Photo by Carol Rosegg
As the
official website for Henson Alternative Stuffed and Unstrung points out, “People
used to say, ‘Puppets are lame. Improv usually sucks.’” And from that one
simple slogan, the team behind the irreverent, live show wants you to know that
this is not just another trip to Sesame Street.
In the
show six comedians work with 80 Henson puppets, which they want to be clear are
not Muppets, in a “100% uncensored show.”
You have
two choices of how to watch the action unfold. You can keep your focus on two
large TV screens on either side of the stage, which allows you to enjoy the
illusion that the puppets are acting of their own free will. Or you can check
out the action on the stage, and get a rarely seen view of the puppeteers
driving the action. They’re out in full force, not hidden behind some face
brick wall or pedestal.
In an
interview on the Henson.com Podcast, Brian Henson explained the genesis of the
show, “What we set out to do was develop a new comedic voice for puppets. And
we started working with Patrick Bristow with comedic improv… improvising with
puppets.”
The
company’s early improv bits were initially performed for friends and industry
insiders. And then they took to the road including gigs at the U.S. Comedy Arts
Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Big Laugh Comedy Festival in
Sydney, Australia.
Henson
continued, “We performed a little bit around the world and it was always very,
very popular. So we thought it would be great to do a proper show in New York.”
Produced by Westbeth Entertainment and Henson Alternative, Puppet Up! hit the
Union Square Theatre in
NYC for a couple of months this past spring.
Now Henson Alternative is bringing Stuffed and Unstrung home to
Southern California for the holidays. And while it may not be what
Muppet purists have come to expect from the franchise, Henson says the show is “going
back to the roots of my dad, Jim Henson, where he started doing puppets for
adults and then started working down into the family.”
There are
only six shows scheduled at the Irvine Barclay Theatre from December 29 through
January 2, including two seatings at 7 and 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. What
better way to ring in ’11? Tickets range from $38 to $55 and are going fast so
book now. Buy online or call 949-854-4646 ext. 1. The Irvine Barclay Theatre is
located at 4242 Campus Drive in Irvine, California.
If you can’t
make it to Irvine, don’t be disappointed. There are lots of great clips up on
the Stuffed and Unstrung site.
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