Puppet Showplace Theater was founded on June 2, 1974 by teacher and puppeteerMary Putnam Churchill. It began as a white storefront theater located at 30 Station Street. In The Boston Globe, Lynda Morgenroth wrote, "The Puppet Showplace is the houseMary Churchill built." Originally, Churchill intended to perform mainly her own puppet shows, but the theater soon attracted other puppeteers. Within the first six months, nearly half of the working puppeteers in New England had performed there. Performers included Eleanor Boylan of Rockport, Elizabeth Clark, and Caleb Fullam and Company. Churchill was so impressed that she began to offer shows at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Admission was $1.00. During the week, Puppet Showplace remained open as a puppet shop. The theater sat around 120 people on pastel benches built by Churchill and her friends. The ceiling was high. The floor was red. Puppet posters adorned the white walls. By 1977, a three-day schedule on an average weekend attracted around 600 people. Performers included the Poobley Greegy Puppet Theater. By this time, Showplace served as a meeting place for the New England Guild of Puppetry. In 1977, Churchill hired Paul Vincent Davis as artistic director. He was a highly acclaimed puppeteer in Washington and New York. Churchill had met Davis at an international festival in Moscow in 1976. By 1978, Showplace served as the information center for the Puppeteers of America and Union Internationale de la Marionette. Performers included Susan Linn, Ruth Brand as Henrietta the Clown, and George Latshaw. Admission was $1.50.
Move to 32 Station Street
One afternoon, Churchill and Davis learned they had outgrown their space. There was an old bathroom next to the stage. In the midst of a performance, a toddler emerged from the bathroom and screamed, "Zip me!" On the weekend of September 19, 1981, Puppet Showplace celebrated a move to more spacious quarters at 32-33 Station Street, right next to its old location. The new location had exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. It had separate spaces for administration and performances. The bathroom was in the lobby. Showplace celebrated by premiering "Beauty and the Beast," a lavish production by Paul Vincent Davis.
