{"id":729149,"date":"2026-04-15T07:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T07:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/729149\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T07:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T07:06:12","slug":"bob-baker-marionette-theater-to-buy-5m-la-home-after-elite-fundraising-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/729149\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Baker Marionette Theater to buy $5M LA home after elite fundraising push"},"content":{"rendered":"

A beloved Los Angeles arts institution is asking everyday Angelenos to dig<\/a> into their pocket.<\/p>\n

The iconic Bob Baker Marionette Theater has long been a staple of the Los Angeles arts scene<\/a>, but even with the backing of Hollywood\u2019s heavy hitters, the legendary puppet troupe is finding that \u201cforever\u201d comes with a steep price tag.<\/p>\n

The theater announced that it has officially almost reached a $5 million deal to purchase its current rental home in Highland Park \u2014 a move intended to protect the institution from the skyrocketing rents that have shuttered so many other businesses.<\/p>\n

The iconic Bob Baker Marionette Theater on York Boulevard.<\/p>\n

However, despite securing millions from some of the biggest names in entertainment, the theater is now turning to the public to cross the finish line. <\/p>\n

The nonprofit has already raised a massive $4.5 million, thanks in large part to a \u201cwho\u2019s who\u201d of elite donors. Supporters include actor Jack Black and his artist wife Tanya Haden, alongside major contributions from the Perenchio, Kohl, and Ahmanson foundations. <\/p>\n

Yet, even with that star-studded war chest, the theater says it still needs another $2.5 million from the community to finalize the purchase and fund essential renovations for the aging building.<\/p>\n

While the theater reportedly has already secured a $500,000 loan to close on the $5 million deal on the building, they don\u2019t want the debt weighing on them as it transitions from renter to owner.<\/p>\n

Puppeteers perform \u201cThe Circus\u201d show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think it\u2019s an achievable gap,\u201d Mary Fagot, Bob Baker\u2019s co-executive director, told the LA Times, pitching it as once in a lifetime opportunity to preserve a cultural treasure. <\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know, the Bob Baker experience is a time capsule of \u201cOld Hollywood\u201d whimsy. Founded in 1963, the theater houses over 3,000 handcrafted puppets \u2014 from skating penguins to operatic cats \u2014 that perform amidst sparkling chandeliers and ice cream socials. It\u2019s a formula that has enchanted over a million children and adults alike.<\/p>\n

The theater\u2019s history with LA real estate has been rocky. In 2019, the troupe was forced out of its original downtown location \u2014 its home for over half a century \u2014 to make way for a luxury apartment complex. The move to Highland Park was supposed to be a fresh start, but rising costs in the gentrifying neighborhood quickly put the theater\u2019s future back in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Jack Black and Tanya Haden were among the theaters big donors. FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Now, the puppet masters are hoping that everyday Angelenos will join the ranks of their celebrity donors to save the institution. The funds are earmarked not just for the mortgage, but to support the theater\u2019s first new production in over four decades, Choo Choo Revue.<\/p>\n

The news was received with overwhelming support online. \u201cThis is how legacy businesses in LA stay around,\u201d wrote one redditor in response to the news. \u201cGood for them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEarned, deserved, and so so important for all of us who love this city and all that you do to make it better, happier, and more magical for all, especially our young ones,\u201d another said on Instagram.<\/p>\n

The fundraising push comes at a high-profile moment for the troupe. Just last week, the puppets traded their theater for the dusty polo fields of Indio, making their debut at Coachella<\/a>. Performing on the Gobi Stage, the marionettes shared the lineup with global superstars like Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber.<\/p>\n

While the theater has the support of the 1%, its survival now rests on whether the public is willing to help bridge the gap. For a theater that has spent decades entertaining the city\u2019s children, the hope is that the community will see the $2.5 million ask as a necessary investment to keep the strings from being cut for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A beloved Los Angeles arts institution is asking everyday Angelenos to dig into their pocket. The iconic Bob…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":729150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,124863,2961,1165,224,5337,301774,5552],"class_list":["post-729149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-jack-black","tag-la","tag-lifestyle","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-puppets","tag-the-arts"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116407460584754317","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}