Some Old Friends and Some Brand New Pals to The Playhouse!!
“THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW” ANNOUNCES CASTING
Broadway Production Welcomes Original “Pee-wee Herman Show” Cast Members JOHN MOODY as Mailman Mike, JOHN PARAGON as Jambi the Genie, and LYNNE MARIE STEWART as Miss Yvonne…
…plus JESSE GARCIA as Sergio the Handyman
and PHIL LaMARR as Cowboy Curtis…
Company also includes
JOSH MEYERS, DREW POWELL, and LANCE ROBERTS
New York, NY, August 31, 2010 – Producer Scott Sanders has announced additional cast members for the upcoming Broadway engagement of the highly anticipated stage play, The Pee-wee Herman Show. Beginning previews October 26 and opening on November 11, the production recently announced a four-week extension due to overwhelming demand. The Pee-wee Herman Show will now run through January 2, 2011 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre (124 West 43rd street).
In addition to Paul Reubens starring as Pee-wee Herman, the Broadway engagement of The Pee-wee Herman Show will feature three performers who created their characters in the original groundbreaking production of The Pee-wee Herman Show at the Groundlings Theatre in 1981: John Moody as Mailman Mike, John Paragon as Jambi the Genie, and Lynne Marie Stewart as Miss Yvonne, who also played the role on the long-running CBS TV series.
The cast also includes Jesse Garcia (ALMA Award Winner for Quinceañera) as Sergio the Handyman, and Phil LaMarr as Cowboy Curtis.
Additionally, The Pee-wee Herman Show will feature Josh Meyers, Drew Powell, and Lance Roberts.
Based on Reubens’ 1981 cult classic stage production, The Pee-wee Herman Show, with new elements from the ground-breaking CBS show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” added generously, this new production is written by Paul Reubens and Bill Steinkellner, with additional material by John Paragon. Directed by Alex Timbers (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson), The Pee-wee Herman Show will feature music by Jay Cotton and the work of renowned puppetry artist Basil Twist. The production comes to New York direct from its acclaimed, sold-out run in Los Angeles.
The Pee-wee Herman Show reunites the one-and-only Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) with many of the original Playhouse cast of characters – including Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis, Pterri the Pterodactyl, Jambi the Genie, and Chairry – for an all new celebration of sophisticated silliness. An eye-popping 90 minutes of subversive humor and childlike wonder, The Pee-wee Herman Show charts a day in the life of our bow-tied hero, one of the most inspired comic personas of our time.
Over half a million people currently follow Pee-wee Herman’s updates on Twitter @peeweeherman; he can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PeeweeHerman.
The design team for The Pee-wee Herman Show includes David Korins (Scenic Design), Ann Closs-Farley (Costume Design), Jeff Croiter (Lighting Design), M.L. Dogg (Sound Design), and Jake Pinholster (Projection Design).
The Pee-wee Herman Show is produced by Scott Sanders, Allan Gordon/ Adam Gordon/ Elan McAllister, Roy Miller, Scott Zeilinger Productions/Radio Mouse Entertainment, Carol Fineman.
THE COMPANY
PAUL REUBENS (Pee-wee Herman). At 5 years of age, after seeing an elementary school play, an Indian pageant, The Legend of Leelawallah, Paul decided to become an actor. His father built him a stage in the basement of their house and Paul wrote, produced and starred in plays he performed for the neighborhood. In 6th grade, he stepped onto a real stage for the first time as Nick Burns in A Thousand Clowns. Reubens created Pee-wee Herman while a member of the famed Los Angeles improv group The Groundlings. The Pee-wee Herman Show premiered at The Groundlings Theatre on February 7, 1981 at midnight. It quickly moved to The Roxy on Sunset Strip where it ran for an unprecedented five months. The HBO broadcast of the show introduced Pee-wee to a national audience. Pee-wee was brought to the big screen in the hit 1985 comedy Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which he co-wrote and which marked Tim Burton’s directorial debut. Reubens went on to create, co-write and direct “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” on CBS where the series earned 22 Emmy Awards during its five year run. Reubens has been nominated for 14 Emmy Awards, winning twice. Pee-wee Herman was made an honorary Muppet, received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame and was made an honorary Marine in conjunction with his work with Toys for Tots. Reubens has starred in a number of diverse film and TV roles, including “30 Rock,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Reno 911,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Murphy Brown,” which earned him an Emmy nomination. His film credits include Mystery Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blow, Todd Solondz’s Life During Wartime, and upcoming in David O. Russell’s Nailed. In the world of animation, Reubens has lent his voice to many projects including Dr. Dolittle, The Nightmare Before Christmas and “Family Guy.” He currently can be heard as The Bat-mite on “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” and as the voice of Rex the Robot, the tour guide of George Lucas’ Star Tours ride at Disneyland and Disneyworld.
JESSE GARCIA (Sergio) is best known for his role in the highly acclaimed “Quinceañera,” winner of the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and Official Selection for the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. For his performance as Carlos, Garcia won the prestigious ALMA Award (American Latino Media Arts) as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture in 2007. His other film credits include “La Misma Luna” (“The Same Moon”) opposite America Ferrara, “Good Dick,” with Jason Ritter, and “The Comebacks.” He can be seen in the upcoming film, “Days of Wrath.” TV credits include Edward James Olmos’ “Walkout,” for HBO and guest spots on “ER,” “The Shield,” “The Closer,” “Unfabulous,” “Justice,” “Law and Order: CSI,” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
PHIL LaMARR (Cowboy Curtis) is an alumnus of Yale University and The Groundlings. His stage credits include The Actor’s Gang’s Asylum, Theatre a-Go-Go’s Patty Patty Bang Bang: The Patty Hearst Musical, Sacred Fools’ Jacques & His Master as well as directing Tales of A Bleaknik, Attack of the White Negro and Out of Tune. Television: “Mad TV,” “Futurama,” “Family Guy,” “Justice League,”“NYPD Blue,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Castle.” Film: Pulp Fiction, Step Brothers, Cherish, and Quid Pro Quo, a 2008 Sundance Film Festival selection.
JOSH MEYERS (Firefighter, Conky, Clocky, Fish) was a series regular on Fox’s “That 70’s Show” and “MADtv” and appeared in the films Bruno, Date Movie and College Road Trip. He can next be seen in the independent features How to Make Love to a Woman and Inventing Adam.
JOHN MOODY (Mailman Mike) played Mailman Mike in the original stage production of The Pee-wee Herman Show. He served a ten-year tour of duty with The Groundlings comedy troupe. Television appearances run the gamut from “The Golden Girls” to the prestigious “America’s Funniest People.” Writing gigs include: “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” The Kampung Boy, the political comedy troupe, Gross National Product, and a million Elvira projects. He also worked as a gag writer for Jackie Chan. He currently writes and directs corporate comedy videos.
JOHN PARAGON (Jambi, Pterri, Writer) actor, writer and director, starred in his own Showtime special, “The Paragon of Comedy” and in cult movie classics, Eating Raoul, Echo Park, and Weird Al’s U.H.F. Other TV guest star appearances include “Cheers,” “Star Trek Deep Space 9,” and a recurring role on “Seinfeld.” Paragon received 5 Emmy nominations for writing and co-directing “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and co-wrote (with Paul Reubens) the acclaimed “Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special.” Paragon is also a creative consultant for Walt Disney Imagineering.
DREW POWELL (Bear, Mr. Window, Randy, Flowers). Theatre credits include: Skirts and Flirts (NYC, LA), Bedtime Stories (LA), and Greater Tuna (LA). Films: Straw Dogs (director Rod Lurie), 1408, The Marine, and Mexican Sunrise. Television: “The Office,” “ER,” “House,” “Leverage,” “Monk,” “Cold Case,” “Malcolm in the Middle.”
LANCE ROBERTS (King of Cartoons, Globey, Mr. Knucklehead, Flowers). Theatre credits include: LA – Cats; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Forbidden Hollywood; Once on this Island; The All Night Strut; Ain’t Misbehavin’ (30th Anniversary). New York credits include Forbidden Hollywood, Radio City’s America, The Me Nobody Knows (revival) and March of the Falsettos. Regional — Ragtime, Dreamgirls, Five Guys Named Moe, Driving Miss Daisy, I’m Not Rappaport, Cab Calloway’s Cotton Club and The Old Globe’s Sammy. Television: “Numbers,” “Will & Grace,” “Drew Carey,” “Zoey 101,” “Knots Landing,” “The Colbys,” “Girlfriends.” He has played Jafar in Aladdin since the beginning of its 7,000 performance run at Disney’s Hyperion Theatre.
LYNNE MARIE STEWART (Miss Yvonne) played the role of Miss Yvonne on the CBS series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and in the original Groundling stage show. For 20 years she performed with The Groundlings comedy troupe. On television Lynne played “Ellen” on FX’s “Son of the Beach” and currently plays Charlie’s Mom on “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”. She will be appearing in the upcoming season of Tracy Ullman’s “State Of The Union.” Her films include American Graffiti, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure as Mother Superior, and Big Top Pee-wee as Zelda the Bearded Lady.
ABOUT “THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW”
The original Pee-wee Herman Show debuted at The Groundlings Theatre in 1981 and quickly moved to the Roxy Theatre on Sunset Strip for five sold out months. Taped as part of HBO’s “On Location” series, the show catapulted Pee-wee into the national consciousness, leading to his many appearances on “Late Night With David Letterman,” and a 22-city tour that included Carnegie Hall. In 1985, Warner Brothers brought Pee-wee to the big screen with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Tim Burton’s feature film debut (co-written by Reubens). Pee-wee’s second film, Big Top Pee-wee, was released in 1988.
Created, co-written, and co-directed by Paul Reubens, the CBS television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” premiered in 1986 and earned 22 Emmy Awards in its five seasons. Reubens has been nominated for 14 Emmy Awards, winning twice. While “The Pee-wee Herman Show” and “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” were an homage to an earlier generation’s television classics — “Howdy Doody,” “The Mickey Mouse Club,” and “Captain Kangaroo,” among others — Pee-wee himself became one of the most original and beloved stars in all of television history.
When Cartoon Network re-aired the series in 2006, 1.5 million viewers watched every night; the next year TV Guide named “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” among the top 10 cult classics of all time.
TICKETS AND SCHEDULING
The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday – Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 2pm and 7pm.
Please note the following changes in performance schedule for the holiday weeks:
WEEK OF THANKSGIVING
Monday, November 22 No performance
Tuesday, November 23 7pm
Wednesday, November 24 8pm
Thursday, November 25 No performance (Thanksgiving)
Friday, November 26 2pm & 8pm
Saturday, November 27 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, November 28 2pm & 7pm
WEEK OF CHRISTMAS
Monday, December 20 No performance
Tuesday, December 21 7pm
Wednesday, December 22 2pm & 8pm
Thursday, December 23 8pm
Friday, December 24 No performance (Christmas Eve)
Saturday, December 25 8pm (Christmas Day)
Sunday, December 26 2pm & 7pm
WEEK OF NEW YEAR’S
Monday, December 27 8pm
Tuesday, December 28 7pm
Wednesday, December 29 2pm & 8pm
Thursday, December 30 8pm
Friday, December 31 No performance (New Year’s Eve)
Saturday, January 1 2pm & 8pm (New Year’s Day)
Sunday, January 2 2pm & 7pm
Tickets, priced $67 – $122 (includes $2.00 facility fee), are currently available through Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.