{"id":1940,"date":"2026-06-16T21:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T21:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1940"},"modified":"2026-06-16T21:36:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T21:36:58","slug":"puppet-masters-hollywoods-beloved-marionette-theater-pulls-strings-back-into-zeitgeist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1940","title":{"rendered":"Puppet Masters: Hollywood\u2019s Beloved Marionette Theater Pulls Strings Back Into Zeitgeist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tNot long ago, Hollywood\u2019s beloved Bob Baker Marionette Theater was hanging on by a thread. In the final decades of its eponymous founder\u2019s life \u2014 he died in 2014, at the age of 90 \u2014 the puppetry organization was in perpetual dire financial straits, its longtime downtown L.A. playhouse in decay, particularly as the rise of CGI sapped its workshop\u2019s film and TV gigs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1938\">TV Ratings: Knicks\u2019 Victory Caps Most Watched NBA Finals Since 1998<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tYet recent years have seen the revival of BBMT, known for cabaret-style shows whose whimsical bygone aesthetic is drawn from vaudeville and carnival midways. Today a non-profit, the theater has been string-pulling its way back into the Zeitgeist, its puppeteers performing to a massive crowd at Coachella this spring, its merch adorning Rachel Sennott\u2019s talent manager on HBO\u2019s <em>I Love L.A.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tNow, for its next act, BBMT is attempting to purchase the historic Highland Park stage it took over in 2019 and mounting the company\u2019s first original show in more than four decades. \u201cIt\u2019s a rare heart-warming story in the time we live in right now, this little glimmer of hope,\u201d says board chair Thas Naseemuddeen, who in her day job serves as the head of an ad agency.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe ongoing fundraising campaign \u2014 $5 million to purchase the property, and another $2 million to renovate it \u2014 is already far along, with $4.7 million raised so far. The effort has secured major donations from the foundations of the late Univision owner Jerry Perenchio, media heiress Wallis Annenberg and former NPR CEO Jarl Mohn, as well as Jack Black and his wife Tanya Haden, who\u2019s worked as a puppeteer on multiple Muppets projects.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cIn an age of screens, Bob Baker offers children something radical: proof that attention, craft and the human hand can still hold a room spellbound,\u201d says Perenchio Foundation CEO Stephania Ramirez. \u201cWe did not invest in a building. We invested in the certainty that generations of Angelenos will keep discovering what it feels like to believe in something made entirely of string, paint and devotion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBrie Larson, who also contributed to the capital campaign, tells <em>The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, \u201cThe mere fact that Bob Baker exists brings our community together. It\u2019s a place for kids and kids at heart to enjoy the magic of a craft that otherwise might be lost to time. I always leave feeling inspired and proud to be a Los Angeles native!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1936\">Tom Holland Names Owen Cooper as His Potential \u2018Spider-Man\u2019 Successor<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tBaker, a Hollywood High School graduate who apprenticed early on for George Pal\u2019s <em>Puppetoons <\/em>(which had a contract with Paramount Studios), worked closely with the entertainment industry throughout his career. His workshop long produced handmade marionettes, including Pinocchios sold at Disneyland as well as custom pieces for featured roles in movies ranging from <em>A Star is Born<\/em> to <em>Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/em>. He later was an AMPAS member and a governor of the Television Academy.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBaker and his theater, which began in 1963 in a space once used for film production design, frequently performed off-site private events, including at birthday parties for the children of Jack Benny, Danny Kaye and other stars \u2014 a revenue stream it continues to nurture. San Vicente Bungalows brings in BBMT for shows aimed at its members\u2019 kids. \u201cI think Bob would be happy, and surprised, to know how well we\u2019re doing now,\u201d says production manager Daisy Hernandez, who grew up across the street from the old theater and recalls Baker giving away ice cream on hot days.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn Highland Park, the organization saw 45,000 people visiting its venue last year, many of which were schoolchildren, although BBMT leadership is keen to highlight that performances are meant for adults, too. \u201cWe do partnerships with Sid the Cat,\u201d the taste-making Eastside indie music promotion group, explains the theater\u2019s co-executive director Mary Fagot. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to kidnap a four year old to come see Bob Baker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBBMT has retooled its repertory shows for modern sensibilities. Stereotypes from half a century ago or longer have been cleared away. \u201cSome of the puppets we don\u2019t use anymore, and other puppets we recast,\u201d says artistic director Alex Evans. <em>Choo Choo Revue<\/em>, the hour-long new production running through Aug. 30, features more than 100 new puppets including dancing luggage and a cicada jug band. \u201cThis has been about innovating, which for us is just as important as preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tFagot observes that, to digital-native children, BBMT\u2019s puppetry may be even more enchanting than for earlier generations. \u201cOur [administrative] offices are in the mezzanine above the theater,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen field trip groups come for performances, we hear them. I\u2019ve noted an escalation in the volume in the reaction of kids who just scream and holler for joy when a puppet comes and sits in their laps. It\u2019s so incredible to them to be interacting with this handcrafted art, in three dimensions. They intuitively understand that there\u2019s humanity inside of these puppets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1934\">Directors Guild of Canada Calls for AI Protections: \u201cEfficiency Is Not Creativity\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is pulling strings back into zeitgeist. &#8216;Bob Baker exists brings our community together,&#8217; Brie Larson tells THR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1618],"class_list":["post-1940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-bob-baker"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Puppet Masters: Hollywood\u2019s Beloved Marionette Theater Pulls Strings Back Into Zeitgeist - 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