magical whimsy – to a rousing musical finale!

Haiku, HipHop and Hotdogs is a perfect complement to the elementary school poetry curriculum, and a hilarious and entertaining performance piece for theaters and museums. Puppetry is a terrific medium to arouse a child’s interest in poetry. The best poetry has the power to create pictures in our heads . . . to make us feel emotion . . . to make us laugh and cry. It’s a small step from watching skillful puppeteers bring a poem to life to wanting to read that poem . . . and then wanting to read more, and more and more.