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The sign on the marquee at the Stephen Sondheim Theater may read “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” but the man at the center of it, and behind more than 30 years of fascination with that antic, perpetually adolescent character, is the actor and comedian Paul Reubens. The popularity of Pee-wee Herman, at the Groundlings and in his original stage show, led Mr. Reubens to portray him in hit movies like “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” and on a Saturday morning television series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” Two sex scandals could have cost Mr. Reubens his career, or made it unthinkable that he could plausibly portray the childlike Pee-wee — instead, he successfully revived “The Pee-wee Herman Show” earlier this year in Los Angeles and is now about to open it on Broadway.
An article in this weekend’s Arts & Leisure section chronicles the path of Mr. Reubens from downfall to redemption. These are excerpts from a conversation with him conducted – at his request – during a visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where Mr. Reubens proceeded to spend $120 at the gift shop immediately following the interview.
Q.
I got to follow you around for a bit for your Foursquare promotion, where you were announcing your travels around Manhattan on the Internet. What was that like for you?
A.
There was something so weird and great at the same time. It was odd, and it was fantastic. Both, rolled into one. I literally tried to talk to somebody about it earlier today and cried. Seriously. I couldn’t do it.
Q.
What was so surprising to you about it?
A.
Just that people are so overwhelmingly giving and supportive. I passed one woman yesterday in Harlem who said, “Are you running for something?” I thought that was a really good line. I was going to say it’s like a fantasy, but I never fantasized about anything like that ever happening. How do I say it without appearing ungrateful? It was just too much, almost.
Q.
Were you concerned that it might go differently?
A.
I’m just like a normal person. I give what I do an enormous amount of thought, when I’m doing it. But the larger picture of it all – where’s my place in pop-culture? Or how do I fit with this? Or who is Pee-wee Herman?, I don’t think about. And if anybody thinks that’s made up, all you have to do is see me when I’m forced to think about it. I burst into tears.
Q.
How were you persuaded to bring Pee-wee out of semi-retirement for the Los Angeles production of “The Pee-wee Herman Show”?
A.
There was a producer who called me every two months for two years, who was really persistent. And during that period of time, I just kept thinking, Why not? And then I would come up with reasons why not.
Q.
What were the reasons you came up with?
A.
Do I feel like really doing that amount of work? Do I want to be back in the public eye in that kind of way? I learned that if you become famous, particularly in the Internet age, there’s no end to it. I at a certain point thought, well, if I just wait long enough, everything will go away and I won’t be famous anymore and I’ll go back to my total anonymous civilian life.
Q.
And what finally got you over those excuses?
A.
A whole bunch of things. At a certain point I just wanted to have a better ending to my career. More than anything, I felt like I love Pee-wee Herman, and I love what it was and what it is, and what it can still be. I felt like I just – I wrecked it to some degree, you know? It got made into something different. The shine got taken off it. Was there a way to figure that out, to get that back, in some way? And so that was a big motivator for me. I also felt like this was my window, right now. If I didn’t do it now, I would really be too old. And I don’t want to do it with a new face. That seems scary to me.
Q.
Meaning, to have to go back and create a new character for yourself?
A.
No, I meant to go and have plastic surgery. I don’t want to do it like that. That seems spooky to me. I hate to say that because I read lots of quotes from people saying, “Oh, I’ll never do this, I’ll never do that,” and boom, there they are with their new face. So check back with me and see if you recognize me. There were age issues related to it. There were career-standing issues. And then there was also just the fact that I missed doing it, to some degree, and I missed performing. I just missed inhabiting that character, because that character’s so joyful and happy. And also, quite frankly, I wasn’t done.
Q.
Was there ever a time when you thought, if I try to stick my head out now, people are going to try to shame me?
A.
Right after everything happened to me, yes. But that was a very brief time. The only way to move through anything like that is to really understand who you are, what happened and who you are in your heart. I’ve never been confused about that, ever.
Q.
It took no extra effort on your part, other than a period of introspection, to get yourself past that?
A.
I mean, yeah, I had to go through a horrible time of feeling like I didn’t want to go anywhere or be anywhere, see anybody. I had a lot of stuff attached to it. But I also had lots of other stuff going on in my life. My mind was on it for a bit and then it wasn’t. I had to let it go. I just couldn’t keep all that and remain sane.
Q.
Was it ever hard for you to find work during that time?
A.
I don’t really think so. I’ve always been incredibly picky and snobby about what I do. And it’s not really a judgment on anybody else’s work. I just feel like I have this unique little niche, and I sometimes feel like, if somebody wants to hire me for something, I look at it and go, I could think of 50 other people who could do that. Why me? And I don’t like that stuff anyway. I like figuring out what hasn’t been done, or how do I do it a different way? I don’t feel like I’m that unique.
Q.
Do you worry that there’s a point when you become too old to play Pee-wee?
A.
I’m older than that right now. And the Rolling Stones come to mind. People talk to me like there’s some sort of thing where you call up the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and you say, “I’m Paul Reubens, I used to be Pee-wee, I’m ready to bring it back. Would that be O.K.?” And then they let you know. I never got anybody’s approval to be Pee-wee Herman to begin with. It was always in spite of what people thought of it.
Q.
Are you starting to get anxious as your Broadway opening date approaches?
A.
If people don’t come, I’d be really sad. I won’t be as sad as the producers. [laughs] At the end of the day, there’s two versions of this. There’s the version that goes really, really well. And there’s the version that doesn’t go as well. If I have a choice, I know which version I want. But honestly, I’m somebody who, there’s nothing more horrible left to say about me. You know? There really isn’t. And there’s enormous power in that. I didn’t know that. But I know it now. And there’s nothing somebody could say to me or do to me. This is not a challenge to the critics, by the way.
Q.
Do you think it’s a challenge to sell people outside of your fan base on the show?
A.
Here you have Broadway theatergoers who want to see every play on Broadway, and people who may be in my audience who don’t really know me or care anything about “The Pee-wee Herman Show.” I don’t like that. I was seriously proposing some kind of an application process to get tickets to the show. [laughs] And buy merchandise, also. We could approve or disapprove you. There would be a questionnaire. And I would be able to send a form letter going, “We’re awfully sorry. Here’s a page of printed guidelines if you should want to try again.”
Q.
Is there any possibility the show might tour or transfer elsewhere when you finish the Broadway run?
A.
As of right now, I’m booked. When we’re done with this, I’m going back to Hollywood and making a Judd Apatow Pee-wee movie, which I’m really excited about. It’s weird to say this but right now, I’m like in love with Pee-wee Herman. I’m in love with the Broadway show. I’m in love with New York. And at the same time, all these people are in love with me, so it’s just like this love fest. This is what I almost expect Don Rickles’s life is like, where he’s this crabby guy and people are constantly coming up and going, “Excuse me, Mr. Rickles, I love you. I love you so much. I love everything you do.” And he’s like, “I’m not trying to be funny. I’m trying to be mean and horrible.” And they’re like, “No, I love you.” “Yeah, but I don’t want that.” I feel like that sometimes.
Q.
Why do you react that way?
A.
It’s just weird. I don’t want to know that. There’s something about me, I guess. This is very telling to me, that I have such a strong reaction, like, “Not too much love! Hold back on the love a little bit.” I could call up a therapist and find out what that meant. But I’m serious, it’s freaking me out.
Q.
You used to come to New York when you were growing up in Peekskill. What do you remember about it then?
A.
I used to eat at the most amazing restaurant here when I was a little kid. Next door to a place called the Rehearsal Club, which is a residence for actresses who were in this big city unchaperoned, was a restaurant called the Hamburger Train. And it was this little teeny restaurant with just a counter in it. There were only two people, the cook and the waiter, dressed like the conductor and the engineer. Inside was a toy train track, and your food would come on a little flatcar. I loved that place so much I freaked out. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking I should do the Hamburger Train.
Q.
What have you done on more recent visits here?
A.
I bought wallpaper, years ago. I was reading about this vintage wallpaper in an airline magazine, and my hands started shaking on the plane. I was going, It’s in the airline magazine. The month is half-over. There’s no way this exists anymore. I literally got in the cab and was like, take me to this place in the airline magazine. And I went there and the lady was like, you’re the first person that’s come in from the airline magazine. So I was like, I’ll take everything. Give it all to me. I’ll buy every roll. I come here to do a talk show or something. I’m almost never here.
Q.
That bit you recently taped where you went running around town with Regis Philbin looked like a lot of fun.
A.
We’re going to go to Vermont and get married, me and Regis. As soon as his divorce is final. It’s May-December but who cares? I’ve got the photos now to back that up.
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