Space. It may be the final frontier in some universes, but in the Center for Puppetry Arts production of Space!, it’s an extraterrestrial journey through history and our own solar system. Led by the rotund green Ot (puppeteered by Tim Sweeney) and the slender blue Eema (puppeteered by Julie Scarborough, wife of Platinum Championship Wrestling‘s Stephen Platinum) and their band of intergalactic rock ‘n’ rollers, Space! is rife with pop cultural references such as the cleverly named Guitarth Vader (an alien guitarist puppeteered by PCW music composer Dolph Amick) and Ramones-like riffs. The show blasted off for its educational excursion in January and continues through March 11.

Courtesy Center for Puppetry Arts

The music (composed and performed by John Cerreta and Joey Bargsten) runs the rock gamut, with each planet getting its own punk, metal, techno or industrial-sounding tune (though I’m not sure why Neptune seems to get the shaft just for being an ocean planet). In much the same way They Might Be Giants make science fun with songs like “Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)” and the 2009 album Here Comes Science, Space! covers celestial subjects like the sun, moon and stars, as well as the gravitational theories of Sir Isaac Newton (who appears as a shadow puppet), through witty songs and dialogue.

Space! is a great way for children to learn about the universe, as well as Earth’s pop cultural landscape. But even if you don’t have kids and already know all there is to know about the heavens, Space! is a comedic puppet romp sure to please your inner child.

For more information, go to www.puppet.org.