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3 <\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> L Castro twirls a marionette.<\/span> 2.<\/strong> The audience gives a round of applause after the premiere of \u201cChoo Choo Revue.\u201d<\/span> 3.<\/strong> People stand in line for the premiere of \u201cChoo Choo Revue\u201d at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre.<\/span> (Carlin Stiehl\/For The Times)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Old favorites, including the theater\u2019s famed black cat marionette, make appearances in \u201cChoo Choo Revue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
But it was the long process of buying its home, namely the belief that it would be in Highland Park to stay, that gave the company the confidence that it could go forward with a new show. The obvious question, of course, is why it took 40 years for a completely fresh Bob Baker experience. Evans gives a long answer, pointing to numerous hurdles, be it the shift in locations, the cost of preserving its historic puppets and collection, as well as just managing priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily a financial hurdle,\u201d Evans says, noting \u201cChoo Choo Revue\u201d cost $300,000, with about half of that sum dedicated to the creation of new puppets and scenery. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was more about priorities,\u201d Evans says. \u201cLike, do we get the staff healthcare first, or do we do a new show first? So we got the staff healthcare. Or do we give the stage better lighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for how and why the team settled on \u201cChoo Choo Revue\u201d as its first production since 1981\u2019s \u201cHooray LA!,\u201d Evans says not to overthink it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made me giggle,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was a jumping off point to imagination. \u2018Choo Choo Revue,\u2019 by name itself, I thought to giggle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show is a fantastical representation of a cross-country train trip, filled with adorable puppet trains.<\/p>\n
A meticulously detailed log with windows, for instance, or a car that seems to balance natural, mountainous wonders on its back. They\u2019re colorful playthings, at least until the background scenery starts depicting various locomotive styles. Puppeteers will whisk train cars out into the open, each often housing a fantastical creature \u2014 a moose, for instance, who takes a break from knitting to prance around to a rendition of the on-theme traditional blues ditty \u201cMidnight Special.\u201d <\/p>\n
Behind it all are tens of thousands of hours of handcrafted proficiency. Each new puppet is a work of art. Take, for instance, a swarm of bats that seemed to glow in the dark (the creatures, created for \u201cChoo Choo Revue,\u201d made their debut during last year\u2019s Halloween season). <\/p>\n
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The Bob Baker Marionette Theater created more than 100 new puppets for \u201cChoo Choo Revue,\u201d including a pelican hiding a frog in its beak. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
Or an intricately detailed cicada band. They\u2019re each playing tiny instruments \u2014 one a half-open sardine can, another a stringed matchbook. Their wings deserve a close inspection, as the translucent curved fixtures are inspired by stained glass windows. There are trees that ski, and train whistles with big lips and high heels, modeled after harmony group the Andrews Sisters. Wait till the latter toot off their tops, as each of the 100 new puppets is full of surprises. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe get a bunch of different artists together, and we all brainstorm,\u201d Evans says of the creation process. \u201cLike, \u2018Let\u2019s all think for a second about anthropomorphizing trains.\u2019 We did a series of sketches and showed them to each other. I honestly probably have a thousand different fascinating ideas for train movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
On opening night, the crowd claps along to the numbers, cheering with delight at each new piece of whimsy that rolls or soars onto the floor-level stage. And as for the showstopping pelican, the frog erupts out of its beak right on cue, a moment that indeed inspires a round of laughter and childlike awe. <\/p>\n
As the imaginary train whisks the puppets around the country, the show manages to build anticipation just by making the crowd wonder what comes next. Say, for instance, a fluffy Sasquatch, or a crooner of a moon in pajamas singing an old-timey lullaby to all the little ones seated cross-legged on the floor. <\/p>\n
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Puppeteer Ginger Duncan twirls a marionette named Comedy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
Much of \u201cChoo Choo Revue,\u201d like the yawning, serenading moon, is rooted in the music of the past. That was a decision made to ensure the show feels in line with earlier Bob Baker works. Yet Evans says the team is emboldend after Coachella to start tackling more contemporary songs at its Highland Park headquarters. The crowd at the Indio festival, for instance, went wild for the puppets swooning to Ben Platt\u2019s cover of Addison Rae\u2019s<\/a> hit tune \u201cDiet Pepsi.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cHonestly, if we had done Coachella last year, it would have pushed \u2018Choo Choo\u2019 further,\u201d he says, noting he initially feared pop music could distract. \u201cI didn\u2019t think it could work in a way that wouldn\u2019t throw you out of the show.\u201d <\/p>\n
And yet Evans doesn\u2019t want to get ahead of himself. He nearly teared up at the end of the \u201cChoo Choo Revue\u201d premiere, saying the following afternoon that seeing this show come together after multiple years was second only to his 2025 wedding in terms of creating an \u201coverwhelming feeling of pride, love and care.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cChoo Choo Revue\u201d culminates in a look toward the future. That\u2019s when a sleek, silver, oversized high-speed bullet train arrives on the scene. <\/p>\n
It can be read as a metaphor. <\/p>\n
While the nonprofit is still seeking donor help \u2014 at the premiere, Fagot said the company now has secured $4.7 million toward its $5 million goal of buying the theater and it also hopes to raise an additional $2 million for building upgrades \u2014 its future is more secure than it has been at any time over the past decade. <\/p>\n
At long last, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater can relax and look toward new horizons. <\/p>\n
Evans, for instance, can\u2019t help himself excitedly tease a potential next Bob Baker show. He says twice in the interview that the Olympics are on the troupe\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got two years,\u201d he says. And now the permanent home to house it. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n