Puppets already cast
Is Pee-Wee Herman's innocence back in the new Broadway show?
After a 30-year career that began on the stage, Paul Reubens will be bringing his most famous character to the most famous stage of all.
The Pee-Wee Herman Show, the same stage comedy that launched Reuben's cult character and has been playing in Los Angeles since January (the first time Herman has performed as Pee-Wee in many years), is coming to Broadway for a six-week run, beginning October 26.
Reubens has been largely under-the-radar since his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure (followed by a 2002 arrest for suspicion of child pornography). He made a comeback in movies like Blow, in which he played hair dresser cum drug dealer Derek Foreal, but it's nice to see him regain some innocence in the role that made him a star.
The show will play at the Stephen Sondheim Theater under the same direction as Reuben's LA shows. Although casting (of people, at least) is not yet complete, puppets will be courtesy of Basil Twist (of Addams Family fame) with music by Jay Cotton.
Next up, Reubens will voice Jokey in the Smurfs movie due out in August 2011.
Emilia's Havana offers a retro spin on the holiday bar, with the 1950s-inspired speakeasy decked out in tinsel and trees. Photo by Hasan Yousef