Just announced!
A Conversation With Brian Henson
In-Person Presentation From
Emmy-Winning Producer-Director Brian Henson
About Groundbreaking Puppetry of The Jim Henson Company
Once only! Saturday, October 3 at 2:00PM
Joining previously announced
Hilarious Stage Show — Brian Henson’s Puppet Up!
Outrageous Live Comedy and Iconic Henson Puppetry Take Center Stage
Two performances! October 2 & 3, 2026
BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, New York City, NY
Tickets and Information available at puppetup.com
New York City, NY (September 8, 2026) – Tickets are on sale now to A Conversation with Brian Henson – an in-person conversation with the Emmy-award winning producer, director, and puppeteer known for projects such as Labyrinth, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Farscape, and many more. Henson will discuss the evolution of The Jim Henson Company’s innovative puppetry in a presentation filled with Henson history, humor, and of course puppets. This unique single event will be held at New York City’s BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 2:00PM.
A Conversation with Brian Henson will take place alternating with the two performance run in New York of Brian Henson’s Puppet Up!, the world-renowned stage show now on tour for the first time in 15 years! Puppet Up! features hilarious improv and sketch comedy performed by dozens of Henson puppets and draws on the talented puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company, masters of the art form.
In addition to the “puppet anarchy” of the improvised sketches using audience suggestions, the show also features musical numbers and lovingly recreates classic pieces originally created by Jim and Jane Henson, and Frank Oz, that haven’t been seen by live audiences in decades.
Film buffs as well as fans of Brian Henson, The Jim Henson Company, and puppetry will not want to miss the special opportunity to see this master of television, film, and puppetry discuss his work, and/or enjoy Brian Henson’s stage production Puppet Up! Entertainment Weekly said that Puppet Up! is among the “Top 10 Best Stage Shows. It’s nearly impossible to spend the show’s two hours doing anything but laugh. Grade: A.”
Tickets and information for both Brian Henson’s Puppet Up! on Friday, October 2 at 7:00pm and Saturday, October 3 at 7:00pm and A Conversation with Brian Henson on Saturday, October 3 at 2:00pm are available at puppetup.com.
About A Conversation with Brian Henson
At A Conversation with Brian Henson, Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson and Chairman of The Jim Henson Company, gives an inside view of the history, and future, of the unique Henson techniques and styles of puppetry that revolutionized the artform for television and film. Deeply personal and featuring plenty of behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes, this 90-minute presentation includes a look back at the landmark projects from the Company throughout the years. Henson will also give a live demonstration of the Henson styles of puppetry that revolutionized the artform for television and feature films, and welcome questions from the audience.
About Puppet Up!
Puppet Up! is a night of outrageous, off-the-cuff comedy for adults created by legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson and director-host Patrick Bristow (The Groundlings, Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?).
Puppet Up! is never the same show twice, effortlessly blending increasingly unhinged feats of improv comedy with the unparalleled skill and originality of Henson puppeteers. The show is recommended for age 16 and up (under 16 are not admitted).
Puppet Up! has been embraced by fans of comedy, fans of the enduring Jim Henson legacy, and anyone looking for a fun night of high-energy laugh-out-loud entertainment. Puppet Up! Is produced and presented by Westbeth Entertainment.
For over twenty years, Puppet Up! has spun top-notch improv comedy and a motley crew of over 80 Henson puppets into comedy gold. The show has been acclaimed by critics and beloved by sell-out crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, San Francisco Sketch Fest Comedy Festival, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as well as audiences in New York City, Chicago, Toronto, and more.
Puppet Up! is rooted in the comedy of the earliest years of The Jim Henson Company, which has been a major innovator across all forms of entertainment including television (The Muppet Show), movies (The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth), and stage productions (Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas).
The production features world-class puppetry from the company that revolutionized the craft, and includes top notch production elements that make theatre great — all performed live in front of the audience.
Puppet Up! is a truly unique stage event, that not only shows off the talent and stage craft of its cast of consummate puppeteers/comedians as they sing, dance, improvise and perform their way through this truly unique live experience. but of the incredible technical achievements of projections, lighting, sound and innovative technical usage – all learned from decades of producing television.
The puppet mayhem is all part of this elaborate, over-the-top theatrical production – in which the audience watches the magic as it happens. Host Patrick Bristow and his team of world-class puppeteers 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 bringing it all to life. In full view of the audience, video cameras capture all the zany fun that makes up this Henson spectacle – complete with lights, special effects, sound, and music.
Time Out said, “Puppet Up! combines top puppeteering talent with music, jokes and shenanigans. It’s not just about watching the puppets either—you’ll 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’re a Jim Henson buff, this show is not to be missed: you’ll see recreations of Henson classics with a twist … [and] make sure you leave the kids at home for this one.”
The Los Angeles Times said, “You 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!”
It was suggested to Brian Henson that he see the Groundlings, and suddenly everything clicked. And director Patrick Bristow said that as soon a live audience was added, it upped the stress level of the performers – sharping up the comedy and sharpening up the entertainment value.
Bristow, who is an alumni of The Groundlings, said, “Because it’s puppets and it’s uncensored, the audience is definitely more uncensored themselves … and regarding a lot of the risqué or the edgier humor that happens, the puppets can get away with much more. The puppets, by virtue of just being these rascals — and it being heightened and one or two degrees away from reality — they get away with murder – literally.”
San Francisco Chronicle said, “The magic of first-rate Henson-style puppetry and the ribald joy of comedy.”
CALENDAR LISTING for Puppet Up!
A Conversation With Brian Henson
Date: Saturday, October 3 at 2:00PM
Brian Henson’s Puppet Up!
Dates: Friday, October 2 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, October 3 at 7:00pm
Venue: BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, New York City
199 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
Tickets: Tickets and information are available at puppetup.com
Biographies A Conversation with Brian Henson
Brian Henson is Chairman of the Board of The Jim Henson Company and an award-winning director, producer, writer, and puppeteer for film and television. Henson most recently directed the wildly popular short film for Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed. His many previous credits include The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Return to Oz, Labyrinth, The Witches, Little Shop of Horrors, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and Muppet Treasure Island as well as television projects like Dinosaurs, Muppets Tonight, Gulliver’s Travels, Bear in the Big Blue House, Farscape, and Sid the Science Kid.
Highlighted producing credits for television include Earth to Ned, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (which he also directed), Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge (for which he also served as lead judge), and Jim Henson’s Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (which he co-wrote and directed). He also directed Battleground, an Emmy Award-winning episode of Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King for TNT and The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy.
Henson is also the co-creator of Puppet Up!, a live improv comedy show which was named a top ten “Best Stage Show” by Entertainment Weekly and is making a tour stop at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City on October 2nd and 3rd. www.puppetup.com
The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 70 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company’s most recent credits include the Amazon Kids+ series Jim Henson’s Monster Dance, the PBS KIDS special Wowsabout, the hit holiday special for Apple TV The First Snow of Fraggle Rock, and the Emmy-nominated Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip for Disney+, as well as the
Oscar®-winning Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix, and the
Emmy®-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV. Other television credits include Slumberkins and Harriet the Spy for Apple TV; Dinosaur Train, Splash and Bubbles, and Sid the Science Kid all for PBS; Earth to Ned for Disney+; and the Netflix series Word Party and the Emmy-winning The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Iconic catalogue titles include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, Farscape, and the ground-breaking fantasy classics The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
Headquartered in Los Angeles with additional locations in New York and London, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent puppet and creature-building group and industry leader in puppeteered digital animation, with international film, television, theme park, and advertising clients.
Biography, Brian Henson’s Puppet Up!
Patrick Bristow (Co-Creator, Director, Host) The name may not be familiar, but the face may be as he’s appeared on numerous television shows and films over the past 30 years. Maybe you remember him as the “Wig Master” on Seinfeld or as the goody two shoes friend Peter on the groundbreaking sit com Ellen, as well as recurring roles on Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm and more. In recent years, he has appeared on American Woman, Criminal Minds, Major Crimes, Shameless, The Middle, Last Man Standing, Pretty Little Liars, CSI, and in the films Austin Powers, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Pain And Gain, and Transformers 4. Look for him in the recent film Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar.
He is an alumni of The Groundlings Theatre where he performed, taught and directed for many years. He currently teaches improv classes of his own in Los Angeles. Sharing his experience and knowledge of improv comedy is an equal passion to his efforts as a performer. Depending on the day, it might be the greater passion.
Between acting, writing, directing and his various duties for Puppet Up, he feels lucky to be able to make a living through creative pursuits. In his spare time he attempts to play the harp. Initially, he chose the instrument for its relaxing qualities. But, hearing his practice broken by grunts and cussing shows that he was misguided in this notion. He persists anyhow. When asked if he plays the harp, he corrects you with, “I play WITH the harp.”
He’s a native Angeleno and grew up primarily in Burbank. His parents, Frank and Patricia met doing theatre in Los Angeles in the late 1940’s and though they didn’t continue with their theatrical careers, they could not have been more encouraging to their son who wanted to pursue acting. His older brothers have been equally supportive. He has been with his loving husband, Andrew Nicastro, for 26 years and the two were married in 2010. They credit the length of their relationship to a “benevolent stubbornness” on both sides.