Muppet Puppets in NYC

November 20, 2013 5:07 PM

Anyone know where I can buy Bert and Ernie-ish hand puppets in NYC?

I'm going to a friend's birthday party this weekend which has a Broadway theme, and everyone is supposed to be in a costume and perform a song from a Broadway musical. My girlfriend and I had the idea of being the Bert and Ernie-ish Avenue Q characters and performing If you were gay. Anyone know where in NYC we can get (even rent) hand puppets like that? They don't have to exactly be those characters, just close enough that it will work.

Difficulty: the party's Saturday. Must be subway accessible.

Please help, our back plan is something from the Book of Mormon, and I'm afraid nobody will get it and think I just went there from work.

posted by overhauser to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

Don't know your price range, but FAO Schwarz has the Muppet Whatnot Workshop where you can design your own puppet for $100 each.
posted by Lucinda at 5:12 PM on November 20, 2013 [3 favorites]

I haven't been there in a while, but last time I was at Dinosaur Hill in the East Village they had lots of elaborate puppets. If they don't have anything that works for you, they might be able to advise you on other puppet shops, folks who rent them, etc.
posted by Sara C. at 5:15 PM on November 20, 2013

Don't know what your price range is, but I made my sister her very own muppet at the FAO Schwarz Muppet Whatnot Workshop the last time I was in NYC.
It is AWESOME, but at $100 it would be out of the range of what I'd be willing to spend for a costume party....but ymmv!
posted by Dorinda at 5:15 PM on November 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Silly Puppets are a NYC company; if you give them a call, they could probably tell you where in the city to look. I saw them last year at the Union Sq holiday market, but that opens on Sunday for the season.
posted by xo at 5:40 PM on November 20, 2013

I know the Children's Museum of Manhattan sells Sesame Street puppets in their shop, but you should call to see if they have Bert and Ernie since I don't know whether they always have every character in stock.
posted by Mchelly at 6:13 PM on November 20, 2013

There's a stall in the "Winter Village" in Bryant Park with muppet-style puppets. 'Fraid I can't remember the name of it, or the exact location, though I'm pretty sure it was in one corner (possibly NE). Googling suggests that it may have been Silly Puppets (they've certainly been a vendor there in years past), but I can't find a list for this year. Not actual official muppet characters as far as I could tell, but might be close enough for your purposes..?
posted by kxr at 5:28 AM on November 21, 2013

Best answer: If the Muppet Whatnots are more expensive than you want to buy, you can get less expensive versions of them at Toys R Us in Times Square (also Muppet and FAO Schwartz branded). There's an orange one and a blue one. We used them to make muppets of ourselves.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:52 AM on November 21, 2013

Response by poster: Toys R Us wins! And that is a really great picture of you two.

Thanks for the answers, everyone.
posted by overhauser at 10:52 AM on November 24, 2013

This answer is past the expiration date of the question, but ya know, for posterity. I saw Bert and Ernie hand puppets this weekend at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It made me wish I could travel back in time and answer this question.
posted by wintrymix at 1:08 PM on December 2, 2013 [1 favorite]