Arsht Center Presents STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG - Adults Only Henson Alternative Comedy

(Photo By Carol Rosegg)

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Presents

80 Henson puppets, Henson Company Puppeteers, and Expert Comedians Live On Stage for

STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG

A one-of-a-kind, adults-only comedic performance

from Henson Alternative

featuring the Miskreant Puppets 

"Stuffed and Unstrung is one insanely funny show from start to finish."

- Broadwayworld.com 

October 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets $35 and $45

Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House 

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents the Miami premiere of STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG, a madcap comedy show, for adults only, featuring a motley crew of Henson puppets (the Miskreant Puppets) sharing the stage with improv comedians. A creation of Henson Alternative, the one-of-a-kind live stage comedy is the brainchild of Academy Award-winning puppeteer, director, producer, and writer Brian Henson and actor and improvisational master Patrick Bristow. STUFFED AND UNSTRUNG opens the Adrienne Arsht Center's 2011-2012 Comedy Planet series in the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House for one night only on October 9, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.  

Tickets are $35 and $45 and are available to Arsht Center members today. The general public may purchase tickets beginning August 7. Tickets may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org.  

Stuffed and Unstrung, with co-founder Bristow as host, is a ballsy multimedia romp in which a team of six expert puppeteers operate 80 puppets throughout the performance, whipping up a storm of comedic nonsense onstage. Unpredictable, unruly and provocative, this production serves up two shows in one and never the same show twice. Theatermania.com describes it as "a comedy improvisation show with a twist, Stuffed and Unstrung has a wonderful and inventive cast - who also happen to be extremely talented Henson puppeteers. The result is a first rate evening of comedy - with a program that changes from show to show - that doubles as a brilliant look at how puppeteers create a visual image for movies and television." Impromptu storylines, proposed through audience interaction, trail off into high-speed songs and playful sketches. Two large screens bordering the stage project the entertaining puppet action while audiences watch puppeteers demonstrate their skillful craft right in front of their eyes. This uninhibited and unscripted live puppet performance, with live musical accompaniment, is like nothing you have seen before.  

"The Arsht Center is thrilled to showcase, for the first time in Miami, the comedic brilliance and superb ingenuity of the Jim Henson Company and Henson Alternative in the Ziff Ballet Opera House." said John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. "Stuffed and Unstrung offers audiences a unique (occasionally R-rated) glimpse into the magic of puppetry from the masters themselves while entertaining us with intelligent humor."  

A mix of improvised, uncensored comedy sketches and recreations of vintage Jim Henson comedy pieces, Stuffed and Unstrung is a completely revamped production that evolved from Henson's previous production Puppet Up! - Uncensored which debuted at the HBO Comedy Festival (2006). It has toured the Edinburgh Festival (2006), The Comedy Festival (2007) and Australia's Sydney Big Laugh Comedy Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (both 2007). The Muskreant Puppets recently performed alongside Cee Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow, starring in one of the most memorable moments of the 2011 Grammy Awards.  

Creator, producer and performer, Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson, is also the Chairman of The Jim Henson Company. As an executive producer, Henson has worked on multiple television projects including "Jim Henson's Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story," "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars," and the Emmy-nominated pre-school series "Sid the Science Kid." Henson also directed "Battleground," an Emmy Award-winning episode of the "Nightmares & Dreamscapes" anthology for TBS. His earlier television projects include "Gulliver's Travels," "Muppets Tonight" and "Dinosaurs" while film credits include The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island. Henson garnered an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science Scientific and Engineering Award in 1992 as part of the team that first created and utilized the Henson Performance Control System, a powerful custom-based interface for puppeteers.  

Co-creator, director and host Patrick Bristow is best known for his numerous television appearances, most notably as the gay best-friend, Peter, on ABC's groundbreaking series "Ellen." His television credits include "Friends," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Seinfeld," "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and "Mad About You," among others. Bristow's film credits include The Longest Yard, as well as the first Austin Powers, So I Married An Ax Murderer, Twilight of the Golds, and Showgirls. He most recently appeared in the hit musical The Break-up Notebook and is currently writing a pilot for FOX with Heather Morgan ("The Comeback").

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