“Who loves puppets?” John C. Reilly calls out. The actor’s query is answered with a chorus of enthusiastic woos. “Me too!” he cries. We’re at the Garibaldina Society in Los Angeles—the oldest active ...

Puppet designer Michael Curry got his Awakening call early, back when Wynn’s spectacular, effects-and-acrobatics-laden production show was still only a wild dream. “I’m known in the industry as a bit ...