Pee Wee Herman is back and it seems like not a day has passed in the Playhouse.
Paul Reubens decided to stage a live Pee Wee Herman show to show studios that Pee Wee is still relevant and hopefully then convince a studio to green-light another Pee Wee movie that Reubens has written.
The sold-out crowd at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, made up of hipsters and celebrities like Seth Rogen and Julie Newmar were eager for Pee Wee's return. The curtain went up and the crowd responded with oohs and aahs when they saw the Playhouse recreated on stage. Out walked Pee Wee Herman to a huge ovation and not looking like the 57 years of age that Paul Reubens is now.
He seemed a bit soft spoken at times but otherwise it was the Pee Wee that we all remember. He interacted with Magic Screen, Clocky, Pterri and all the other Playhouse inhabitants to the crowd's delight. He then got the secret word of the day from Conky, fun. The crowd knew what to do whenever the secret word was mentioned, "Scream real loud!" and did.
Original actors Lynne Marie Stewart as Miss Yvonne and John Paragon as Jambi are back, and other actors portray Sergio, Firefighter, Mailman Mike and the King of Cartoons. Phil LaMarr formerly of "Mad TV" and Pulp Fiction is a great replacement for actor Laurence Fishburne as Cowboy Curtis.
The entire show is like one long episode of the Playhouse centering around life in the Playhouse and a relationship between Miss Yvonne and the King of Cartoons. It's colorful with songs, video and the excitement of seeing Pee Wee's world live. There are some nice contemporary references worked into the show, also.
Ninety minutes seemed a bit too long as the show dragged a little near the end but if the audience's reaction is any indication, we should be seeing a Pee Wee movie in the near future.
Gino Salomone has loved movies and entertainment since he was a boy on Milwaukee's Northwest Side. He squinted from the glare of the movie lights that his family shot as a child, and his proudest high school accomplishment was a 30-minute "feature" he made for John Marshall High School.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in Mass Communication.
Salomone created a business called Rerun Reunions through which he booked personal appearances for actors from "Gilligan's Island," "The Brady Bunch," "MASH," and from "Saturday Night Live."
Salomone has one screen credit, the Lab Technician in "Naked Gun 2 1/2." He was cut out of two other movies. Hollywood has not called since.
He is also the movie critic for WISN-TV where his feature, "Gino Goes to the Movies" airs on the weekend newscasts. He also reviews movies for the Dave and Carole Show on 96.5 WKLH radio. His interviews have been used by E! as well as the TV Guide Channel.
