Celebrate spring and Mother’s Day with the show that’s been called our very best: “River Critters” Weekends of May 4-5 and 11-12 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Saturdays 2 p.m. Sundays When Buddy goes fishing with his grandpa on the Mississippi River for the first time, he has no idea what will happen when he loses his shoe in the water. Without knowing it, he’s sharing a sunny day with a playful otter and his friend, a patient turtle, as well as a heron, an eagle, a raccoon, a catfish, a frog, a duckling and even a couple of fish flies. “River Critters” is a hand, rod and shadow puppet show ..read more

 Spring is coming and with it our first production of 2024! Our 20th season at the Hazel Green Opera House! “3 Bears, 3 Pigs, 3 Billy Goats Gruff” In this marionette mashup of three favorite fairy tales, Goldilocks skips along blithely past shabbily built cottages, over a troll bridge and right into a seemingly abandoned log cabin. Showtimes are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays March 2-3 and 9-10 This show will also be available during the week between for school tours and other groups.  Meanwhile, we are working on our summer library touring production of “Fido’s ..read more

 There’s a lot going on at the Hazel Green Opera House and beyond this December. Much of it has to do with gingerbread! First up: The second annual  Gingerbread House Fundraiser for Grant County, Wis. 2-4 p.m. Saturday Dec. 2 Come and see gingerbread houses built in competition and auctioned off for charity at the end of the afternoon. It’s free, but bring your $$ for cookie concessions and tickets to vote for your favorites, as well as the auction. On Sunday, Dec. 3, catch our booth at the Hazel Green Craft Fair, 10-3. Then, In keeping with the gingerbread theme, we will present a ..read more

 After a bump on her green noggin, Witch Hazel Green finds herself off on                    “A Halloween Adventure”  In the 45-minute, family-friendly show, Hazel and her little black cat make friends with a scarecrow girl, a skeleton and a cowardly cow as they travel the blacktop road to find The Big Cheese. Performances will be  11 am and 2 pm Saturday Oct. 21 2 pm Sunday Oct. 22 11 am and 2 pm Saturday Oct.  28 2 pm Sunday Oct. 29 Tickets are $5 per person and sold only at the door — cash or check only. Doors open a ..read more

 We have had a wonderful spring season at the opera house, with great audiences for “Rapunzel” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” including mid-week school tours.  Our summer will find us busy touring “Ivanushka and the Magic Horse” to area libraries. Please check with your local library to see if we are on their schedule. And if not, ask why not! Have a great summer. When we are not “on tour,” we will be in our garden or swimming at Gov. Dodge State Park. We will also be working on our first new Christmas show in many years. It is going to be a mashup of “Hansel and Gretel” and “The Gingerbre ..read more

 Following our hit production of “Rapunzel,” we’re mounting another fairytale that starts with “R.” “Rumpelstiltskin” 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Saturday April 29 2 p.m. Sunday April 3 11 a.m. & 2 p.m Saturday May 6 2 p.m. Sunday, May 7 As usual, we put the Fever River Puppeteers’ spin on a classic fairytale. So, besides the boastful miller and his poor daughter (the victim of his boasting), as well as the greedy and powerful king and Rumpelstiltskin himself, you’ll find our own Witch Hazel Green as well as a cameo performance by everyone’s favorite — Bossy the Cow!  If you’ve ever ..read more

 After a wonderful 2022 season of puppet shows, we are settling in to the quiet time of January and February. It’s a good time to make puppets and plan other projects. We are looking forward to an equally fun year of puppetry ahead.  This spring, we are bringing back two fairy tales that start with R! We haven’t performed “Rumpelstiltskin” or “Rapunzel” for many years and thought it was time to bring back these old chestnuts. They will be available to school and other audiences during the week. This summer, we will dust off “Ivanushka and the Magic Horse.” This is a handpuppet show b ..read more

Witch Hazel Green always hosts a magic contest on her birthday, which happens to be Halloween.  Her nemesis, the Goblin who lives in the lead mines, knows that Hazel needs her black cat, Momo, to do any magic.  What will happen if Momo disappears? What is a witch to do? Will her son Frankie help? Find out in  “Hazel’s Halloween Birthday”  11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 22 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 23 11 am & 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 29 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 30 ..read more

We are pleased to bring back this spring favorite. We first built this show with an eye to springtime and it will definitely be spring by the time we perform it, during the last weekend in April, May Day and Mother’s Day weekend. Our version of  this beloved fairy tale includes a gaggle of witches (familiar to our audiences!) who bestow gifts on a baby princess, an overprotective father, a mean witch-turned-snow monster, a princess who loves to garden and a cloud of colorful butterflies. Butterflies, of course, are a metaphor for life after death. Side note: The spinning wheel was one of ..read more

 Hi! We will be offering two marionette shows at the opera house this spring — in a departure from our usual scheduling. First up: “Irish Cinderella” 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. March 12 2 p.m. Sun. March 13 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sat. March 19 2 p.m. Sun. March 20 Liam the leprechaun steps in for the fairy godmother in this St. Patrick Day-ish take on the classic fairy tale. Poor Colleen wants to go to the king’s Irish step dancing contest but she hasn’t a thing to wear, among other problems.  This approximately 50-minute show is fun for all ages. No reservations necessary, however, we ..read more