Lilypad Puppet Theatre produces an annual Crankie Cabaret in the Fall. We bring together artists, puppeteers, storytellers & musicians for this fabulous weekend variety show.
The next Crankie Cabaret will be on Nov 14-16 2025 at The Cherry (102 Cherry Street, Ithaca) Details TBA!
***Buy your ticket as a Supporter*** and get a chance to win a free one night stay at the fabulous Argos Inn! Argos Inn is a beautifully restored, LEED certified, historic mansion in downtown Ithaca. It houses thirteen boutique hotel rooms and two unique craft cocktails bars. (Note: The one night stay is for Sunday – Thursday nights only.) Valued at $200+ The Argos Inn offers a touch of the exotic, that magical feeling of being in a far off place with all the comforts of home.
“A delightful, interesting, entertaining and life affirming performance. Loved every minute of it.” – Hilby the German Juggling Boy on the Crankie Cabaret.
Sober and Boozy Bar to benefit Lilypad by Melissa of Open Spaces
You can get a fancy drink at the show: POP UP BARS with Open Spaces. (They donate the proceeds to the puppet theatre – amazing!) Each event bar offers a curated selection of by-the-glass ciders and wines, and a custom cocktail with a boozy and sober option. Open Spaces loves community events! They’ll pop up for music, food pairing events, gallery openings, fundraisers, community gatherings, weddings, and parties.
Featuring farmed and foraged fruit sober drinks and well produced booze from small Finger Lakes cideries and wineries. Focusing on Eve’s Cidery, Redbyrd Cider, Usonia Wine and adding a few collaborators as they go.
This program is made possible in part with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.
The Crankie Cabaret 2023 was on November 17-19 at The Cherry Theater!
Crankies 2023 (See Artist Bios HERE):
Solomon Grundy by Maisie O’Brien. This performance of Solomon Grundy is an adaptation of a 19th century British nursery rhyme with an original expansion on the traditional verse. The rhyme, which was a poem intended to familiarize children with the days of the week, follows the epic living and dying of Solomon Grundy.
The Leisure League by Lilypad Puppet Theatre (Lily Gershon, Matt Ocone, Marietta Synodis, Marina Gershon & izaq charp, Art by Nathan Posner and Edith McCrea). A radio drama crankie. Meet the heroes of leisure – Captain Catnap, Wander Woman and The Sloth! How will these unlikely superheroes save the day? They aren’t in a rush, that’s for sure.
American Mall (Horror Edition) by Pilar McKay. Visit malls in your memory through first-person storytelling by an eclectic group of people who visited them. American Mall (Horror Edition) includes stories from outdoor malls, indoor malls, and even the exterior of an indoor mall. What was it like to go to a mall, what happened there, and what could go wrong at the mall?
What’s That Drawing?! by izaq charp and Marina Gershon. America’s favorite game show comes to Crankie-ville! Who will draw? Who will win? You decide! An interactive crankie experience.
Crankie 3023: The Ultimate Battle by Doug Shire, Allen Cosgrove and Norm Scott. The audience will thrillingly teleport to 1000 years in the future, where the forces of light and darkness face their final battle – and it all depends on YOU! Audience participation and fun!
Big Rock Candy Mountain by Andy Finkle. Artist Andy Finkle will put images to the classic tune “Big Rock Candy Mountain”.
Bernice Takes Over, A Slideshow by Marietta Synodis. Bernice, our favorite New Yorker, will pay us a visit to make sure this year’s event is up to snuff.
SingTrece – (Musical guest) – ”Her voice has been called ”Milk and Honey to the Ears” and you can’t help but feel something with every note she sings. SingTrece recently won first place at the famous Apollo theater. She also tours Europe, singing in Malta, Norway, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and even the Vatican twice. She starred and sang in the feature film “Manhattan Front” written and directed by Cathy Crane. Trece has also performed in many theatrical roles: Dream Girls (Effie), From the Blues to the Bible (Ruby Pearl), The Wiz (Glinda the good witch) and Crowns (Velma, a hat Queen) and many more. She is now the face of the band SingTrece & Stone Cold Miracle. SingTrece learned that her gift of singing was a light with a purpose and needs to be shared with the world. She encourages and inspires with every note she belts out so effortlessly with every song she writes or asks to sing. SingTrece is a playwright, director, actress, singer, songwriter, mother, wife and all around amazing woman.
Big Thank YOU to our sponsors – providing a great bar, which supported Lilypad Puppet Theater with drink donations!
See what we’ve been up to in the last few years:
What is a crankie? “A crankie is an old storytelling art form. It’s a long illustrated scroll that is wound onto two spools. The spools are loaded into a box which has a viewing screen. The scroll is hand-cranked while the story is told. It can be accompanied by a narrative, song or tune.”
