By Jonathan Williams

The story of the Gingerbread Man that springs to life and runs from his creators is a familiar one to most of us. But in All Hands Productions‘ The New Adventures of the Gingerbread Man, this fairy tale is brought to new life via puppets thanks to creator and performer David Stephens.

An expansion of Stephens’ 2002 production of The Adventures of the Gingerbread Man, these new singalong adventures come about as the Gingerbread Man runs from a hungry dog that has been chasing him since he first emerged from the oven. After encountering Barry, a furry blue fairy who makes the Pinocchio-like promise to turn the Gingerbread Man into a real boy if he carries out three acts of kindness, the Gingerbread Man stumbles into three other familiar folktales: Hansel and Gretel, Androcles and the Lion and The Frog Prince.

While he doesn’t necessarily do so intentionally, the Gingerbread Man finds himself carrying out the required three acts of kindness during his interactions with an old hag who lives in a gingerbread house, a misunderstood monster and other innocent variations on fairy tale victims and villains. With the dog never far behind, the Gingerbread Man’s adventures are motivated not by his desire to become a real boy, but to simply not have the dog chasing him any longer. While his pride in being a cookie is noble, little does the Gingerbread Man realize that by becoming a boy not only will the dog no longer want to eat him, but many of the other obstacles he encounters during his adventures would also be easier to overcome. But thanks to his flawed judgment, it looks like the Gingerbread Man’s adventures might continue.

Through song, humorous dialogue and use of various types of puppets, Stephens (a performer for The Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street) gives his story a definite Henson-like look and feel. And even though his tale is intended for children (who were clearly delighted by the performance I attended), it’s hard to imagine anyone not being amused by this new version of these whimsical childhood favorites.

The New Adventures of the Gingerbread Man will be at the Center for Puppetry Arts through Jan. 22. For more information, go to www.puppet.org.