El Paso puppeteers Kessto Kreatures close the 10th season of the El Paso Community Foundation Jewel Box Series at the Philanthropy Theatre with performances of its thought-provoking new show An Anansi Experience at 2:30 and 7 pm Sunday, May 17.

General admission tickets are $15 for each show, on sale at the Plaza Theatre Box Office (no service fees) and Ticketmaster (with service fees). The box office is open 10 am-3 pm weekdays and three hours before showtime.

An Anansi Experience is the latest creation of Kessto Kreatures founder Anthony Michael Stokes, whose The Scarecrow sold out the Jewel Box in 2024 before heading to New York. He returns with an immersive new piece about a traveler and story gatherer, which combines Griot storytelling with spiritual, musical and puppetry elements. The Anansi, which is rooted in West African culture, is a 6-foot spider known to be a cunning trickster, storyteller, wise man and a symbol of slave resistance.

Stokes is the theater arts teacher at El Dorado High school and two-time Campus Teacher of the Year in the El Paso Independent School District. He also is a 2026 Jim Henson Family Grant Recipient. He says the show, which debuted in Chicago, has one simple message: “We must love hard. We must hate less.”

The Jewel Box Series was created in 2014 in partnership with El Paso Live to host local performing artists and groups in that jewel box of a venue, the Philanthropy Theatre in the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre. The monthly series runs each fall through spring. Applications for the 2026-2027 season will be accepted May 18 through July 31 here.

The venue allows only clear bags or small clutches. Go to elpasolive.com.