good evening! last night was a true childhood dream come true … i got to see one of my favorite people in the entire world up on stage … pee-wee herman (aka paul reubens, looking great at age 57) who is making a long overdue (and much-needed) comeback by mounting his new stage show the pee-wee herman show here in los angeles (playing through february 7th at club nokia)
i can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to see mr. herman doing his thing once again – when his infamous playhouse set was revealed – everyone was cheering – plus most of his friends made an appearance including such fan favorites as ms. yvonne, cowboy curtis, mailman mike, and the king of cartoons! there was even a secret word of the day – you all know what to do whenever anybody says the secret word, right? i’ve been such a huge fan of pee-wee as long as i can remember – his 1985 movie pee-wee’s big adventure (directed by tim burton) is one of my top three films of all-time! (let’s not talk about 1988’s big top pee-wee – it pales in comparison!)
after the show (which was hilarious – SNL alum chris kattan was sitting right in front of me!) i was super lucky to be invited to a meet & greet session (because i was one of the original ticket holders before he changed venues) which ended up being questions & answers – of course i grabbed the mic and asked him not to let anyone else play the character but it sounds like johnny depp might actually be taking over when the new film is made – tentatively titled pee-wee’s playhouse: the movie (due in 2011) he even revealed the plot – the king of cartoons is kidnapped and everyone goes to find him – doesn’t that sound awesome? especially since nobody ever really left the playhouse – pee-wee said there’s only two scenes that will take place in the playhouse – the start and the end – he promised the script is amazing! mr. depp sure does have one big ass pair of white shoes to fill!
i also asked about captain carl (played by the late phil hartman) he said they still talk about him a lot – mr. hartman was one of the writers on the original stage show – it’s too bad he’s gone – hopefully a mention of the character can be somehow worked into the show! before pee-wee left – he mentioned that he had always been so busy with the show and the character that he never really ‘felt the love’ but over the past few days he’s been really in touch with how many people truly love him – please watch the video i shot below! if you’re in los angeles you must see the show before it’s over – i’m sure with the success of this run – he’ll be bringing pee-wee to other cities! (the show is mostly kid-friendly – so parents don’t worry) popbytes over & out for tonight … long live pee-wee herman … xoxo!
