"Under The Umbrella Tree" was on in the US? I didn't know that!
The show was produced in Ottawa, Ontario for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was created by Noreen Young, who is a very well known puppeteer and builder up here. Here's a few websites by folks who worked on the show:
Noreen Young Productions - Online home of Noreen Young. The website has photos of Gloria, Maggie & BJ plus many of Noreen's other creations.
Matt Ficner is a Canadian puppeteer who began his career interning on this show and now performs in a variety of shows, including the new series "Ace Lightning."
Until recently the puppets from the show were on display at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto. I think they are now part of the same exhibit at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. If you want to buy tapes of the show I think they are still available through CBC.
The mailing address I have for tape enquiries is:
CBC Enterprises
Box 500, Station A
Toronto, Ontario
M5W 1E6 Canada
You can also try contacting CBC Audience Relations through
cbc.ca.
Now - did anybody watch "Today's Special" or "Bookmice"?