The Rowdy Rooster Puppet Show
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To most folks that see the 16-foot trailer Doug Long hauls behind his Ford F-450, it’s just that- a trailer.
But to one loveable barnyard buzzard better known as Rowdy Rooster, it’s the roost from which all of his hen pecked hijinks take flight.
Long, 41, the creator of Rowdy Rooster, a professionally designed hand puppet standing about 2 feet tall, Rowdy Rooster and his trusty sidekick Diesel the Weasel, are characters Long created in 2006.
The puppet personas are ones Long, an Opelika native, said he came up with when he realized that there weren’t very many family-oriented shows in the fair industry.
Since creating the Rowdy Rooster character, Long has been performing the last couple of years across the eastern U.S. as part of Children’s Hope Productions, the parent company of the Rowdy Rooster Puppet Show.
But in order to truly appreciate Rowdy, one needs to know the bird behind the beak.
“Rowdy and Diesel met in Clucksville, a hen house, just as Diesel was attempting to make off with one of Farmer Joe’s prize-winning hens,” said Long, who once was selected to participate in a puppetry workshop where he met Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer for the wildly popular Elmo character on Sesame Street.
From that point, the two seem to always find their way into troublesome adventures but end up learning a few important life lessons along the way.
In this latest installment of Rowdy Rooster, it’s Rowdy’s birthday, and knowing Diesel is a weasel and not a baker, Rowdy bakes his own birthday cake. However, Diesel, not liking the color of the candle, and without Rowdy’s permission, replaces the candle unknowingly with a stick of TNT because Diesel knows red is Rowdy’s favorite color.
“Unfortunately, the birthday cake blows up in Diesel’s face,” Long said. “Upon finding this out, Rowdy reveals to the kids in the crowd why it is important to ask for permission.”
And while the Rowdy Rooster show is geared toward younger audiences, Long said, in most cases, his puppet shows appeal children of all ages as well as “those who are kids at heart.”
