Herman's Been Gone

Paul Reubens came up with the Pee-wee Herman character in the 70s, and by 1981 his staged Pee-wee Herman Show (featuring fellow Groundling Phil Hartman among others) was on HBO.  Even then, though, I doubt he figured the character would be his career, leading to an actual kids' show, and movie stardom.  Who knows what would have happened next if he hadn't been arrested for public masturbation twenty years ago?

The Pee-wee character was a weird throwback with a modern, ironic edge.  His appearances on shows like David Letterman's were great examples of performance art.  And now, approaching 60, he's brought his act to Broadway, and taped it for a new HBO special which is now airing.

I'd liked Pee-wee from the start, so I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately, it's just not the same.  It's not that the bloom is off the rose, or you can't go home again. It's more than the audience wants comfort food and Pee-wee is all too willing to supply it.  Every time he pulled out an old bit, or character, the crowd went wild.  It was like seeing a nostalgia act, where the audience doesn't applaud for something well done, they applaud because they recognize something from the past.

Those not familiar with his stuff would be mystified, while those who are familiar might have asked for a little more originality.  There wasn't that much new, and the old stuff wasn't done especially well.  Though it was interesting to see how the original Miss Yvonne looks today.  Too bad they couldn't get Laurence Fishburne to reprise Cowboy Curtis.