The Turnabout Theatre was a company of
marionette puppeteers who performed in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
from 1941 through 1956.
The company's shows began with marionette performances, and concluded with a
revue.
The name of the theater derives in part from the fact that the theater seats were former streetcar seats that could be turned to face a puppet stage at one end or the live revue stage at the other. 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.
The Theater originated with a group known as the Yale Puppeteers composed notably of
Forman Brown
Forman Brown (January 8, 1901 – January 10, 1996) was one of the world's leaders in puppet theatre in his day, as well as an important early gay novelist. He was a member of the Yale Puppeteers and the driving force behind Turnabout Theatre. ...
,
Harry Burnett
Harry Burnett (January 6, 1901May 28, 1993) was the designer of the Yale Puppeteers. He was also a mask creator. In ''Better Angel'', Forman Brown's early gay novel, he is Derry.
Biography
Harry Burnett was born on January 6, 1901, the son of Nob ...
,
and Richard (Roddy) Brandon. Many artists, some quite well known or soon to be well known also participated, including
Odetta and
Elsa Lanchester, whose brother
Waldo Lanchester
Waldo Sullivan Lanchester (6 May 1897 – 15 December 1978) was a British puppeteer who founded the Lanchester Marionettes (1935–1962), a puppet theatre that was based in Malvern, and later in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote a book on the reviv ...
was a famous puppeteer in the UK.
The history of the theater is documented in the film, ''Turnabout: the Story of the Yale Puppeteers'', directed by Dan Bessie (a nephew of Harry Burnett). Brown wrote a book about the puppet troupe,
and Bessie discussed the puppeteers in his memoir of his family, ''Rare Birds''.
Prior to opening Turnabout Theatre, the puppeteers had toured with their shows.
Their puppets also appeared in the 1933 film ''
I Am Suzanne''.
Harry Burnett was the brother of advertising executive
Leo Burnett.
References
{{reflist
External links
Turnabout Theateronline exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library
American puppeteers