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: 50 min.
Cast: 5
Puppets: 78
Audience: Age 4-10 and The Young at Heart
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.
Meet The Team
Creator, Puppeteer
Puppeteer, Asst. Fabrication
Puppeteer
Puppeteer
Swing
Producer/Outside Eye
Marketing Coordinator
Stage Manager
Asst. Fabrication
Asst. Fabrication
Production History
July 2026
One night only performance at Riverdale Y for touring proof-of-concept
May 2026
Sold-out run at The Tank NYC with support from a
Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant
March 2026
Workshop at the historic Jim Henson Carriage House, hosted by Green Feather Foundation
June 2025
Work in Progress Showing at Puppet BloK at Dixon Place, curated by Amanda Card (The Jim Henson Foundation) and Jean Marie Keevins (The National Puppetry Conference)
June 2024
Concept Development at The National Puppetry Conference at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center
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
The Brother Earth Collaborative 