Peter Harrigan grew up playing with his sister's Barbie dolls. As an adult, he let go of doll playtime. That is until 1993, when his partner, Stan Baker, gifted him a Costume Ball Barbie for his birthday. Thirty years and 600 Barbie dolls later, the rest is history.

Harrigan is a theater professor at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, and Baker is a psychotherapist. In 1997, the pair were part of a lawsuit, Baker v. Vermont — aka the Baker Decision — to legalize marriage equality, which resulted in civil unions for same-sex couples in Vermont. The state legalized gay marriage in 2009, and the couple married in 2010. They share a townhome in Shelburne with their dog, Ginger, and a lower level — nobody puts Barbie in a basement! — full of the 11.5-inch-tall dolls.

Harrigan is the main collector in the family, and he creates intricate dioramas displaying the dolls in a variety of settings, including some Ken-only spaces. He keeps meticulously organized shelves of shoes, jewelry, clothing, furniture and Barbie-size items that he has collected over the years from a variety of sources. Baker collects Ken dolls, and the two have attended a variety of Barbie conventions together over the years.

In her latest episode of "Stuck in Vermont," Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger visited with Harrigan and Baker at their home in early July. They met up again on July 20 at Palace 9 Cinemas in South Burlington to see the Barbie film — with Barbie and Ken dolls from the movie in tow.

Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.

• Eva Sollberger ©️ Seven Days
• Eva Sollberger, Peter Harrigan and Stan Baker at the premier of Barbie at Palace 9

Did you play with Barbies?

My mom is a feminist, and she had some issues with Barbies. Mainly, she did not appreciate their lack of genitalia. Weird, right? This meant no Barbies for me or my sister, Seven Days associate editor Margot Harrison. Luckily, our aunt took pity on us and gifted us some vintage Barbie hand-me-downs.

My sister and I spent hours playing with those dolls, letting our imaginations run wild and acting out elaborate courtroom dramas. Margot even gave me a homemade Barbie Dreamhouse made out of shoe boxes for Christmas one year!

Our Barbies definitely fell under the moniker of Weird Barbie, as played by Kate McKinnon in the film. They had chopped-off '80s hair, filthy bodies and were well loved. I recently discovered them in my basement and returned them to my sister, who uses them in her TikToks.

• Eva Sollberger ©️ Seven Days
• Diorama from Peter Harrigan's doll collection

How did you hear about this story?

I met Harrigan back in 2017 when I made a video about Mill Girls, a play with music compiled and written by Harrigan and Tom Cleary. I was very impressed with that complex production and enjoyed meeting Harrigan and the young performers at Saint Michael's College.

There has been a ton of hype for the Barbie film and the Barbenheimer meme fest. Harrigan sent me an email with the subject line, "Stuck in Vermont with Barbie??????????" I wrote him back in minutes: "Yes please, take me to Barbieland!"

When did you film this?

We met up on July 6 at their home in Shelburne for this celebration of all things Barbie. I was enchanted with Harrigan's elaborate Barbie scenes and had to suppress my inner child, who wanted to grab all of the dolls and stroke their hair. It is funny how these miniature creatures can still have such an effect on a grown woman.

Harrigan displays his craft as a theater professor and director in every one of his dioramas. There is so much time and attention devoted to every inch of the miniature scenes. Barbies are way more fun when you vibe with the person you are playing with. I was a bit high after our three-hour playtime and floated home to Burlington on a sea of Barbiecore dreams.

Less than a week later, historic flooding hit Vermont and changed many Vermonters' lives. So many homes and businesses were affected, it is hard to wrap your head around the wide-reaching devastation. Recovery is still ongoing and will be for a long time. At first, I was not sure about switching gears from flood coverage to this pink-and-pretty Barbie video. But I felt such joy when working on this that I decided a moment of levity might be a good thing. The film has some deeper themes, too, about gender roles, consumerism and what it means to be a woman. You can read my sister's review in last week's paper.

• Eva Sollberger ©️ Seven Days
• Diorama from Peter Harrigan's doll collection

What was the importance of the Baker Decision?

Harrigan and Baker were one of three same-sex couples who sued the state of Vermont in 1997 for the right to marry. The lawsuit was called Baker v. Vermont because Baker's name was first alphabetically. This case has helped shape LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality in our state. Much like Barbie, the couple literally made history!

There is an outdated stereotype that boys should not play with dolls. Baker talked about how buying Barbies for his partner, and eventually becoming a Ken collector himself, was incredibly meaningful for both of them. I hope that these days, anyone can play with dolls, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or age.

What did you think of the film?

This was my first time seeing a movie in the theater since the pandemic. And I was not alone! Audiences are flocking to the movies to see Barbie and Oppenheimer. It was so exciting to meet up with Baker, Harrigan — and Barbie and Ken — at Palace 9 Cinemas in South Burlington. Of course, all four of them were dressed to the nines in pink and seersucker. Harrigan prepped the dolls with mini movie tickets, a tiny bag of popcorn and bottles of water. He set them up in a diorama at the entrance to the theater, and young kids came over to take photos. I felt like a child playing with my Barbies as we filmed the dolls ordering popcorn. And it was so exciting to sit down in that dark theater and get swept away to a pink, plastic world of wonder — with Barbie and Ken in a tiny seat nearby.