My First Time at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater Halloween Spooktacular
Do you know the difference between a puppet and a marionette? Many people have seen a puppet show, but few—at least from my generation—have ever been to a marionette show. This spooky season, I went to my first marionette show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater!
First things first, let me answer my first question. Many people refer to a marionette as a puppet, and they’re not wrong, but a marionette is a more precise term for a specific style of puppetry. Marionettes are a multitude of string puppets that are controlled from above, rather than below or within (like a sock puppet). See this photo to your right ➡️
Anyone can use a hand puppet (like Mr. Rogers), but controlling and manipulating a marionette takes tons of practice and precision. Watching the puppeteers at the Bob Baker Halloween Spooktacular was honestly my favorite part of the entire show. Of course, I loved many other elements, like the 1950s throwback music (it felt like classic Halloween), the entire space dream interlude, and, of course, their most infamous sultry cat marionette! I feel like I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit, so let me tell you about the show before I go into more details about sultry cats and other puppets…
Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s mission is to educate, celebrate, and inspire imagination through puppetry and the allied arts. It’s a non-profit organization that’s been a staple in Los Angeles since 1963! Since then, they’ve brought family-friendly marionette shows, like the Halloween Spooktacular, to the entire Los Angeles community. It’s a little piece of local history, and I’m so thrilled I finally got to experience it—especially during the spooky season!
The Bob Baker Halloween Spooktacular is a kid-friendly haunting showcase of sweet spooks, including the Purple People Eater, Dracula, the Invisible Man, and many more! I say kid-friendly, but honestly, it’s kid-focused. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy I got to experience the greatness of this theater show, but I do wish I had brought my nieces and nephews. They would’ve absolutely loved it! The characters were sweet, fun, and quirky.
There is floor seating for the kids and accompanying caregivers and rowed seating for adults. Of course, I snagged a seat in the back, which was fine because there’s not a single bad seat in the house! It’s a small, quaint theater, which helps everyone in the audience feel a part of the show and connected to the performances. There are even parts of the show where the marionettes go into the audience to play with the kiddos in the front. The whole production is incredibly cute and fun to watch.
But, like I said, as an adult in the audience with no kids, I found myself enthralled with the puppeteering. There were moments during the show where I genuinely could not figure out how they were operating the marionettes so well. Some staff members were even able to control multiple string puppets at once! It was so cool and made me curious to learn more. In fact, I’m not the only person this show has inspired. One of the lead puppeteers mentioned that this theater actually inspired her to pursue puppetry. She grew up watching Bob Baker’s marionette shows, gained some incredible skills, and is now a major part of the production! If this is something you’re interested in, I recommend visiting the section on their website dedicated to learning about the making of their puppets!
If you’re a family person, I’d highly recommend taking your kids to the Bob Baker Halloween Spooktacular. Tickets are selling out quickly so get yours ASAP. If you can’t make it to this season’s show or if you think you’re a little too old for puppets (which, I assure you, you’re not), I have a couple of suggestions for you:
Book the Bob Baker Marionette Theater for your next event, birthday party, or gathering. They are mobile and will come to you!
Consider donating or Adopt-a-Puppet today to help support their care and maintenance for years to come!
Catch a show at the theater anytime throughout the year! There are always different shows happening at the theater, so no matter the time of year, you can experience the joys of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.