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. Paragon and Stewart also played their roles 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 also 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.
