October 31, 2012 at 11:45am 35 notes
Halloweennews
Source: Los Angeles Times
In a world of change, dancing puppets still delight: The Bob Baker Marionette Theater near downtown L.A. remains a magical place even as demand for its offerings has dimmed. Still, inside the theater, the same old music from decades gone by continues to play under the same chandeliers. Puppeteers dressed in black still step out toward the audience, lit by lights from the long-gone Philharmonic Auditorium. People come in who first came as children. They bring their children or even their grandchildren. They find a world extraordinarily close to the one they remember, not markedly altered by time. No such happy ending’s yet in view for the venerable theater, which is mortgaged to the hilt and in arrears on taxes. Check out more photos from the puppet show. Photos: Nathan Palat, 5, gets an up-close look as puppeteer Adrian Rose controls her marionette during a performance of “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater near downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

In a world of change, dancing puppets still delight: The Bob Baker Marionette Theater near downtown L.A. remains a magical place even as demand for its offerings has dimmed.

Still, inside the theater, the same old music from decades gone by continues to play under the same chandeliers. Puppeteers dressed in black still step out toward the audience, lit by lights from the long-gone Philharmonic Auditorium.

People come in who first came as children. They bring their children or even their grandchildren. They find a world extraordinarily close to the one they remember, not markedly altered by time.

No such happy ending’s yet in view for the venerable theater, which is mortgaged to the hilt and in arrears on taxes.

Check out more photos from the puppet show.

Photos: Nathan Palat, 5, gets an up-close look as puppeteer Adrian Rose controls her marionette during a performance of “Halloween Hoop-de-Doo” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater near downtown Los Angeles. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

October 31, 2011 at 9:55am 21 notes
halloweenmonster mash
Source: Los Angeles Times
Oct. 31, 1987: On the 25th anniversary of the release of the classic Halloween song “Monster Mash,” creator Bobby Pickett poses for Los Angeles Times photographer Robert Gabriel at the Hollywood Wax Museum. Happy Halloween, everyone! What are you doing tonight?

Oct. 31, 1987: On the 25th anniversary of the release of the classic Halloween song “Monster Mash,” creator Bobby Pickett poses for Los Angeles Times photographer Robert Gabriel at the Hollywood Wax Museum.

Happy Halloween, everyone! What are you doing tonight?

October 30, 2011 at 11:30am 15 notes
halloweenwest hollywood
Source: Los Angeles Times
Restaurant serves up ghost stories all year: Workers at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood see — and sometimes feel — the evidence of mysterious beings. Photo: Barney’s Beanery manager Jonah Dumont says he has seen the image of a man in a white shirt walk past his upstairs office about 20 times. Credit: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

Restaurant serves up ghost stories all year: Workers at Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood see — and sometimes feel — the evidence of mysterious beings.

Photo: Barney’s Beanery manager Jonah Dumont says he has seen the image of a man in a white shirt walk past his upstairs office about 20 times. Credit: Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times

October 22, 2011 at 4:00pm 88 notes
familyhalloweenlgbtqcolumnsandy banksglendora
Source: Los Angeles Times
The princess costume and the trick-or-treat dilemma: Glendora moms face a difficult choice on their son’s choice of holiday garb — protect his independent spirit or his tender feelings? Anna and Louisa remember the sea of “Yes on 8” signs that sprouted around them in 2008, when the measure banning gay marriage was on the ballot. Gay marriage was rejected that year by voters, just months after the couple officially wed on June 17, the first day gay marriage was legal in California. Now, Anna envisions those folks snubbing her trick-or-treating princess-boy. “I imagine that when those Glendorans shut their doors, they’re going to say ‘See, that’s why lesbians shouldn’t raise children.’” Photo: Luc Villeneuve, 4, has asked to go trick-or-treating as a princess. His moms, Anna and Louisa, with twins Jacob and Madeleine, aren’t sure how to respond. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

The princess costume and the trick-or-treat dilemma: Glendora moms face a difficult choice on their son’s choice of holiday garb — protect his independent spirit or his tender feelings?

Anna and Louisa remember the sea of “Yes on 8” signs that sprouted around them in 2008, when the measure banning gay marriage was on the ballot. Gay marriage was rejected that year by voters, just months after the couple officially wed on June 17, the first day gay marriage was legal in California.

Now, Anna envisions those folks snubbing her trick-or-treating princess-boy.

“I imagine that when those Glendorans shut their doors, they’re going to say ‘See, that’s why lesbians shouldn’t raise children.’”

Photo: Luc Villeneuve, 4, has asked to go trick-or-treating as a princess. His moms, Anna and Louisa, with twins Jacob and Madeleine, aren’t sure how to respond. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times