Mekka Lekka Hai, Mekka Hiney Ho!

My wish was granted, long live Jambi.

In honor of Black History Month, I (had) a dream. Or, let's call it a wish. Because it came true last night, when I became the Luckiest Girl in the World because I got to go see:

-Exclamation point exclamation point! Triple exclamation point!

It was soooo great! I am, was, and always will be a Pee Wee Herman fan-- I LOVED Pee Wee's Playhouse as a kid/teenager, owned the Pee Wee Herman pull-cord talking doll (MAN I wish I'd kept it-- eBay jackpot for sure!), practically had a scrapbook of Pee Wee magazine clips, and could (still can) recite just about all the lines of Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure. (Big Top Pee Wee, the sequel, however? Lame and crude. Waste of space. BTW.)

So how GREAT was it to go to a live version of the Playhouse? It was a riot, and brought back so many memories-- Ptery is still my fave, Conky still bugs, Randy is still bratty-- and with 4 of the 11 original actors, there was massive cheering going on every time a character came center stage, and Miss Yvonne for one had some pretty dark stage makeup slathered on her age-d waddle to try and give the illusion of a jawline to those in the audience who WEREN'T sporting a sweet pair of Nikon binocs.  Even sans nocs, though, it was still super grody that the relatively-jailbait younger Cowboy Curtis supposedly had a thing for her. NOT Cougar-rific. Shudder.

The stage set was almost identical to the original set (as seen below)...

except, of course, we didn't get to see the cool exterior of the Playhouse

AND didn't get to see Pee Wee fly up into the sky on his scooter at the end of the show! Also conspicuously missing was the original theme to Pee Wee's playhouse, wasn't sure if that was because they were creating a whole new identity, or because there was some kind of rights issue.

BUT--

BUT BUT BUT

There WAS the integration of contemporary references, including a new puppet-- the ShamWow!-- and even a 30-second video spot of the BUMPIT!!! Miss Yvonne's dream come true. Not to mention the dreams of young Bumpit creators everywhere (Arizona and/or Utah) since they just hit the BIG time, making it all the way to a live Pee Wee show. Thank you again, Jambi and Black History Month!

I obviously can't share my whole experience or the whole show with you, but please enjoy this informative video on Lunchtime Manners that PW shared with us.  (albeit in a slightly condensed version, this is the full one). It will change your life.

I really, really DON'T want to be a Mr. Bungles. And not just because I fear marionettes.

AND FINALLY...

Not to ruin the ending for you, but Pee Wee eventually gets his wish of being able to fly (thanks to Jambi, of course, and some of his smooth-talkin' Playhouse friends) and closes the show with this moving anthem...  

(this is a recording from a performance years earlier... he is NOT 58 here! and in ours was 'wearing' his classic grey suit)

I know you are, but what am I. 
Infinity.