PUPPET UP! - UNCENSORED by Center Theatre Group This July

Center Theatre Group will present Puppet Up! – Uncensored this summer for 14 hysterical performances of adult comedy, puppet hijinks, and surprises from July 16 to 27, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. This is no ordinary puppet show.

Puppet Up! – Uncensored is a night of outrageous, off-the-cuff comedy for adults ... featuring the MISKREANT puppets brought to life by a cast of world-class puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company.   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 – 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.

This production is part of CTG: FWD which began with theatrical special events, community gatherings, and legacy projects and now expands to include an eclectic offering of plays and musicals at Center Theatre Group venues.

Tickets and information are available at CenterTheatreGroup.org. The show is recommended for age 16 and up (under 16 are not admitted).  Ticket packages include VIP; those 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.

VIP guests can also enjoy an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation with Brian Henson, show creator, legendary puppeteer, 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?).

Time Out said, “Puppet Up! – Uncensored combines top puppeteering talent with music, jokes and shenanigans. It’s not just about watching the puppets either—you’ll be mesmerized by the sheer skill of the puppeteers on full display, who are coming up with songs on the fly while manipulating puppets on stage. If you’re a Jim Henson buff, this show is not to be missed: you’ll see recreations of Henson classics with a twist. In case ‘uncensored’ wasn’t enough warning, make sure you leave the kids at home for this one.” 

Brian Henson said to the Times, “We were trying to find some other really funny tones for puppetry that sort of differentiated from the Muppet tone and sensibility [led us to try new things.] My dad was a great ad-libber; Frank Oz is a great ad-libber, and that always pluses up the comedy.” 

Henson went to a Groundlings show, and suddenly everything clicked. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could teach the puppeteers to do the magic ad-libbing? And director Patrick Bristow was right that as soon as you added a live audience, it sort of upped the stress level of the performers and sharpened up the comedy and sharpened up the entertainment value.”

Bristow, who is an alumni of The Groundlings, said, “Because it’s puppets and it’s uncensored, the audience is definitely more uncensored themselves … and regarding a lot of the risqué or the edgier humor that happens, the puppets get away with much more. The puppets, by virtue of just being these rascals — and it being heightened and one or two degrees away from reality — they get away with murder – literally.”

Tickets for Puppet Up! - Uncensored are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 972-4400, or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Offices (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012 or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (open 2 hours prior to curtain) at 9820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City 90232.

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