May 6, 2026 5:08pm PT

Greek Theater Audience Loves ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse 40th Anniversary’ Show So Much, They Want to Marry It

Danny Elfman, Devo and the B-52s were among the guests joining host Patton Oswalt at the opening night of the Netflix Is a Joke festival.

Chris Willman

Plus Icon

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

Latest

Greek Theater Audience Loves ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse 40th Anniversary’ Show So Much, They Want to Marry It

6 hours ago

Brandi Carlile Set to Join Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, With Bonnie Raitt Inducting and Singing in Tribute, in ‘ACL’ Season Kickoff (EXCLUSIVE)

15 hours ago

Noir Restorations and Rarities Lead the Way at the 2026 Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs

1 day ago

See All

Sara Mally/Netflix

It was an “I know you’re bittersweet, but what am I?” evening. The annual Netflix Is a Joke festival kicked off Monday night at L.A.’s Greek Theatre with a “Pee-wee’s Playhouse 40th Anniversary” show , featuring comics and musicians paying tribute to a Saturday morning kids’ show — or was it — that they grew up on or, in some cases, worked on.

The main musical attractions were the B-52s, Devo, Danny Elfman and Puddles Pity Party, taking turns fronting a 10-piece big band led by Mark Mothersbaugh — and with Fred Armisen on drums — that nimbly navigated between exotica and some fairly fierce garage-rock. The comics performing, many of whom skewed toward the younger side of the Netflix-comedy-special scale, included Sheng Wang, Michael Carbonaro, Julio Torres and Patti Harrison.

Greek Theater Audience Loves 'Pee-wee's Playhouse 40th Anniversary' Show So Much, They Want to Marry It