Coming to NYC Spring 2026

A new puppet musical for young audiences celebrating the power of a gentle heart through bold visual storytelling and a unique mix of glove, rod, shadow, and direct-manipulation puppetry.

Production

Runtime: 55 min.
Cast: 5
Puppets: 15+
Audience: Families & Children 6-11

Mission

As our world grows tougher each day, it takes courage to stay gentle. Compassion, consideration, and tenderness all go against the grain in our dominance dominant society. Yet, we can accomplish so much more when we take care of each other and inspire folks to join together rather than using fear and hate to divide. Garbanzo The Gentle Caveman exemplifies the power of making a gentle mark on the world.

Story

When budding archaeologist Lentil discovers a hidden cave, ancient paintings come to life, telling the story of Garbanzo, a gentle caveman who longs for a world where all beings live in harmony. Garbanzo’s siblings resent his lack of contribution to their pack, so, with the help of his bison friend Sunflower, he tries to win their approval. After one attempt backfires tremendously, Garbanzo’s siblings abandon him in search of a new home. With them gone, and with the help of a nomadic cavewoman named Fava, Garbanzo learns how powerful his gentle heart truly is. He soon paints a vibrant mural celebrating his life, creating humanity’s earliest art. Inspired by this discovery, Lentil finds the courage to share it with his community.

Meet The Team

About the Creator

Yanniv Frank is a NYC based puppet artist with a focus on telling uplifting stories. Yanniv holds an MFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut and serves on the board of the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York. He is an alumnus of The National Puppetry Conference and Sesame Workshop’s Puppeteer Training. Yanniv has performed as a puppeteer all over the country for audiences as large as 13,000. As a writer and director, Yanniv executes mission-driven projects through artistic collaboration. Yanniv’s puppet fabrication credits include Boyish Charms, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, The Climate Fables: Ogallala, and The Six Paths.

In addition puppetry, Yanniv is a Berklee-trained musician with a catalog of over 50 original songs, including those featured on his three albums Common Human Soul, As I Am, and The Bittersweets.

Explore Yanniv’s work at yannivfrank.com