The Henry Miller Theatre has been renamed The Stephen Sondheim and the strange first occupant of this year old most modern of theaters on Broadway is Pee-Wee Herman. This is of course the man-child character from the 1980s created by Paul Reubens. The character of Pee-Wee was developed with the improv group, The Groundlings, in Los Angeles in 1981. The act moved to the Roxy on Sunset Strip and ran for five months, inspiring an HBO special, introducing Pee-Wee to a national audience. I came to know the character in Tim Burton’s wacky film, PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE in 1985. Following the success of the film came the Saturday morning TV show, PEE-WEE’S PLAYHOUSE on CBS. The show won 22 Emmy Awards during its five-year run. As a college student, all my friends talked about the TV show and loved its subversive humor. It worked for kids and adults the way a good Bugs Bunny cartoon did. Now on Broadway the TV show is live in a 90 minute reunion of all the favorite characters on a re-creation of the familiar playhouse set. The audience is filled with both adults and their kids. Pee-Wee Herman has been out of the scene for about two decades, so this Broadway appearance is a real come back and as far as the crowd is concerned, Pee-Wee is as good as ever. He is as beloved as Kermit the Frog, Mickey Mouse or Captain Kangaroo as evidenced by the tremendous reception he received upon his first entrance. Without fanfare a spot light hit the wing before the closed curtain and after a pause of anticipation, Pee-Wee Herman walked into the light and the crowd went wild. He greeted the audience with typical Herman joy, sang a little song for us as a kind of introduction and then made us stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, which we all did. He disappeared behind the curtain and it went up to reveal the playhouse, which received cheers for its familiarity.
People who never got into Pee-Wee or missed him entirely in the ‘80s will not understand the audience’s mania during the course of this show. However, if you grew up on Pee-Wee and were a fan during his hay day, his ageless presence now on Broadway is more than a delight, but a thrill. He arrives to say hi to all the familiar friends of the playhouse: Chairy, Jambi, Miss Yvonne and the rest. The original Mailman Mike, John Moody, is on hand and Lynne Marie Stewart re-creates Miss Yvonne. All the bits, gags, and every kind of thing that used to happen on the TV show is jam-packed into the Broadway show. The new things are funny, such as Pee-Wee getting his first computer and instantly making it his life and neglecting his real friends in the room, but each old familiar thing receives a huge reaction from the crowd. The secret word of the day is “fun” and we were asked to scream every time we heard it. Not a “fun” got past the audience, but even without the secret word the audience was having a ball and would cheer and applaud every last occurrence, right down to Pee-Wee’s stock sayings such as, “I know you are, but what am I?” his signature laugh and his famous dance to “Tequila.”
The proceedings were directed by Alex Timbers, new to the Pee-Wee family, but just about everything else to do with the production was handled by people originally associated with the TV show. Hopefully the producers will see the worth of filming the show for TV as it is one terrific reunion special. More than that, let’s hope Pee-Wee finds a new way into our lives either on TV or film, for his way of drawing in both children and adults and teaching his simple lessons of dealing with the turbulence of modern day life are just as useful and entertaining as ever. Just when we need him most Pee-Wee has reappeared to brighten our day.
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