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The Turnabout Theatre was a company of marionette puppeteers who performed in Hollywood from 1941 through 1956.[1][2] The company's shows began with marionette performances, and concluded with a revue.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
The Theater originated with a group known as the Yale Puppeteers composed notably of Forman Brown, Harry Burnett,[1] 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 was a famous puppeteer in the UK.[5]
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,[6] and Bessie discussed the puppeteers in his memoir of his family, Rare Birds.[5]
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 was the brother of advertising executive Leo Burnett.[5]
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