Excerpts from an interview with Fairyland’s head puppeteer, Lewis Mahlmann on November 11, 2002. Mills College student Hazel Mottershead is the interviewer. Part of an oral history series on Lake Merritt, sponsored by the Oakland Living History Program at Mills College. The complete interview is available at the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room. For more information on the Oakland Living History Program, contact olhpinfo@mills.edu. ©2002.

Hazel Mottershead: Do you know who influenced William Everett’s designs of Fairyland?

Lewis Mahlmann: Well they asked Mr. Everett’s if would design the sets for Children’s Fairyland. The two men who were instrumental in getting him were Mr. Mott and Navelet. And so they let him have free reign as far as designs were concerned. But when he first brought the designs in they liked them a lot, except they felt that they should have more whimsy. And I forgot if it was Bill Mott or Mr. Navelet who looks at one of the sets, put his fist on top and came crashing down on top of it and said, “That’s what they should look like!” In other words, they wanted everything catywumpus and no straight lines. So they followed suit. Although I would say that within the last 10-15 years it’s gotten more perpendicular, I would say. But I still think the whimsy is one of the exciting things about Children’s Fairyland to make it more childlike and fun.

HM Do you know what Fairyland’s influence was on Disneyland?

LM Well I know that Mr. Disney came here when we first opened—this was about five years before Disneyland opened. Fairyland wasn’t the only place he visited when he was making his plans for Disneyland, but this was an important influence on him. In fact, he hired our first director, and she became his public relations woman.
I think it’s a good thing to see the children who attend Fairyland see their peers working in and around the Park, or performing their playlets, or playing games with the children, or, being parts of the parades, the city parades, whether it’s here or in local towns… representing Fairyland.
Once a year they have try-outs like they were going to try-out for a play, which they are really doing and they do a reading or a dance or perform. And they choose from about 85-100 children a year, but they only choose forty-five children. And they choose the best.

HM What are the different personalities? Have they changed over the years?

LM Oh basically they still have a Pinocchio and a Hansel and Gretel and whatever. But over the last few years they’ve been doing ethnic tales which brings them more into exotic settings. And so the children dress in those particular costumes, which makes it exciting. One of the three plays they do a year is a standard, whether it be Hansel and Gretel, or Wizard of Oz, or whatever. And the other two are unknown tales, should they be from China or Africa or wherever.

HM Can you describe some of the changes that have occurred since it’s become a non-profit organization?

LM Changes. Well, we have some new buildings. The entrance is brand new. Renovations to the park to bring it up to code. We have more wonderful things that are being planned. I think that if you see the park you’ll see what’s happened; you’ll see the freshness of it.

HM Why did they change the entrance to Fairyland?

LM Probably they wanted a fresh look to the Park. I think that’s why they did it. They wanted to bring it up to today’s concept of what a park should be and yet keep the ambience of the previous time. They did keep the small shoe that you have to enter through, but the entrance is larger so that people don’t have to stoop to get into the park. I think it’s a beautiful concept. And I think that when people see all these wonderful things, they really know that they’re going to have a good time once they go through that threshold.