Review: Hilarious ‘Puppet Up! – Uncensored’ at Kirk Douglas Theatre

Brian Henson (right) in "Puppet Up! – Uncensored" at Kirk Douglas Theatre (Photo courtesy the artist and Center Theatre Group)

First, disabuse yourself of the notion that Brian Henson’s show “Puppet Up! – Uncensored” involves naked, freewheeling Muppet debauchery, which is how it’s sometimes billed. Sure, there are f-bombs dropped with impunity without any kids around, but the show is mostly hilarious audience-driven improvisation featuring eight talented puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company and a diverse array of its MISKREANT puppets.

Plus — hello! — Brian Henson himself, son of Muppets founder Jim Henson and consummate puppeteer and showman in his own right. Henson kicks off the show by recounting how his father first developed puppet shows for television in the mid-1950s (spoiler: almost by accident) and how “puppet up!” is the cue for puppeteers to raise their arms so their puppets can appear on camera.

This show’s audience is invited to gleefully shout “puppet up!” as the intrepid puppeteers lift their puppets to a camera against a blue screen so we can see the puppets on two large video displays. In this way, we experience both the performers on stage and puppets on screen simultaneously, witnessing Muppet magic happen before our eyes.

Patrick Bristow in "Puppet Up! – Uncensored" at Kirk Douglas Theatre (Photo courtesy the artist and Center Theatre Group)

The show includes a couple of short skits by Jim Henson, both pre-recorded and enacted live, such as the ironically thoughtful “Business Business.” But most of the show is ad-libbed by the puppeteers within a given structure according to contexts provided by the audience.

The show’s director, quick-thinking improv performer and co-creator Patrick Bristow, keeps things moving at a brisk pace by asking audience members to throw out context ideas and selecting the loudest or the first one he hears, sometimes combining two ideas together.

One rollicking extended piece is a sendup of a James Bond movie intro featuring a strong-jawed puppet with a gun, a woman with fishnet stockings whose legs appear in various positions and, for some reason, a baby, which is so unexpected it makes the whole sequence over-the-top funny.

Audience members are also invited on stage occasionally to provide details of their lives that then become part of a skit, and in one case to actually operate a puppet in a skit involving a piano — which, at the performance I saw, made me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe.

Cast members of "Puppet Up! – Uncensored" at Kirk Douglas Theatre (Photo courtesy the artist and Center Theatre Group)

It also points to the skill involved in professionally operating a puppet’s body and hands while also ad-libbing lines at the same time. Playing to a camera so the puppets appear a certain way on screen involves yet another layer of talent.

Brian Henson’s turn as an alien puppet directing puppet actors offers a masterclass in using the camera for spatial effect, sometimes having the puppet loom large on screen by coming in from the side of the camera, other times appearing in the distance frenetically waving his arms like Kermit the Frog.

Honestly, if you like Muppets and improv — and who doesn’t? — this show is calling your name. To experience such a dynamic show with like-minded adults calling out and laughing like children is a joy in itself. That the show features multi-talented artists who obviously love what they do is icing on this Kermity cake.

“Puppet Up! – Uncensored” continues through July 27 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, with performances Wednesday through Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. For tickets and information, call the box office at (213) 628-2772 or visit CenterTheatreGroup.org. Run time is 2 hours, including intermission.