{"id":406269,"date":"2026-07-21T06:46:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/406269\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:46:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:46:23","slug":"8-performances-only-catch-brian-hensons-acclaimed-puppet-up-at-the-montalban-the-south-pasadenan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/406269\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Performances Only: Catch Brian Henson\u2019s Acclaimed \u201cPuppet Up!\u201d at The Montalb\u00e1n | The South Pasadenan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Graphic:<\/a>Graphic: Brian Henson | The South Pasadenan | Brian Henson’s “Puppet Up!” at The Montalb\u00e1n for Eight Performances Only July 31 – August 9<\/p>\n

This article sponsored in part by:\"South<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Henson\u2019s\u00a0Puppet Up!,\u00a0the world-renowned stage show that features hilarious improv and sketch comedy \u2013 including classic Jim and Jane Henson pieces \u2013 performed by dozens of Henson puppets, will play for a limited eight performances only from July 31 to August 9, 2026, at the Ricardo Montalb\u00e1n Theatre in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

A photo opportunity with a blue, life-sized Henson puppet greets the audience in the lobby as they enter the theatre. Tickets are available now at\u00a0puppetup.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is no ordinary puppet show.\n<\/p>\n

For over twenty years,\u00a0Puppet Up!\u00a0has toured around the world, spinning 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\u00a0Edinburgh Fringe Festival, San Francisco Sketch Fest Comedy Festival,\u00a0and\u00a0Melbourne International Comedy Festival,\u00a0as well as audiences in New York City, Chicago, Toronto, and more.<\/p>\n

\"Derek<\/a><\/p>\n

Most recently, Los Angeles has been home to Brian Henson\u2019s\u00a0Puppet Up,\u00a0which has been embraced by fans of comedy, fans of the enduring Henson legacy, and anyone looking for a fun night of high-energy laugh-out-loud entertainment that is never the same show twice. The show is recommended for age 16 and up (under 16 are not admitted).<\/p>\n

Host Patrick Bristow (\u201cEllen,\u201d \u201cSeinfeld,\u201d \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm,\u201d \u201cWhose Line Is It Anyway?\u201d) and his team of world-class puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company 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 in full view of the audience.<\/p>\n

In addition to the \u201cpuppet anarchy\u201d of the improvised sketches, the show also features musical numbers and recreations of classic pieces originally created by Jim and Jane Henson, and Frank Oz, that haven\u2019t been seen by live audiences in decades.\n<\/p>\n

Puppet Up!\u00a0\u2013 a night of outrageous, off-the-cuff comedy starring the Miskreant puppets \u2013 is created by legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson (\u201cMuppet Christmas Carol,\u201d \u201cLabyrinth\u201d) and director-host Patrick Bristow.\n<\/p>\n

Time Out\u00a0said, \u201cPuppet Up!\u00a0combines top puppeteering talent with music, jokes and shenanigans. It\u2019s not just about watching the puppets either\u2014you\u2019ll 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\u2019re a Jim Henson buff, this show is not to be missed: you\u2019ll see recreations of Henson classics with a twist. In case \u2018uncensored\u2019 wasn\u2019t enough warning, make sure you leave the kids at home for this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Los Angeles Times\u00a0said, \u201cYou cannot imagine the mayhem that erupts when an uninhibited house takes its cues from the gifted lunatics onstage. As uproariously uncensored an adult entertainment as you could hope for without lap dancers!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Brian Henson said to the\u00a0Times, \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henson went to a Groundlings show, and suddenly everything clicked. \u201cWouldn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bristow, who is an alumni of The Groundlings, said, \u201cBecause it\u2019s puppets and it\u2019s uncensored, the audience is definitely more uncensored themselves \u2026 and regarding a lot of the risqu\u00e9 or the edgier humor that happens, the puppets get away with much more. The puppets, by virtue of just being these rascals \u2014 and it being heightened and one or two degrees away from reality \u2014 they get away with murder \u2013 literally.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco Chronicle\u00a0said, \u201cThe magic of first-rate Henson-style puppetry and the ribald joy of comedy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Tickets and information are available at\u00a0puppetup.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Graphic: Brian Henson | The South Pasadenan | Brian Henson’s “Puppet Up!” at The Montalb\u00e1n for Eight Performances…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[22690,22691,93,48,52,51,47,50,49,3932],"class_list":["post-406269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-calendar-events","tag-featured","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-south-pasadena-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}