Stepping Out

Behind the curtain

New owner of the Long Island Puppet Theatre carries on a childhood legacy

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It is a rare and wondrous thing when one’s childhood dream becomes reality. And although that concept is often the stuff of movies and television, it has come true for Anthony Labriola.
Earlier this year, the Hicksville native took over his hometown’s puppet theater from founders and former owners Roman and Eliza Valdez. In 2005, when he was 13, Labriola began working for the Long Island Puppet Theatre after seeing his first show when he was seven-years-old. It was then in the dimmed lights of the space surrounded by makeshift marionettes that he felt his passion for puppeteering unfold.
As a teenager, he worked side by side with the former owners to learn the various art forms of puppetry from around the world and assisting with shows, parties and events.
After studying at the School of Visual Arts, where he combined his passions of film and puppetry, he returned to the theater, which he says, “shaped so much of who I am today.” Now, at the ripe old age of 24, Labriola is on a mission to restore and revamp his home away from home. With the theater’s grand reopening slated for tomorrow, July 29, Labriola has pulled on more than puppet strings to ensure the legacy of the Long Island Puppet Theatre lives on.
“We’re giving the place and facelift and making it more current,” he says of the theatre’s structural renovations. A fire a few years back had caused some wear and tear, as well as damaged an irreplaceable showcase of puppets that lay inside. “We used to have so many different puppets from around the world,” he explains. “Now I’m trying to rebuild that museum section and make it something more accessible for people so they can come in throughout the day and see what we have to offer.”

In addition to the building renovations, Labriola is offering a busy slate of new programming premiering this summer. The theater offers a full slate of shows —including “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, “Punch and Judy: Birthday Surprise” and “Peter Pan” — along with special events and workshops.
“We’re bringing in a summer workshop course where we will be teaching kids how to build their own puppets, and establish their own stage presence with a puppet. We’re revitalizing things for a wider range of people, not just kids,” Labriola says, noting that unlike most puppet theaters, the Long Island Puppet Theatre is also actively pursuing adult programming.
“During the evenings in the summer we’re looking to do cabaret nights, stand-up comedy, as well as puppet shows geared towards adults,” he says, explaining that the adult-oriented shows would be based on Brothers Grimm folklore as opposed to the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales.
The new owner is eager to share his love of puppetry with younger generations. “Puppetry in particular had a period where it was kind of a dying art form. Now, things like Broadway and television [are] bringing puppetry back, so it’s becoming more accessible to kids,” he says.
The art of puppetry and its history is an important form of art education, according to Labriola. He stressed that the courses his theater plans to offer will help children gain an understanding and appreciation for the craft, and its evolution from using basic materials in the past to the puppets now being developed with
animatronics.
Labriola is excited to unveil his “new” Long Island Puppet Theatre at the venue’s grand reopening celebration which begins with a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 29 at 11 a.m. “We’re going to have a small event here, which will include a show and some other performers.”
Special guest performers include magician and balloon artist John Reid, clown Rich Fober and children’s entertainer Keri Wirth, along with giveaways, raffles and refreshments.
The puppeteer has high hopes for the theater’s renewed legacy under his stewardship. His ultimate goal is to inspire kids the same way he was inspired. “I want them to take themselves out of the modern world and experience something completely different; to walk away with new stories to tell, a newfound appreciation for an art form that they didn’t really know much about beforehand,” he says.
Labriola’s parting words to the Herald were spiked with hopeful determination, a simple but telling two words: “We’re here.”
Visit the Long Island Puppet Theatre at 10 Heitz Place, Hicksville. For information, call (516) 932-5469 or www.lipuppet.com.