A Colorful ‘Snow Queen’ at Bob Baker

The 27-year-old Bob Baker Marionette Theatre has a spiffy new look. The chandeliers and plush curtains are brighter, new carpeting gives the puppeteers surer footing, there’s now raised seating for adults, the walls are freshly painted and the snack area is bigger.

There’s even a “new” show. Instead of one of several tried-and-true seasonal programs with quaint, scratchy soundtracks, this year’s “The Snow Queen,” loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen classic, has been redone.

The element that has always worked for the company still exists: A colorful, comic variety of quirky puppets on parade that perch on delighted young audience members’ knees, kiss a cheek, or pirouette tantalizingly near.

Some of the crowd-pleasers are a toy box Candy Man, an ethereal but evil Jack Frost, chubby, horn-tooting bees, singing flowers, fluorescent ghoulies, a tiny ant and a hot-roddin’ teddy bear.

It’s still something of a work-in-progress, however. The Queen herself, an 8-foot monstrosity in a white gown, is not quite finished. Soundtrack pauses leave the puppeteers waiting for cues and there are too many passive moments where a single puppet simply stands and “sings.”

As in past shows, the songs are a pop pastiche and some work better in context than others. Two funnybone ticklers are puppet renditions of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and Michael Jackson’s “Bad.”

The evil Snow Queen’s sorrowful solo, “I Will Wait for You,” elicits an initial giggle for sheer incongruity, but then goes on and on. Nothing else happens. It’s a creatively stingy finale, puzzling when you consider that the company has a storehouse of 3,000 marionettes at its disposal.

The intriguing, dusty room where post-show audiences used to receive a sketchy lesson in puppet-making has disappeared. But its replacement, a hands-on, in-theater demonstration for children led by director-puppeteer Michael Earl, is even better. Ice cream and cookies are served as usual.

At 1345 West 1st St. through Jan. 31, Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.; $7. (213) 250-9995.