The Pee-wee Herman Show 0
We talk to the iconic entertainer about his unexpected return
Of all the things I thought I’d never see in this lifetime, chief among them was a live stage performance by Pee-wee Herman.
Exhibit A.
And so it was with great enthusiasm and a certain sense of disbelief that I attended the press conference at Club Nokia in which Pee-wee himself announced his detailed plans for “The Pee-wee Herman Show”, a live stage show set to run January 12-February 2 at the very same club. We learned that “The Pee-wee Herman Show” would be a full Broadway scale production and then some, due to the numerous puppet characters and bizarre set decorations that would have to be functional in real time. We also learned that Pee-wee is most likely immortal, because he looks just about the same as he did 20 years ago, even up close.
Pee-wee, now and then.
Director Alex Timbers spoke a bit about the narrative of the story and the decision to go with a more PG presentation than the original stage show, which was slightly more adult in nature. (Many people don’t remember this, but before he was a children’s show host, Pee-wee was doing HBO specials and Cheech & Chong movies.) Everyone agreed that part of the appeal of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” was that it could be enjoyed by children, his or her parents, and stoner college kids in equal measure, so it made sense not to go too blue with the humor.
