If you think the New Amsterdam Theatre is New York's only forum for theatrical puppet art, take a trip downtown to the New York Theatre Workshop, where Henry Krieger, best known as the composer of Side Show and Dreamgirls, and Susan J. Vitucci officially open their new "multi-media puppet opera" on June 17. Krieger does more than simply provide the tunes for his new work, titled Love's Fowl; he performs it in Italian with English supertitles by lyricist Vitucci. Apparently, that revered Chicken Little scholar Vitucci has discovered The Secret Diaries of La Pulcina Piccola, a revelatory document scratched into bark, leaves, and paper. According to Vitucci and Krieger, there was much, much more to Chicken Little's story than the disastrous "the sky is falling" incident.

The opera spoof employs multi-media video screen, and clothespin puppets. Love's Fowl runs June 9-20. For information, call (212) 460-5475.

-- By Robert Simonson