''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' is a stage show developed by

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

in 1980. It marks the first significant appearance of his

comedic Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

Pee-wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that q ...

, five years before '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'', and six years before ''

Pee-wee's Playhouse ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...

''. The show initially debuted as a midnight show in February 1981 at the

Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...

theater, and was later moved to Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre, where the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

cable network taped one of the shows and aired it as a special that year. This TV special was released on DVD by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

July 18, 2006. This nightclub show had more adult humor than the later children's television series.

Development

The root of that stage show was in 1980 when Reubens was one of 22 finalists to be chosen as a regular on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', which was the infamous first season of an all-new cast, and one of five seasons without

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

as a producer. Actor

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous r ...

was chosen and Reubens thought his career was over. According to Reubens, he was about to return home when he came up with the idea of a stage show featuring the character he premiered back in 1977, Pee-wee Herman. That year, the character had made his first appearance to a national (but mostly adult) audience when he made a cameo in ''

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie ''Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'' is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and the second feature-length project by Cheech & Chong, following '' Up in Smoke'', released by Universal Pictures. Plot Cheech & Chong are on a mission t ...

''. With $3,000 (mostly money wired from his parents), and help from 60 people working for him (including his fellow Groundlings

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

and

John Paragon John Dixon Paragon (December 9, 1954 – April 3, 2021) was an American actor, writer and director. He is known for his work on the television series ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', where he portrayed Jambi the Genie and provided the voice for Pterri ...

), Reubens created the show.

Plot

At home in his Puppetland playhouse, Pee-wee entertains his audience of "boys and girls" in a homage to low-budget 1950s’ TV kiddie-shows such as ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

'' and ''

Pinky Lee Pincus Leff (May 2, 1907 – April 3, 1993), better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of the children's television program ''The Pinky Lee Show'' in the early 1950s. Biography Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee got hi ...

''. Pee-wee spends the day with his friends and fellow citizens of Puppetland, including Pterri the pterodactyl, Mr. Knucklehead, Captain Carl, Miss Yvonne, Jambi the genie in a box, Clockey the USA wall-map and clock, Randy the Rascal, Mailman Mike, Hammy and his sister Susan, Hermit Hattie, and the singing next-door neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Jelly Do-nut. Pee-wee really wants to be able to fly after he is given a wish by Jambi the genie, but he decides to give his wish away to Miss Yvonne, who wants Captain Carl to "really like her" and think she's "beautiful from head to toe". During the course of his busy day, Pee-wee sings and dances, reads pen pal letters "from around the world" (including prison), conducts a hypnosis puppet act with a female audience member who undresses under his command, and shows a cartoon and a condensed vintage 1959 educational film about proper deportment called ''Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners''. Later, Pee-wee gets upset that he gave away his magic wish when he sees Captain Carl and Miss Yvonne happily on a date. After much pouting and throwing a

tantrum A tantrum, temper tantrum, lash out, meltdown, fit or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance, angry ranting ...

, Pee-wee finally runs away. The concerned citizens of Puppetland find out about Pee-wee's secret wish and after Captain Carl reveals that he had already liked Miss Yvonne, they all realize that Pee-wee still has a wish coming. Jambi the genie then grants Pee-wee's wish to be able to fly. Pee-wee triumphantly soars and roars above Puppetland and proclaims that he is the "luckiest boy in the world".

Vinyl record

Originally released in 1981, a vinyl 12" one-sided hand silk-screened picture disc was released of the performance by Fatima Recordz. The cover features a drawing of Pee-wee by

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

, who would later win three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for his set design on ''

''. Silk-screening was done by Richard Duardo but the design of the sleeve and of the album was done by Gary Panter. The paper sleeve states that it was recorded at the Roxy Theater, L.A. June 1981. All music composed and arranged by Jay Condom except as noted.

Tracks

# "Pee-wee's Playhouse" # "Good Morning Song" (Lyrics by Paul Reubens) # "A Sailor's Life" (Music and lyrics by Reubens and Hartman) # "Most Beautiful Woman in Puppetland" # "Ballad of Hermit Hattie" (Composed by Edie McClurg) # "Rub The Top of Jambi's Box" (Lyrics by John Paragon) # "I Gotta Go Be By My Self / Call Me Mr. Bungle" # "He's Gonna Get His Wish - His Way - What He Wants" # "Luckiest Boy In The World" (Lyrics by Reubens and Bill Steinkellner) # "Volare Pee-wee" (Vocal by John Paragon)

Cast

* Pee-wee Herman -

* Jambi / Pterri -

* Miss Yvonne -

Lynne Marie Stewart Lynne Marie Stewart (born December 14, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her performance as Miss Yvonne, the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land. She originated the role in the 1981 stage show ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'', continuing it ...

* Captain Carl / Monsieur LeCroq -

* Hammy -

Tito Larriva Humberto "Tito" Larriva (born 1953) is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the ...

* Hermit Hattie / Clockey -

Edie McClurg Edith Marie McClurg (born July 23, 1945) is an American actress and comedian. She has played supporting roles in the films ''Carrie'' (1976), ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), and ''Elvira: Mistress of the Dark'' (1988), and bit parts in ' ...

2010 stage show revival

Paul Reubens told the press in interviews that he hoped his revival of his Pee-wee Herman stage show would help garner producer interest and funding for a new feature film, possibly with a new actor playing the role of Pee-wee. ''The Pee-wee Herman Show'' was originally scheduled for November 8–29 at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood. Due to high demand and technical needs, the show moved venues from Music Box to Club Nokia @ LA Live with a run between January 12 and February 7, 2010. The cast rehearsed at Sunset-Gower Studios before moving to technical rehearsals at Club Nokia. The updated show re-written by Paul Reubens contains modern references to the Internet, iPad,

abstinence ring Purity rings (also known as promise rings, abstinence rings, or chastity rings) are rings worn as a sign of chastity. Since the 1990s, in the United States, Christian organizations, especially Catholic and evangelical Christian groups, promoting ...

s, and ShamWow. It has several new characters, including handyman Sergio, firefighter Phineas, and a dancing-mute Bear. Elements of the TV series, ''

'', were merged into the stage show. The plotline of Captain Carl's (originally played the late

) crush on Miss Yvonne was switched to that of Cowboy Curtis. Added to the new version were the original stage show characters Chairry, the Flowers, Mr. Window, Globey, Clockey, Mr. Knucklehead, Conky the Robot (known as Conky 3000, originally known as Conky 2000), and Magic Screen as well as the King of Cartoons from the TV series. The revival production was produced by Scott Sanders, directed by Alex Timbers, with scenic design by David Korins and Gary Panter and original music by Jay Cotton. After several previews that began October 26, 2010, the production opened on Broadway at the

Stephen Sondheim Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Roundabout Theatre ...

on November 11, 2010, playing a limited engagement through January 2, 2011. The Broadway production was produced by Scott Sanders Productions, Adam S. Gordon, Allan S. Gordon, Élan V. McAllister, Roy Miller, Carol R. Fineman, Scott Zeilinger Productions/Radio Mouse Entertainment and StylesFour Productions/Randy Donaldson/Tim Laczynski, with associate producers Jared Geller, David J. Foster, Anne Caruso and Kelly Bush. The production was recorded for an HBO special, ''The Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway'', which premiered on March 19, 2011.

2010 cast

Los Angeles

* Pee-wee Herman -

* Mailman Mike - John Moody * Jambi -

* Miss Yvonne -

* Cowboy Curtis -

Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...

* Sergio -

Jesse Garcia Jesse Garcia (born December 14, 1982) is an American actor. Career Garcia starred in the award-winning film ''Quinceañera'', written and directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer with executive producer Todd Haynes, which won both the ...

* Fireman Phineas - Josh Meyers * Bear - Drew Powell * King of Cartoons - Lance Roberts * Other voices by

Lori Alan Lori Alan (born July 18, 1966) is an American actress and voice actress. She has played a long-running role as Pearl Krabs on the animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. She also voiced Diane Simmons on ''Family Guy'', the Invisible ...

Broadway

* Pee-wee Herman -

* Mailman Mike - John Moody * Jambi / Pterri -

* Miss Yvonne -

* Cowboy Curtis -

* Sergio -

* Fireman Phineas / Conky / Clockey / Fish / Randy / Shamwow - Josh Meyers * Bear / Mr. Window / Randy / Flowers - Drew Powell * King of Cartoons / Globey / Flowers / Mr. Knucklehead - Lance Roberts * Chairry / Magic Screen / Ginger / Fish / Flowers - Lexy Fridell

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pee-Wee Herman Show, The Pee-wee Herman 1980 plays 1981 albums HBO network specials Puppetry Albums with cover art by Gary Panter