FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live Images

      

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 LIVE

IS COMING TO PITTSBURGH

 

FEATURING ORIGINAL HOST AND CREATOR,
JOEL HODGSON, IN HIS FINAL LIVE TOUR

 

THE GREAT CHEESY MOVIE CIRCUS TOUR
WILL SHOWCASE, NEVER-BEFORE-SCREENED FILM-

No Retreat, No Surrender

 

Pittsburgh, PA– The award-winning TV comedy “Myster Science Theater 3000” (MST3K) is coming to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in an all-new LIVE show featuring Joel Hodgson, original host and the creative vision behind the beloved TV and Netflix comedy series for more than three decades, in his final live tour. Produced by Alternaversal LLC, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour will play the Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street on Saturday, September 28, 2019, at 7:00 p.m., with the never-before-screened film No Retreat, No Surrender.  This event is presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, as part of the 2019-2020 Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series. 

 

Tickets and VIP package upgrades are available at these Pittsburgh Cultural Trust official ticket sources: TrustArts.org, by calling 412-456-6666, or in person at Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue. Tickets for groups of 10+ are available online at TrustArts.org or call 412-471-6930. 
 

Following the wildly successful “Watch Out for Snakes! Tour” in 2017 and “30th Anniversary Tour” in 2018, Hodgson will don the red jumpsuit one final time as Joel Robinson to host Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour alongside the world’s greatest – and only – movie riffing robots, Tom Servo, Crow, and Gypsy. The show gives fans the chance to sit in the same theater with their favorite characters and promises all of the MST3K signatures and rapid-fire hilarity that have built MST3K’s loyal following over more than 30 years: a cheesy B-movie, hilarious riffing, wisecracking robots, silly sketches, and Hodgson in the red jumpsuit as host Joel Robinson.

 

“This is our third national tour, and it’s bigger than the first two combined!,” said Hodgson. “I really wanted to do something special since it’s my farewell tour with MST3K Live. Also, Tom, Crow, and Gypsy have become such great live performers, I decided to give them the ultimate challenge: a movie riffing robot circus!”  “MST3K contains some of the HIPPEST, deepest SATIRE of the generation.” – Los Angeles Times  “If the tour is coming anywhere near your town, and you consider yourself an MST3K fan, you absolutely owe it to yourself to get a ticket.” – Geek.com

 

Premiering in 1988 on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, MST3K has earned its place in history as one of the Top 100 TV Shows of all time (Time, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly), receiving multiple Emmy® nominations, and a Peabody Award along the way. Following a recordsetting Kickstarter campaign, the series was revived in 2017 with all new episodes now streaming on Netflix.  “30 years later, that INGENIOUS B-movie spoof is STILL GOING STRONG.” – The New York Times

 

FEATURED FILM

No Retreat, No Surrender

A self-conscious teen becomes a martial arts master under the tutelage of Bruce Lee’s ghost. Featuring fresh-faced Jean-Claude Van Damme as a brooding hit man and a Bruce Lee lookalike, who looks nothing like Bruce Lee.

 

For the latest tour stops and scheduled films, visit mst3klive.com or follow MST3K on Facebook and Instagram.

 

The Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents Series features an exceptional season of dazzling area premieres, returning favorites, and one-of-a-kind performances for all ages. From music to dance, comedy, theater and more, the series brings an array of national and international award-winning performers to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s unique stages, such as the Benedum Center and Byham Theater, located in the city’s Cultural District.  Cohen & Grigsby has been the presenting sponsor of the Trust Presents Series since the 2008-2009 season.
For more information about the current Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series, visit TrustArts.org.

 

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation, and creativity.  Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts.

TrustArts.org | Facebook: Cultural Trust | Instagram: CulturalTrust | Twitter: @CulturalTrust
 

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ABOUT “MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000”

For more than 30 years, the award-winning comedy television series “Mystery Science Theater 3000” (MST3K) has been known as one of the top cult TV shows of all time. The story of a human host and his robot sidekicks trapped aboard a satellite and forced to watch cheesy movies by their captors, MST3K has maintained its reputation thanks to its fervently devoted fan base, known as “MSTies.”

 

Created by Joel Hodgson, the first season of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” aired in 1988 on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis. Set on the Satellite of Love, the series follows a hapless host trapped by mad scientists on a satellite in space who is forced to watch some of the most outrageously unfortunate B-movies ever created. To keep sane, he’s built two robot sidekicks and together they do a running commentary on the films, affectionately mocking their flaws with inspired wisecracks and acting as a lively movie theater peanut gallery.

 

MST3K’s national broadcast life began in 1989 on the Comedy Channel (later to become Comedy Central), where it ran for seven seasons. The show’s final three seasons aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. Series creator Hodgson originally played the stranded man, Joel Robinson. When he left in 1993, series head writer Mike Nelson replaced him as the new B-movie victim and continued in the role for the rest of the show’s run. The format proved to be popular, and during its ten seasons and 197 episodes on Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel, it attained a loyal fan base and critical acclaim, including a Peabody Award and two Primetime Emmy® nominations.

 

In late 2015, Shout! Factory and creator Joel Hodgson formed a new partnership, known as Satellite of Love LLC, to acquire the global IP rights to MST3K with the aim of producing new episodes and managing and developing the IP in other areas. The highly successful MST3K Kickstarter campaign to #BringBackMST3K, spearheaded by Shout! Factory and Hodgson, surpassed its goal by funding the production of 14 new episodes and set the world record as the highest-funded film and video crowdfunding campaign in history. The new episodes of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” debuted as a Netflix original series on April 14, 2017. Later in 2017, Netflix renewed the series for another season.

 

ABOUT JOEL HODGSON

Joel Hodgson started in show business as a stand-up comedian during college, headlining in comedy clubs in Minneapolis. After graduation in 1982, Joel moved to LA and became a regular at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. 

 

In 1983, Joel was booked for his first network television appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman,” and HBO’s “Young Comedians Special with John Candy.” The following year, Joel became a series regular on both “Letterman” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” with four appearances on each. When he wasn’t on television, Joel was performing his act in comedy clubs and theaters across the country.

 

In 1987, Joel was invited by Jerry Seinfeld to co-write Seinfeld’s first HBO special, “Stand-Up Confidential,” where Joel began to take an interest in other aspects of production. In the period after this, Joel began doing ensemble work in the Minneapolis area producing two stage productions, Heavy Levity and Spookfest 87, while continuing to invent and design props, toys, and robots. 

 

It was in 1988 that Joel created “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” the ground-breaking movie riffing series, which premiered on St. Paul’s local UHF station, KTMA, in Minnesota. The show migrated to cable on the Comedy Channel, then to Comedy Central, then Sci-Fi and ran for a total of eleven years, producing nearly 200 episodes and a feature film. It also collected several Emmy® nominations and a Peabody Award along the way.

 

In 1995, Joel explored more work in Hollywood, including creative development for The Jim Henson Company and Walt Disney Television. As a writer, Joel co-wrote the Disney feature “Honey We Shrunk Ourselves” with Nell Scovell, as well as Cartoon Network’s “Space Ghost Coast to Coast.” Joel also was a magic consultant for the series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and for Penn and Teller’s Sin City Spectacular. HBO also commissioned Hodgson’s experimental comedy special “The TV Wheel,” which premiered on Comedy Central.

 

With the background and experience Joel’s career had provided, he developed and began performing his one man show Riffing Myself at theaters and comi-cons. He also started performing again with the original cast of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in a show called “Cinematic Titanic,” which Joel refers to as a “readers’ theater” version of MST3K. The group’s run spanned nearly seven years with over 100 live performances.

 

In November of 2015, Joel created the #BringBackMST3K Kickstarter campaign, and along with the show's “backers,” raised over six million dollars to fund new episodes of MST3K while setting a world record for the most successful crowdfunding campaign for a film and video project ever.

 

The first new season after the Kickstarter was titled “MST3K: The Return” and featured an all-new cast as well as cameos by the original MST3K cast and writers. It launched on Netflix in April 2016 and received critical acclaim, including “100% Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

Netflix commissioned a second order for the series, which was called “MST3K: The Gauntlet,” and it also met with critical praise, including another coveted Rotten Tomatoes “100% Fresh” review. 

 

Joel is currently the Chief Creative Officer of his company, Alternaversal, which is the company responsible for the creating the new IP for MST3K. This includes the #BringBackMST3K Kickstarter campaign, 20 feature-length episodes for Netflix, two national tours of Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live, and a six-comic mini-series on Dark Horse Comics.

 

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