Latest news with #KirkDouglasTheatre
Malaysian Reserve
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
UNCENSORED RETURNS! TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR 14 PERFORMANCES AT THE KIRK DOUGLAS THEATRE WITH SPECIAL VIP COCKTAIL PARTY EXPERIENCE JULY 16-27 2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Henson Alternative's Puppet Up! – Uncensored returns this summer for 14 hysterical performances of adult comedy, puppet hijinks, and surprises at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Tickets are on sale now for all performances: Wednesday, July 16th at 8pm, Thursday, July 17th at 8pm, Friday, July 18th at 8pm, Saturday, July 19th at 4pm and 8pm, Sunday, July 20th at 3pm and 7pm, Wednesday, July 23rd at 8pm, Thursday, July 24th at 8pm, Friday, July 25th at 8pm, Saturday, July 26th at 4pm and 8pm, and Sunday, July 27th at 3pm and 7pm. Buy tickets here: Available tickets include General Admission ($75) and VIP tickets ($150). VIP guests will have priority seating and access to an all-new pre-show cocktail party experience where they can mix and mingle with puppets and puppeteers featured in the show, take photos with iconic Henson characters from Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and Fraggle Rock, and enjoy an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation with legendary puppeteer and show creator Brian Henson. Co-created by award-winning director and producer Brian Henson (Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island), and the production's director and host Patrick Bristow (Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Puppet Up! – Uncensored is never the same show twice, effortlessly blending increasingly unhinged feats of improv comedy with the unparalleled skill and originality of Henson puppeteers. Based on suggestions from the audience, the puppet mayhem – starring the unforgettable Miskreant puppets – showcases both the improvised puppet action projected live on screens above the stage, and the puppeteers racing around below in full view of the audience to bring it all to life. Performances also include recreations of classic pieces by Jim and Jane Henson that have not been performed for audiences in decades. Puppet Up! – Uncensored is not recommended for anyone under 16 and anyone under 14 will not be admitted. ABOUT HENSON ALTERNATIVEHenson Alternative is The Jim Henson Company's label for content created specifically and exclusively for adult audiences. In 1955, Jim Henson's first television production 'Sam & Friends' appeared on late-night television as a lead-in to 'The Tonight Show,' establishing a standard in the Company's work for irreverent, creative, comedy projects that spoke to adults. Appearances on 'The Jimmy Dean Show,' 'The Ed Sullivan Show,' and 'Saturday Night Live,' as well as numerous short films for clients like IBM and AT&T, proved that Henson puppetry was not limited to children. Today, Henson Alternative continues to produce and develop projects for this audience. Credits include 'The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell' (Netflix), 'The Happytime Murders' (STX), 'No, You Shut Up!' (Fusion), 'Neil's Puppet Dreams' (Nerdist), 'Tinseltown' (Logo), and 'Puppet Up! – Uncensored' (a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 'Best Stage Shows' by Entertainment Weekly). The Miskreant Puppets are the motley troupe of puppets featured in many Henson Alternative productions like 'The Happytime Murders,' 'Puppet Up! – Uncensored,' and 'No, You Shut Up!' as well as Coldplay's recent music video 'Biutyful.' ABOUT WESTBETH ENTERTAINMENTFor over 40 years WBE has consistently delivered critically acclaimed, financially successful, and groundbreaking productions that have made artists and audiences' dreams come true. Beginning as The Westbeth Theatre Center and morphing into Westbeth Entertainment, developing and introducing artists and talent to North American audiences have been a big part of Westbeth's history. From Billy Connolly to Eddie Izzard to Eric Idle, Sandra Bernhard to John Leguizamo to The Jim Henson Company, and Margaret Cho to Trevor Noah to Noel Fielding, WBE has been the creative catalyst, partner, and producer of some of the most innovative performances and productions on the continent in iconic venues, such as Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Toronto's Massey Hall, The Chicago Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and many others. Our journey with Ray Davies began in 1996 at the Westbeth Theatre Center with the debut of his one person show Twentieth Century Man. This show eventually developed into the West End hit, Sunny Afternoon, which just made its North American debut.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
HENSON ALTERNATIVE'S PUPPET UP! - UNCENSORED RETURNS! TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR 14 PERFORMANCES AT THE KIRK DOUGLAS THEATRE WITH SPECIAL VIP COCKTAIL PARTY EXPERIENCE JULY 16-27 2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Henson Alternative's Puppet Up! – Uncensored returns this summer for 14 hysterical performances of adult comedy, puppet hijinks, and surprises at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Tickets are on sale now for all performances: Wednesday, July 16th at 8pm, Thursday, July 17th at 8pm, Friday, July 18th at 8pm, Saturday, July 19th at 4pm and 8pm, Sunday, July 20th at 3pm and 7pm, Wednesday, July 23rd at 8pm, Thursday, July 24th at 8pm, Friday, July 25th at 8pm, Saturday, July 26th at 4pm and 8pm, and Sunday, July 27th at 3pm and 7pm. Buy tickets here: Available tickets include General Admission ($75) and VIP tickets ($150). VIP guests will have priority seating and access to an all-new pre-show cocktail party experience where they can mix and mingle with puppets and puppeteers featured in the show, take photos with iconic Henson characters from Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and Fraggle Rock, and enjoy an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation with legendary puppeteer and show creator Brian Henson. Co-created by award-winning director and producer Brian Henson (Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island), and the production's director and host Patrick Bristow (Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Puppet Up! – Uncensored is never the same show twice, effortlessly blending increasingly unhinged feats of improv comedy with the unparalleled skill and originality of Henson puppeteers. Based on suggestions from the audience, the puppet mayhem – starring the unforgettable Miskreant puppets – showcases both the improvised puppet action projected live on screens above the stage, and the puppeteers racing around below in full view of the audience to bring it all to life. Performances also include recreations of classic pieces by Jim and Jane Henson that have not been performed for audiences in decades. Puppet Up! – Uncensored is not recommended for anyone under 16 and anyone under 14 will not be admitted. ABOUT HENSON ALTERNATIVEHenson Alternative is The Jim Henson Company's label for content created specifically and exclusively for adult audiences. In 1955, Jim Henson's first television production "Sam & Friends" appeared on late-night television as a lead-in to "The Tonight Show," establishing a standard in the Company's work for irreverent, creative, comedy projects that spoke to adults. Appearances on "The Jimmy Dean Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and "Saturday Night Live," as well as numerous short films for clients like IBM and AT&T, proved that Henson puppetry was not limited to children. Today, Henson Alternative continues to produce and develop projects for this audience. Credits include "The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell" (Netflix), "The Happytime Murders" (STX), "No, You Shut Up!" (Fusion), "Neil's Puppet Dreams" (Nerdist), "Tinseltown" (Logo), and "Puppet Up! – Uncensored" (a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 "Best Stage Shows" by Entertainment Weekly). The Miskreant Puppets are the motley troupe of puppets featured in many Henson Alternative productions like "The Happytime Murders," "Puppet Up! – Uncensored," and "No, You Shut Up!" as well as Coldplay's recent music video "Biutyful." ABOUT WESTBETH ENTERTAINMENTFor over 40 years WBE has consistently delivered critically acclaimed, financially successful, and groundbreaking productions that have made artists and audiences' dreams come true. Beginning as The Westbeth Theatre Center and morphing into Westbeth Entertainment, developing and introducing artists and talent to North American audiences have been a big part of Westbeth's history. From Billy Connolly to Eddie Izzard to Eric Idle, Sandra Bernhard to John Leguizamo to The Jim Henson Company, and Margaret Cho to Trevor Noah to Noel Fielding, WBE has been the creative catalyst, partner, and producer of some of the most innovative performances and productions on the continent in iconic venues, such as Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Toronto's Massey Hall, The Chicago Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, and many others. Our journey with Ray Davies began in 1996 at the Westbeth Theatre Center with the debut of his one person show Twentieth Century Man. This show eventually developed into the West End hit, Sunny Afternoon, which just made its North American debut. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Jim Henson Company
Los Angeles Times
01-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Review: ‘44,' a musical satire about Barack Obama by one of his campaign insiders, cuts up at the Kirk Douglas
'44 the Musical,' an affectionate spoof of the Barack Obama White House years, had its premiere at the Bourbon Room Hollywood in 2022. The show has returned to L.A. for a run at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, but don't let the higher profile theatrical address fool you: This fringe-style show still wants theatergoers to metaphorically get their drink on. Audience members are encouraged to make some noise as they fall into the R&B groove of a musical overflowing with captivating voices. Tops among them is T.J. Wilkins, who lends Barack Obama a smoky timbre as seductive as the patented sounds of Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye. Shanice (one name will do for this singing talent) gives Michelle Obama the feisty warmth of a Faith Evans singing her truth. Rest assured Shanice's Michelle will tell Barack how she feels — without worrying in the least whether he can handle her straight talk. Chad Doreck plays Joe Biden, the show's narrator, whose 'hazy' version of events give the show's creator, Eli Bauman, a TV writer who worked on Obama's campaign, a vehicle for getting into the nation's first Black president's private business. (If someone doesn't feel comfortable with a white artist imagining Barack and Michelle's sexy talk after hours at the White House, you can put the blame on poor Joe.) Doreck's portrayal begins with a shuffling gait, sending up in 'Saturday Night Live'-style Biden's geriatric decline. Trim and perversely puppyish, the character doesn't let age keep him down for long. When the music erupts, he's the first to show off his moves, regardless of whether he's even welcome in the scene. The show's baddies — Larry Cedar's pony-tailed good ol' boy Mitch McConnell, Michael Uribes' snarling Ted Cruz, Jane Papageorge's pole-dancing Sarah Palin and Jeff Sumner's parasol-twirling Lindsey Graham — have banded together to thwart Obama's presidency at every turn. Herman Cain (Dino Shorté) is conscripted into WHAM (White, Heterosexual, Affluent Men) as the token Black representative of this group of right-wing loonies. He can't figure out what he's doing there either, but he galvanizes the show with a version of Prince's 'Purple Rain' retitled 'Herman Cain' and ultimately proves that he's nobody's puppet. The music, under the lively music direction of Anthony 'Brew' Brewster, is enjoyably derivative. Bauman's score made me imagine a musical theater software program that would take R&B hits and recombine them into new tunes. The effect is like karaoke only with a live band, original material and professionals who can really sing, such as Summer Nicole Greer, who serves as the Voice of the People. Perhaps the most memorable number is the one with an unprintable title that invites the audience to flip off Ted Cruz. There's an ephemerality to the theatrical experience. The jokey, gleefully profane lyrics are stimulating in the moment but then quickly forgotten, like novelty songs in a clever college cabaret. Even Bauman's funniest musical bits get swallowed in the show's frothy, frolicsome relentlessness. Sometimes the humor is a little cringey. I'm the last person to defend Sarah Palin, but the misogyny of the stripper caricature seemed excessive. So too was the grudge-bearing, Obama-frenemy cartoon of Hillary Clinton (Jenna Pastuszek). Everybody is a target, it's true, but some parodies land better than others. The real problem of '44 the Musical,' though, is its overstretched nature. In his writing, composing and staging, Bauman doesn't know when enough is enough. The show is a species of pub theater, but somewhere along the way it seems to have convinced itself that it could be the next 'Hamilton.' The sprightly production design is set up for rapid transit, but the traffic on stage isn't in any hurry. It was nearly three hours with opening night delays before I emerged from my seat for a musical that should be half that length. The comedy can't help but grow stale left out so long. The hardworking ensemble never quits. Doreck's Joe, the show's secret weapon, slingshots across the stage. But exhilaration runs neck and neck with exhaustion. Wilkins' Barack gives '44' a soul. Shanice's Michelle gives the musical a spine. Cedar's Mitch gives the story a wily villain with freaky dance moves. But what a strange, tumultuous, unjoyful moment it is to encounter this winking recap of our 44th president's political journey. Nostalgia for a president whose greatest sins were expanding healthcare access and wearing a tan suit is a luxury we can ill afford at the moment.
