History:
Nicolas Coppola, Artistic Director of Puppetworks, first saw the Suzari Marionettes as a 3rd grader at Brooklyn's P.S. 200, inspiring him, with the help of his seamstress mother and tailor uncle, to create his first cloth marionette. In 1954, at the age of 19, he auditioned to be a professional puppeteer with that very same Suzari Marionettes, and was hired by them. On leave from Suzari, while a soldier at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, he performed puppet routines for injured troops in the Army hospitals. Back with Suzari in 1962, on his 27th birthday, he was elevated to Artistic Director, and the company became the Nicolo Marionettes, touring as many as 5 different productions simultaneously throughout much of the United States.
In the Spring of 1976, the Nicolo Marionettes began a residency at Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution, a highlight of which was the acclaimed production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" for children.
In 1980, as economics made it more and more difficult to turn a profit in touring puppet theatre, he founded the not-for-profit company, Puppetworks, Inc., which eventually replaced the Nicolo Marionettes. In addition to operating its full-time resident puppet theatre in Brooklyn's Park Slope historic district, Puppetworks has been a holiday tradition at Macy*s (Herald Square) since Macy*s built a puppet theatre especially for Puppetworks in 1976.
From 1997 to 2000, Puppetworks presented productions at the Children's Aid Society's Greenwich Village Center Theater. In concert, Puppetworks has appeared with the Little Orchestra Society, St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, the Orchestra da Camera and the Brooklyn Philharmonic in such works as Debussy’s "Toy Box," Ibert’s "Divertissements," and in highly-praised performances of Haydn’s marionette opera, "Philemon and Baucis (Jupiter’s Wanderings on Earth)."
With the Sylvan Wind Quintet, Puppetworks has developed productions of Prokofiev’s "Peter and the Wolf" and Humperdinck’s "Hansel and Gretel." Appearances include featured prominence in the Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ) production of Herbert’s "Naughty Marietta," New Jersey State Opera performances of Mascagni’s "Iris" and Sullivan’s "Ivanhoe," and the New York State Early Music Association’s production of Mozart’s "Bastien and Bastienne."
