Brian Henson's Stage Show PUPPET UP! Will Embark on Fall Tour

Brian Henson's Puppet Up!, the world-renowned stage show is going on tour for the first time in 15 years! Puppet Up! features hilarious improv and sketch comedy performed by dozens of Henson puppets brought to life by a cast of world-class puppeteers and comedians from The Jim Henson Company.

Audiences can see the show in Boston at Boch Center Shubert Theatre on September 27, 2026, Philadelphia at Miller Theatre on September 29, 2026, Washington, DC at Lincoln Theatre on September 30, 2026, and New York City at Tribeca PAC on October 2 & 3, 2026.  

Puppet Up! is a night of outrageous, off-the-cuff comedy for adults created by legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson (Muppet Christmas Carol, Labyrinth) and director-host Patrick Bristow (The Groundlings, Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?).

Puppet Up! is never the same show twice, effortlessly blending increasingly unhinged feats of improv comedy with the unparalleled skill and originality of Henson puppeteers. 

The show is recommended for age 16 and up (under 16 are not admitted).   

In addition to the “puppet anarchy” of the improvised sketches using audience suggestions, the show also features musical numbers and lovingly recreates classic pieces originally created by Jim and Jane Henson, and Frank Oz, that haven't been seen by live audiences in decades.

Puppet Up! has been embraced by fans of comedy, fans of the enduring Jim Henson legacy, and anyone looking for a fun night of high-energy laugh-out-loud entertainment.

Puppet Up! which has found large audiences with frequent performances in Los Angeles – is now going on tour for the first time in 15 years, bringing the show to audiences across North America.  Puppet Up! Is produced and presented by Westbeth Entertainment.

This is no ordinary puppet show. The Jim Henson Company has long been an innovator of film, television, and now theatre with this production.  In its new theatrical form, Puppet Up! incorporates not only the masterful puppeteering that the company is best known for but all of the elements that make theatre great -- as all of it is performed live in front of the audience.
 
The puppet mayhem is all part of this elaborate, over-the-top theatrical production - in which the audience watches the magic as it happens. Host Patrick Bristow and his team of world-class puppeteers create a hilarious two-shows-in-one experience with all the puppet action projected live on screens above the stage, while the puppeteers are racing around below bringing it all to life. In full view of the audience, video cameras capture all the zany fun that makes up this Henson spectacle - complete with lights, special effects, sound, and music.  
 
Puppet Up! is a truly unique stage event, that not only shows off the talent and stage craft of its cast of consummate puppeteers/comedians, but of the incredible technical achievements of projections, lighting, sound and innovative technical usage – all learned from decades of producing television. 

The cast does not only show off their puppeteering skills but present themselves as supreme talents as they sing, dance, improvise and perform their way through this truly unique live experience. 

For over twenty years, Puppet Up! has spun top-notch improv comedy and a motley crew of over 80 Jim Henson puppets into comedy gold. The show has been acclaimed by critics and beloved by sell-out crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, San Francisco Sketch Fest Comedy Festival, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as audiences in New York City, Chicago, Toronto, and more.

Puppet Up! is one more facet of The Jim Henson Company which has been a major innovator in all forms and media of entertainment.  From major innovations in television (Sesame Street, The Muppets, Earth to Ned) to movies (Dark Crystal, Farscape, Muppets Treasure Island) and the stage (Emmitt Otter)

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.”

Tour Dates

Boston at Boch Center Shubert Theatre
September 27, 2026

Philadelphia at Miller Theatre
September 29, 2026

Washington, DC at Lincoln Theatre
September 30, 2026

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