. at Sierra Madre Playhouse (Photo – sierramadreplayhouse)
Another full journey through the four seasons, and somehow I’ve arrived at the same place, more accurately, the same headspace: nostalgia.
By Natalia Rose
Maybe it’s the rare chill blowing through the LA palm trees, or the untarnished delight that comes from putting pine trees indoors and dropping the last minted pennies into donation buckets. More likely, it was the infectious laugh of the two-year-old girl sitting beside me at a Bob Baker puppet show, full of wonder and vulnerability we, as adults, may have misplaced along the way.
Christmas often feels like a month-long déjà vu: hanging the same decorations, sipping the same seasonal coffee drinks, revisiting the stories we’ve seen countless times before, all in an attempt to recapture the joy they once gave us. However, there’s a particular magic in the unexpected. Bob Baker, founder of the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, understood this better than most. “Children can get restless if it doesn’t change frequently,” he said. So he reimagined the annual holiday performance of The Nutcracker, weaving in the art form he loved most: marionettes.
This version of The Nutcracker included a few familiar scenes from the ballet, like the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and the sword fight between the Nutcracker and the Rat King, but the true charm lived in its unique characters, handcrafted backdrops, and the miracle work of excellent child engagement. The scenic pieces looked deliberately childlike: bold shapes, earnest colors, and a storybook looseness, all rigged on roller drops that revealed new locations with every turn. This analog style of theatrical craft ignites something in the audience, both young and old, awakening the instinct to make art with our own hands. Even as dancing flowers, tap-dancing clarinets, guitar-playing lollipops, and flying sugar-plum fairies electrify our childlike fascination, there remains an element of predictability we willingly surrender in exchange for joy.
This refreshing hour-long show allowed kids to belly-laugh freely and interact with the characters as much as they wished. Afterward, the puppeteers served them ice cream and even helped a few little ones adopt their first puppets to bring to life at home. The real victory arrived halfway through the performance, when the parents in the room began to soften, relaxing into the story and letting themselves enjoy the show—not as caretakers, but as equals with their children.
Bob Baker's Nutcracker Through Jan. 4 10:30 am, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:30 pm (Check day listings) Location Sierra Madre Playhouse 87 W Sierra Madre Blvd Sierra Madre, CA 91024 Tickets at this link
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