The cozy warren of Book & Puppet in Easton is a magnet for bookworms and creatives alike. Amid the gleaming spines of colorful books for all ages, a beautiful red-and-gold theater presents puppet shows for young and old.
Andy Laties and Rebecca Migdal brought their imaginarium to the Lehigh Valley from New York City a little over a year ago, and have fit into Easton’s vibrant downtown like cash in a birthday card. While Migdal wields the puppets, Laties helps narrate and accompanies with a heap of instruments to tell Fractured Fables. Engaging youngsters with prompts plucked from a hat and input along the way, well-known stories take unexpected twists with this playful duo.
Shows for youngsters are free, but Book & Puppet’s Mangled Myths, put on for an adult audience on Saturday nights, costs $3 plus a dice roll. These storytelling events offer the (optional) opportunity to participate in retelling a myth, a sometimes messy, sometimes musical show of creative collaboration. For these revelries, Migdal breaks out the big, elaborate handmade puppets—needle-felted, garbed in little costumes, with expressive faces and artful details.
Book & Puppet Company’s second location at Easton Public Market makes a perfect venue to co-host the First Taste series with authors of new cookbooks, like One-Hour Cheese with Claudia Lucero in February. Check out Book & Puppet for shows, classes in puppeteering and music and puppet parties, along with all your book-buying needs.
