Pee-wee Herman is back! Paul Reubens has officially announced his intention to jump back into the grey suit and bow tie of his most famous character in a limited on-stage engagement later this year. The show will run from November 19th to 29th at the Music Box in Hollywood, and will feature a “re-imagined” version of his old theatrical performances, with appearances from such memorable characters as Miss Yvonne, Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie, and Pterri, the pterodactyl.

Although most people remember Pee-wee from his movies or the children’s show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the character actually originated on stage and, at the time, was intended for an adult audience. This will be a return to that version of the character, although it remains to be seen where it will go from here. For the past few years Reubens has been talking up a couple of new Pee-wee Herman films that he has been writing, one starring the family-friendly Pee-wee, and the other being a slightly darker interpretation.

I’m pretty curious to see how this all plays out, now that Paul Reubens has his acting career back on track. The man clearly still has a sense of humour, but is he too old for Pee-wee? And more importantly, is Pee-wee still relevant to today’s audiences or is he now nothing more than a pop culture footnote?

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