Ever hear the one about the monk who goes on a journey with three disciples – an unruly monkey, a pig-faced thing and a green-haired swamp monster?
It sounds like a joke, but “Stone Monkey Banished,” which features all those characters and more, is based on a 16th-century Chinese folk novel about the search for enlightenment.
The best – and biggest – reason to see it are the giant wooden puppets by master craftsman Ralph Lee, the longtime puppeteer for the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. (Remember the “Land Shark” from “Saturday Night Live”? Lee designed that one, too.)
As performed by the Mettawee River Theatre Company, the show features live music for accordion, sax and percussion, with the performers appearing alongside their oversized wooden puppets.
Shows are tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 in the Garden of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 111th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Tickets are $3 kids, $10 adults. For more information, call (212) 929-4777.