Creating the new PEE WEE HERMAN Broadway show has been "exhausting" says theatre director ALEX TIMBERS, but the 32-year-old admits that bringing Paul Reubens much-loved character back to life has been a 'heady' and 'exciting' process, reports The Wall Street Journal.
'The Pee Wee Herman Show' begins its run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York City tonight (11th November 2010) and reviews of the preview shows have been entirely positive. When describing the new show, the artistic director says that the production, "deals with arrested development, alternative comedy and irreverence, it's also much more of a sweet story about a boy who wants to fly". The show, which will run until 2nd January 2011, is based on the original 1981 production which ran at the Groundlings Theatre, but Timbers says making changes to suit the contemporary audience hasn't been easy, he said, "The script that's been written is basically akin to a movie script. There are special effects on every page, so there are all sorts of technical challenges".
58-year-old Reubens reprises his role as 'Herman' for the show, and speaking about the actor's talents Timbers said, "I'm servicing this guy's vision, whose genius is being this cross between The Muppets and Andy Warhol".