Zing Went Strings of My Heart

Big ol’ bullfrogs croon a tune and do soft shoe tap in the twilight; a clothesline full of shirts, jeans, skirts and ruffled pinafores whirls in black light; fireflies dance in the dark: These are some of the happy down-on-the-farm happenings you’ll find in “Something to Crow About,” at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre.

A vegetable band, a watermelon chorus, singing daisies, waltzing weeping willows--at Mama and Papa Goat’s farm, the action never stops in this quaint and gentle puppet frolic made up of musical vignettes starring scores of inventive wooden, stuffed and molded puppets.

A few of the numbers seemed skimpy by the company’s usual standards at a recent performance, and the finale seemed to beg more oomph, due perhaps to the reported absence of three of the regular puppeteers--marionette master/creator Bob Baker himself was pressed into service.

That still meant at least 50 or 60 of Baker’s puppets shared the spotlight, however, and if it was a strain to be short-handed, Baker and his youthful company, led by talented Steven Loeb, didn’t let it show in their smooth manipulations of the stringed folk.

As always, the youngest audience members, sitting on carpet on three sides of the performance area, were thrilled when the puppets came to them, perching on a knee, tickling a nose, patting a head or a cheek. Artist Pierre Rabbit, paint palette in hand, was a special hit, “painting” each child a different color with his feathery brush.

Baker’s repertory of shows alternates, but what remains constant is the feeling of stepping back to a simpler time inside the square white building on the unprepossessing corner just outside downtown L.A. The historic theater is decorated with glittering swags of ribbons and flowers and toy-box charm; the soundtracks are made up of novelty and popular songs from the turn of the century to not much beyond the ‘50s; the beautifully crafted marionettes and cozy puppets are a kick; and there’s always ice cream after the show in the “party room,” where puppet sketches and photographs chronicle the theater’s 37-year history.

Year in and year out, the formula stays the same and, despite all the high-tech competition, the gentle charm of the experience still manages to entertain and thrill children, who watch wide-eyed, and their parents--who watch their children watching, and the puppets, too.

* “Something to Crow About,” Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, 1345 W. 1st St., Tuesday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30 p.m. through September. $10; under age 2, free. (213) 250-9995. Running time: 90 minutes.

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Timely TV: Upcoming episodes of “Smart Guy” and “Doug” tackle some timely issues of concern to parents: On the WB network, Sunday at 8:30 p.m., “Smart Guy” T.J. (Tahj Mowry) is persuaded to drink beer at a party, not a happy experience. Then his dad finds out and things get tougher until the family works it out.

Internet safety is the focus of “Doug’s Adventures Online,” airing June 5 during Disney’s “One Saturday Morning” cartoon block on ABC between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. When Doug’s dad brings home the family’s first computer, Doug and Skeeter surf the Net and connect with someone they think is a kid and agree to meet him, not knowing that the “kid” is really an adult with a shady used-record business.

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Making Art: June 6 is Family Festival day at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen Contemporary space. With live music provided by Inca (the noted Peruvian ensemble), poetry readings by writer Marisela Norte, art-making with artist Mineko Grimmer, the Family Festival is centered around the current exhibition “Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990.” The event includes student-led tours of the artist’s vivid oil and acrylic works as well as a trip--via free shuttle--to MOCA, for audio-tours, designed especially for families, of the museum’s collection.

* Family Festival, “Sam Francis: Paintings 1947-1990,” the Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, June 6, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Free. Education department: (213) 621-1712. Recorded information: (213) 621-6222.

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Remember This: The public is invited to see free performances of “A Day to Remember,” a one-hour play written and performed inside Central Juvenile Hall by 15- to 18-year-old high-risk offenders, this Saturday and next at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. It’s the culmination of three months of workshops with the Unusual Suspects Theater Company, a group of adult theater professionals who bring theater arts to at-risk youth to foster self-confidence and racial tolerance.

* “A Day to Remember,” Central Juvenile Hall, 1605 Eastlake Ave., Los Angeles, Saturdays, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. through May 22; free. (310) 523-6800.