The Turnabout Theatre was a company of
marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
puppeteers who performed in
Hollywood from 1941 through 1956.
The company's shows began with marionette performances, and concluded with a
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
.
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,
Harry Burnett,
and Richard (Roddy) Brandon. Many artists, some quite well known or soon to be well known also participated, including
Odetta
Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...
and
Elsa Lanchester
Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986.
Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the F ...
, whose brother
Waldo Lanchester 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
Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cent ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
Turnabout Theateronline exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library
American puppeteers