Turnabout Theatre
The Turnabout Theatre existed in Hollywood, CA., from 1941 through 1956.[1] Regularly selling out all seats--attracting both the general public as well as many of Hollywood's top stars--it offered entertainment that combined both puppets (marionettes) for the first half of a show and a stage revue for the second half.[2]
The name of the theater derives in part from the fact that the theater seats were former streetcar seat which could be turned to face a puppet stage at one end or the live revue stage at the other.[3] Adjacent seats were labeled with humorous names (e.g., "Hot 'n Bothered," "Salt 'n Pepper," etc.), and after intermission theater-goers would "turn about" to see the show continued at the opposite end of the house.[4]
The Theater originated with a group of puppeteers (the Yale Puppeteers) composed notably of Forman Brown, Harry Burnett,[5] and Richard (Roddy) Brandon. Many artists, some quite well known or soon to be well known (e.g., Elsa Lanchester whose brother Waldo Lanchester was a famous puppeteer in the UK and Odetta), also participated.[4]
The history of the theater is documented in the film, "Turnabout: the Story of the Yale Puppeteers," directed by film maker Dan Bessie (a nephew of Harry Burnett). Brown wrote a book about the puppet troupe,[6] and Bessie also discusses the puppeteers in his memoir of his family, Rare Birds.[4]
Prior to opening Turnabout Theatre, the puppeteers had toured with their shows.[6] Their puppets also appeared in the 1933 film I Am Suzanne.[7]
Harry Burnett is a brother of famous advertising executive Leo Burnett.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Blumenthal, Eileen (2005), Puppetry: A World History, Harry N. Abrams, pp. 91, ISBN 0810955873
- ^ "Elsa's Gazebo", Time, May 24, 1948, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794401,00.html
- ^ Goslar, Lotte (1998), What's So Funny?: Sketches from My Life, Taylor & Francis, pp. 75, ISBN 9789057021770
- ^ a b c d Bessie, Dan (November 2000), Rare Birds, University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 9780813121796
- ^ "Harry Burnett, Master Of Puppetry, Dies at 92", New York Times, 1993-06-01, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DD103AF932A35755C0A965958260
- ^ a b Brown, Forman (1980), Small Wonder : the story of the Yale Puppeteers and the Turnabout Theatre, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0810813343
- ^ Slide, Anthony (2003), Lost Gay Novels: A Reference Guide to Fifty Works from the First Half of the Twentieth Century, Haworth Press, pp. 129, ISBN 9781560234142
[edit] External links
- Turnabout Theater online exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library
