Simply surprising that more people don’t know about Pablo Cano and his Cricket Theater, 2485 SW 5th street, in Miami.  It’s one of those special entertainments that we can lay claim to, unique in South Florida, and arguably one of the best marionette theaters in the country. But, maybe you’re thinking, it’s for children. Yes, but also for adults who can get in touch with their inner child – sense of whimsy, surprise, revelation, and put a smile on our face. And April 9 it’s the 65th performance of Musical Marionette with a special guest performer.

The 12 seat theater with seats indoors and outdoors in Little Havana is a series of skits, sometimes accompanied by live music.

The night we were there, the guest performers were ukulele player Herman Leghorn and opera singer Maria Elena Vallejo, perfect for the evening’s theme – vaudeville.  Skits included Fred Astaire tap dancing to Puttin On The Ritz, Louis Armstrong swinging to Jeepers Creepers and a prima ballerina doing her jetes along with La Vie en Rose , and El Caballero De Paris were among others.

There’s even a humanette, a lifesize combination rod puppet and marionnete, Queen Marie Antoinette who sings Paliser D’Amour for the grand finale. The marionnetes are all made of recycled or discarded materials found by Cano, everything from thrift store finds to urban trash and even wreckage from car crashes. Think potato masher that’s a microphone,  Gas Cans, silver cigarette paper, trash cans, plastic hubcaps, broken costume jewelry,  and ornate cushions all transformed and repurposed into imaginative marionette characters. Cano envisions and creates all of the marionettes himself. His Sister Isabel Hernandez does all the sewing for the costumes. He even has what he calls the “ICU”, the intensive care unit where damaged marionettes are treated.

And then there’s the theater itself, jam packed with Cano’s works across media – from “framed” cake box ink drawings  to a wooden armoire with white panels on which he painted ink drawings of the muses of painting, sculpture, music and literature.

The performance is 45 minutes. Included in the price of admission, $35 for adults and $10 for artists and students, is white wine or champagne, coffee and pastries. Children under 12 are free.  Shows are held two Saturdays a month at 8 p.m. with cocktails served at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to make a reservation e mail pdcano@bellsouth.net. The special anniversary celebration on April 9 will star Cuban opera singer Maria Elena Vallejo.

If you saw his performances at MOCA, don’t think you’ve seen the show. In this small, intimate space it’s a totally different experience. Even better.