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Released by: Image Entertainment
Released on: October 4, 2011
Year: 2011
Director: Marty Callner
Cast: Paul Reubens, Lexy Fridell, Jessie Garcia, Phil Lamarr, John Moody
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The Movie:
In an unlikely comeback, in 2010 Paul Reubens brought back his famous Pee-Wee Herman character not with another movie or TV show but with a live theater production of the HBO special that made his famous the first time around. While there were modern updates done to the material to bring it into the current social climate, the story is more or less the same as it was when that special aired on HBO, itself an adaptation of Reuben's early eighties live act. So with that said, let's revisit our coverage of a performance of The Pee-Wee Herman Show On Broadway from December of 2010, shall we? Take it away Alison…
“The stage, even before the show started really put you in the mood for what was about to go down and when Paul Reubens aka Pee-Wee Herman hit the floor, the crowd absolutely erupted. It was nothing like I'd ever seen or heard before at any of the Broadway shows I've been to. Ever. I had originally thought this might be a theatre crowd, the type who go to everything just for the snooty theatre experience, but no... this was Pee-Wee mania through and through. The distance, lighting and makeup made Reubens look like he hadn't aged a day since 1985. It's always sad to revive a character and get all excited that it's still the original actor, not some weird, wrong replacement and then be so removed from the story because the person looks SO OLD. Sometimes you can't win in situations like that. Luckily, for NYC and those attending The Pee-Wee Herman Show that night, we were all winners. Reubens was dead on. Also reprising their roles were Lynne Marie Stewart, the original Miss Yvonne- the most beautiful woman in Puppetland, John Moody as the thieving Mailman Mike and, finally, John Paragon as both Jambi, the genie in a box, and Pteri, the seemingly drunk pterodactyl. It's great to see actors who so believe in a role that they still want to do it thirty years later. Some additional characters added to the show who were actually from Pee-Wee's Playhouse and not the original HBO special, were Cowboy Curtis, played by Phil LaMarr (I guess they couldn't get Lawrence, I mean Larry Fishburne, haha) and The King of Cartoons, played by Lance Roberts (originally played by “Blacula†William Marshall). I was happy to see that Kap'n Karl's character was omitted rather than trying to fill the shoes of the legendary Phil Hartman. In this version of the Pee-Wee Herman Show, Cowboy Curtis plays Miss Yvonne's love interest and the switch works just fine. Puppet characters include Chairry (who stole the show in a super creepy dance sequence duet with Pee-Wee… seriously… creeeeee-py!), Magic Screen (who at one point offers oral sex to a fireman), Randy (the bully), Globey, Conky and Mr. Window. Of interest to horror fans is Chiodo Bros. Productions (of Killer Klowns fame) supplying the puppets for the show. They have a history with Pee-Wee having done the infamous Large Marge bit for Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
The story starts with Pee-Wee being offered a wish from Jambi the genie. Earlier in the show Pee-Wee and Miss Yvonne are discussing their secret wishes, Pee-Wee's being that he could fly and Miss Yvonne's being that Cowboy Curtis would like her. I mean really like her. Pee-Wee hears Miss Yvonne's words ringing in his head and asks Jambi if he can use his wish for someone else and ends up wishing for Cowboy Curtis to really like Miss Yvonne. The two are all giggly and starry-eyed for each other during the rest of the show and Pee-Wee is feeling sad that he gave up his wish. If he could fly, after all, he'd be… the luckiest boy in the world. As in typical Playhouse fashion, there are a lot of goings-on intertwined with the main storyline. I was really happy to see a Penny cartoon included as well as a Mr. Bungle educational video on proper hygiene and manners for children, both regulars on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. All in all, The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway was everything it should have been and more. The enthusiasm of the crowd really made the whole experience and, I won't ruin the end for you, but the finale was pretty amazingly done. Cheers to creative ingenuity and death to CGI. The secret word of the day was “FUN†and fun was definitely had by all.â€
This DVD release captures one of those shows and it does so well. Obviously there's no substitute for actually being there in person, you can't quite pick up on the more subtle aspects of the various performances as well on a TV as you can in the flesh, but this more or less hits the nail on the head and stands proud as an accurate record of what it was like to see the show during its Broadway run.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The show looks good in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. Detail and color reproduction are pretty strong and the multi-camera set up has captured the performance with a good bit of style and a keen eye for taking in the color and lighting used on the stage. There aren't any issues with compression artifacts, just a bit of shimmer here and there, otherwise things look great.
The only audio option for the feature is an English language Dolby Digital Stereo track that comes with optional English closed captioning. Clarity is fine, dialogue is always easy to understand and there are no problems with clarity or audible noise or distortion.
Extras are slim but Reubens does pop up for an audio commentary where he's joined by Lynne Marie Stewart and a few other cast members who don't contribute all that much. Reubens steers this track, as it should be, and does a great job of giving us a bit of a crash course in the history of the Pee-Wee Herman character he's become synonymous with. It's not always scene specific or even Broadway specific, but it's interesting and funny and fans should have a lot of fun with it.
The Final Word:
If you were ever a fan of Pee-Wee Herman, then you already know you need to check this out. Sure the story is familiar and not exactly treading new ground but the cast and crew did such a great job of bringing it to the stage and that translates so well to this DVD that it's absolutely worth revisiting.
