There is a theater in Los Angeles, California, that is well worth the visit for anyone wanting to be immersed in the magical world of marionette puppetry and make-believe. The “Bob Baker Marionette Theater“ was founded by Alton Wood and Bob Baker in 1963. The United States’ longest-running puppet theater has now become a cultural institution.
The “Bob Baker Marionette Theater” has performed around the world and currently puts on over 300 performances a year using 3,000 handcrafted puppets. The troupe recently moved to a new location at 4949 York Boulevard in the Highland Park neighborhood of LA.
Although Bob Baker passed away in 2014, the marionette theater continues his legacy of fostering imagination and creativity. In addition to performances, the institution fulfills its mission of educating, celebrating and rejuvenating puppetry and the allied arts through classes, exhibitions, community outreach and partnerships with the film and music industries.
The “Bob Baker Marionette Theater” preview season begins in summer 2019, but there are several occasions to see the puppets in action before then. On the last Sunday of every month, the puppets come out to play at the Miracle Mile Toy Hall. Also, from now until May 2019, the Theater is running an interactive exhibit titled, “Imagination Dwells Here,” at the Southern California Children’s Museum.
