Inside Knott's Berry Farm, A Tiny Theater Boasts Rowdy Shows And Alums Like Steve Martin

The Bird Cage Theatre has stood wrong Knott’s Berry Farm for 72 years — albeit not ever soundly. Long framed by a tin tile and a tent, nan theatre had a estimation for discomfort, arsenic it was a root of punishing power and nan occasional rodent sighting.

“It was hot, it stunk and it was dirty,” says Payden Adams, nan park’s VP of entertainment.

Still, though it has agelong felt for illustration an endangered species, nan Bird Cage Theatre is 1 of Southern California’s astir historical revival houses, a spot for vaudeville-style, fourth-wall-breaking shows that deviate from nan expected taxable parkland fare. To quote nan theater’s astir caller production, its intermezo tin beryllium “flirtatious and a small spot saucy.”

Knott’s Berry Farm’s Bird Cage Theatre is modeled aft a historical venue successful Tombstone, Ariz.

(Kyusung Gong / For The Times)

Opened successful 1954, nan Bird Cage Theatre has specialized successful vaudeville-style melodramas.

(Knott’s Berry Farm)

And now, against each odds, nan Bird Cage is getting a 2nd life. Knott’s Berry Farm precocious completed a renewal designed to support it thriving for different 72 years. Gone is nan tarpaulin roof: The Bird Cage is now a afloat enclosed, soundstage-like structure. And blessedly, it has modern aerial conditioning.

The theatre reopened this past play pinch “The Great Bank Robbery,” a 30-minute-plus show successful which audiences are encouraged to boo, hiss and swoon complete nan characters, a Bird Cage contented since 1954. Characters are caricatures, beryllium it a villain that feels plucked from a animation western, complete pinch a purring raccoon for a sidekick, to a greedy wannabe leader of a slope manager. Though group successful Ghost Town pinch play garb, location are modern flourishes, specified arsenic tongue-in-cheek nods to nan taxable park’s attractions and a damsel successful distress who yet proves to beryllium thing but.

Though it erstwhile operated arsenic a regular theater, nan Bird Cage is coming astir progressive during holidays and seasonal events, specified arsenic nan park’s yearly Boysenberry Festival, which besides began this weekend. Popular summertime show “Miss Cameo Kate’s Western Burle-Q- Revue” is simply a 20-minute cabaret-style performance, complete pinch a torch opus and a somewhat risqué cancan finale.

When it’s running, nan Bird Cage is simply a must-see attraction. Live theatre successful taxable parks tin consciousness for illustration a moving target, arsenic accepted contented often argues that today’s smartphone-addled guests are aft thrills and much attention-grabbing, interactive experiences. But erstwhile it works, specified arsenic during nan over-the-top silliness of “The Great Bank Robbery,” aliases astatine Universal Studios’ “Waterworld”-themed stunt show, it tin connection guests immoderate of nan astir memorable, individual moments astatine nan parks.

The Bird Cage Theatre reopened this past play pinch nan show “The Great Bank Robbery.”

(Kyusung Gong / For The Times)

“You’re not wrong, particularly erstwhile it comes to attraction spans. We acquisition that,” says Adams, who oversaw nan theater’s restoration. “The measurement we’ve pivoted and navigated is conscionable ensuring our shows are tight and clean. It mightiness beryllium a small complete 30 minutes, but audiences are engaged. In melodramas, we inquire nan assemblage to participate, and we tin train them really to participate beforehand. When you spot characters, moreover erstwhile they’re heightened aliases over-the-top, group still link pinch them.”

The Bird Cage Theatre first opened successful nan summertime of 1954, its destruction a near-replica of nan original Bird Cage successful Tombstone, Ariz. That nan family-focused Knott’s would motion to nan Arizona locale is an oddity successful and of itself, arsenic nan existent theatre had a bawdy reputation. Stories coming speak of a spot that initially opened pinch expansive ambitions but yet succumbed to gambling and prostitution.

At Knott’s, nan theatre was built astir existing structures, though parkland laminitis Walter Knott, according to nan book “Knott’s Preserved” by Chrstopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler, often talked astir completing it arsenic a afloat tribute to nan Arizona space. That ne'er really happened.

Knott’s re-created nan original wallpaper of nan Bird Cage Theatre for its remodeling.

(Kyusung Gong / For The Times)

And yet complete nan years nan Bird Cage won complete audiences acknowledgment to programming from Vaudeville veterans. Early on, students from adjacent colleges would look astatine nan space, including Steve Martin, whose signed photograph graces a personage wall successful nan Bird Cage’s introductory hall. Donna Mills and vocalist Rick Nelson person graced nan Bird Cage’s horseshoe-shaped stage, arsenic person Dean Jones and Skip Young.

It was, to opportunity nan least, a quirky spot to perform. “Knott’s Preserved” tells of a show successful which a rodent erstwhile sat astatine nan guidelines of nan stage, and quotes Martin arsenic reminiscing complete performances affected by nan weather. “When it rained, nary 1 could perceive each different because nan rainfall was beating truthful difficult connected that tarp,” Martin said.

None of that should beryllium a problem anymore, though returning guests will apt consciousness they’re successful a acquainted space. Though nan Bird Cage has been outfitted pinch modern lighting tin of caller taxable parkland tricks and projections, nan rig is hidden among curtains designed to re-create nan look of nan original tent. Lights, successful vertebrate cage enclosures, still bent supra nan assemblage seating area, which has room for astir 250 guests.

The Bird Cage Theatre astatine Knott’s Berry Farm now has a decently enclosed tile and aerial conditioning.

(Kyusung Gong / For The Times)

And on nan measurement a fewer discoveries were made. Adams says that erstwhile they began stripping distant woody walls added sometime successful nan 1970s, they recovered nan Bird Cage’s original wallpaper, a scarlet-red portion that surrounds nan abstraction pinch flower-adorned vertebrate cages. Not each of it could beryllium salvaged, truthful Knott’s meticulously re-created nan look. With nan new-old wallpaper intact, Adams estimates that guests tin count astir 11,055 vertebrate cages passim nan theater.

The original pieces will beryllium preserved successful nan parkland and talented to important Bird Cage players. Adams jokes, “If you person a mailing reside for Mr. Steve Martin, I person a gift to nonstop him.”