In today's world of sophisticated audiences and lavish stage spectacles it's hard to imagine that a show involving puppets telling dirty jokes would be able to entertain a packed house, especially when that packed house happens to be L.A.'s Avalon. To be sure, it's no small feat to entertain a crowd as notoriously jaded as a Los Angeles crowd especially when the only tools at the performers' disposal happen to be comedic timing, inspiration and a little bit of imagination by way of a hodgepodge of finely crafted creations from the house that Kermit built.

Perhaps that's why The Jim Henson Company's Puppet Up! Uncensored works so well. Because it depends on our own ability to be transported back to a time in our lives and cultural consciousness occupying a space somewhere between Charlie McCarthy and "Pigs in Space." Rather than merely present a show catering to our nostalgic whims, the company behind Puppet Up! Uncensored combines a certain kind of artistry with an after hours comedy club sensibility to create a show that is as subversive as it is entertaining.

Where you see the real talents of the performers on stage is in their ability to take ideas thrown at them by audience members and inject them with a life and unpredictability that you would expect of the most experienced stage performers. That they are able to do this while manipulating complex puppets sometimes needing two people to operate is all the more amazing. In speaking with show host and stage director Patrick Bristow following the performance, I learned of the show's very organic roots within The Jim Henson Company as well as the talent behind the production. "The show started out with lunch time performances for other employees [within the Henson Company]. We were invited to play the Aspen Comedy Festival, after that night it was a done deal." Following that triumphant showing, Puppet Up! Uncensored would go on to perform over 100 times.

I was also interested in just how the cast members for the show were found and chosen to be a part of the production. Bristow remarked that all of the puppeteers were members of The Jim Henson Company prior to working with the Puppet Up! production. "All of the puppeteers have acting experience. [We] brought improvisers to work with the group." The effort paid off. You'd be hard pressed to find a more capable group of improvisers anywhere else, much less ones adept at puppeteering. I was also amazed by the complexity involved in orientating oneself while performing on stage. "We use monitors on stage [but] it reverses the performers' actions [on screen]," meaning that they can't merely rely on the screens to guide them with their performance and instead need to be constantly aware of their surroundings at all times. Of course all of this is completely transparent through the eyes of an audience member that thinks it all looks so easy.

Almost as a way to illustrate just how difficult performing on stage with a puppet can be, the Puppet Up! team invited an audience member to actually operate and perform alongside the professionals. While the audience member's goofs and mistakes, such as entering and exiting the scene from opposite directions and mounting another puppet in an unintentionally suggestive way, made for good comedic fodder, it only served to illustrate to me just how talented this group of individuals is. How these performers are able to pull this off during each show is beyond me as a critic, suffice to say I had a much greater appreciation for their talents after my interview with Bristow.

Although the team behind the production encourages audience participation, they're careful not to alienate the audience by traversing darker terrain. "[We've found] it's not good to just go blue for the sake of it." Bristow noted that the performance on the 13th featured topics and material supplied by the audience to be more on the risque side than usual but the cast was more than able to role with the punches. Political and pop cultural references abound in the show, such as a sketch based around the governor Blagojevich senate seat scandal, but the humor does not rest on outside material for its effectiveness. Instead it uses the source material and mines within it moments of satire and unpredictability that not even the most seasoned audience member could see coming.

It's clear that Puppet Up! has built quite a following during its stint at the Avalon and it's easy to see why. "It's a completely different experience each night [and] it makes for a really great date night." I have to agree with director Bristow. Although other companies have attempted to mix crude, adult humor with what is thought to be traditionally children's material, Puppet Up! Uncensored stands out as a bawdy that is sure to be enjoyed by those who welcome a ruckus good time at the theater.

Puppet Up! Uncensored continues its residency at the Avalon with further performances on January 10th, 2009 and February 28th, 2009. Visit www.avalonhollywood.com and www.puppetup.com for more information.

- by Joe Cortez
- photos TM & © 2006 The Jim Henson Company