Local musician Don Brownrigg is best known for his powerful, quiet songwriting. But he’s delayed the release of his latest album so he can, surprise: tour a puppet show in China!

Regarded as one of North America’s favourite family shows, The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favourites will launch its 10-week tour, and 40-performance engagement with five shows at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from July 15-17.

Don (Codroy Valley) is travelling with fellow puppeteers Jim Morrow (Grand Falls) and Jackson Fowlow (St. John’s), along with John Allen MacLean from PEI, with Nova Scotia’s Mermaid Theatre.

How does this happen? For a third time at that? The tour has been facilitated by the Shanghai Culture Exchange Agency.

The hour-long triple-bill includes “the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly; the fanciful account of Little Cloud’s travels through the sky; and The Mixed-Up Chameleon’s discovery of his own unique nature.”

Mermaid Theatre’s various compilations of Eric Carle’s stories have been on the road worldwide, continuously, since 1999. To date more than 3600 performances in seven different languages have been seen by over two million spectators in sixteen countries.

Grand Falls native Jim Morrow directs and designed the show. He ranks among Canada’s most esteemed puppetry creators, and this show incorporates innovative black light staging and original music by composer Steven Naylor. Brownrigg acts as stage manager.

The production has been awarded a Citation of Excellence by UNIMA-USA, North America’s most prestigious awards in the field of puppetry.

After Beijing, the gang are off to Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Nanjing, Changzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing and Nanning.

Here’s two songs from Don until that new album is out in the fall: