A 'Kindred Spirit' Comes to Fairyland's Puppet Fair

By C.J. Hirschfield

The Storybook Puppet Theater at Children’s Fairyland, which raised its curtain in 1956, is the longest continuously operating puppet theater in America. But the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles has been around nearly as long: since 1963. We are both revered institutions in our respective cities. And now, Fairyland is proud to welcome a representative of the Bob Baker Marionettes to our annual Puppet Fair on August 25 and 26.

Bob Baker (1924–2014) began training at age 8 with several puppet companies before he gave his first professional performance. In high school, he began manufacturing marionettes, which he sold in the U.S. and Europe. By the time he was an adult, his puppetry was featured in many TV series and in films such as Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He also provided a place of learning for puppeteers, including Fairyland’s own master puppeteer Randal Metz, who studied with him for three years in the 1980s.

Bob Baker (left) with partner Alton Wood and "birthday dog" puppets. Via Bob Baker Marionette Theater

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is experiencing an exciting transition: it is now a nonprofit organization that will ensure the enduring legacy of its founder. The organization's new executive director is Alex Evans, who worked closely with Bob Baker for almost 10 years.

Alex Evans with marionette. Photo: Todd Selby

Alex will represent the Bob Baker Theater at Fairyland next weekend, presenting a one-man show of company classics that includes such kid-friendly favorites as dancing frogs and singing chickens. Alex is a big admirer of Fairyland’s status in the world of puppetry. “We are all enraptured by what you do,” he says. “The two theaters are kindred spirits.”

Fairyland’s Randal Metz is also pleased that the company bearing his teacher’s name will be at Fairyland for the first time in 25 years. “Bob’s legacy is living on,” he says. “That means that thousands of puppets that people haven’t seen will be out in the world, performing in very capable young hands.”

After a group of puppeteers from the Bob Baker Marionette Theater visited Fairyland last year, they sent us this original painting depicting our longtime puppetmaster Lewis Mahlmann amid Fairyland sets.

When asked what exactly it is about puppetry that has ensured its popularity since ancient Egyptian days, Alex says that it has always been a beautiful form of expression. “It’s live, and a very tangible way to connect,” he says. “It’s very accessible, too—anybody can make a sock talk.”

Please join us for our Puppet Fair on August 25 and 26, from 10 to 4. In addition to our own puppeteers and the Bob Baker Marionette Theater, we’ll showcase the talents of many other talented artists, and we’ll display many of our most colorful and historic puppets. In addition, the San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild will host a make-a-puppet table. It’s all free with Fairyland admission.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 16 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation’s oldest storybook theme park.