Brooklyn’s Puppet Show Pops in Red Hook

Red Hook’s strings danced last night with Brooklyn’s puppet show charming NYC’s edge. Puppeteer Lena Carter staged ‘The Dock Rat’ at a pier shed, 100 watching rats outwit gulls. It’s borough whimsy—$8 tickets, kids free, packed tight. A toddler giggled; a hipster filmed it all. ‘Brooklyn plays—this is us,’ Carter says, tugging wires. The shed’s a theater now.

The show’s fresh—weekly, sold out since March’s kickoff. Carter’s a Gowanus crafter; last night’s rats stole hearts—50 clapped encore. A string snapped mid-act; she ad-libbed—crowd ate it up. Cookies sold—$2, homemade fuel. #RedHookPuppets trended; Queens wants a turn.

Some shrugged—’Too weird,’ griped a dock worker, sipping beer. Space pinched—latecomers stood; knees bumped. A gull swooped, spooking a kid—real meets reel. Still, 150 begged next—puppets rule. Red Hook’s never strung so tight.

Carter’s eyeing a park slot, maybe a giant rat if wood holds. ‘NYC’s odd—this fits,’ she says, packing puppets. The show’s a Brooklyn win—grit meets glee. Red Hook’s alive now; catch a string. Bring a kid—rats rule.