Paper Bag Players - 50-Year Tradition of Theater for Kids

There is nothing like an old-fashioned “Western Welcome” to get a show off to a rousing start! When The Paper Bag Players cowboys and cowgirls gallop onto the stage, singing and wishing a great big “Howdy!”in the all-new show, The Paper Bag Players Saddles and Sunshine,  audiences will be up on their  feet, clapping and singing along!

The Paper Bag Players are a company of adults who create and perform original musical theater based on a child's everyday experiences, dreams, and fantasies. Paper bags, bits of cardboard, and objects found in the attic or garage are transformed into the most fantastic sets, props, and costumes. The troupe, founded in 1958 by Judith Martin, performs in their native New York, and takes the show on the road for several months in a year. Targeting children 3 - 8 years old, the performances are usually on weekday mornings and, in large part, mostly for school children as a class trip.


The Paper Bag Players Saddles and Sunshine will tour for eight months throughout the Northeast with stops including Middleton, Hempstead, East Hampton and Port Washington, NY; all five boroughs of New York City; Englewood, NJ; Newark, DE; Rahway, NJ; Towanda and Lewisburg PA; Mamaroneck, NY; Annapolis, MD; Baltimore, MD; Morristown and West Long Branch, NJ; Tarrytown, NY; Trenton, NJ, Glenside, PA; Boston, Springfield, and Worcester MA; and Providence, RI. The Paper Bag Players perform three shows at Roberts Auditorium at Rhode Island College: 10 a.m. and noon on May 14, and 10 a.m. on May 15.

The performance group's latest show, The Paper Bag Players Saddles and Sunshine combines funny stories, charming characters, lively music, dancing, and lots of opportunities for the audience to be a part of the fun. Created especially for children ages 3 through 8 there is enough fun in this show to entertain the entire family.

Ted Brackett (who also directs), Laura Canty-Samuel, Amy Walsh, Kevin Richard Woodall, John Stone at the electric piano, and scenic artist Jon Peck all guarantee every moment is full of theatrical magic.

The Paper Bag Players touring has taken them to 37 states and to Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Israel, Iran, Egypt, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. This year’s show will be seen by over 66,000 children in performances for the general public and for school children at 40 locations.

The Paper Bag Players have received The Award for Excellence in Theater and Education from The Broadway Theater Institute, and American Theater Wing Award, The New York State Artists Award, and The American Alliance for Theater and Education Award for meritorious achievement in the field of theater for young people.

For more information, visit their Web site at  thepaperbagplayers.org