Puppetry of the Penis was on its way to London's West End. Initially booked for a five-week season at the Whitehall Theatre, the overwhelming response from Londoners demanded numerous extensions, with the show finally closing after an astonishing 5 month run. Simon and Friendy became the darlings of the West End, delighting the London A-list including Hugh Grant, Naomi Campbell, Elton John, Bono, Mel B and Mel C. Since then, Puppetry has had highly successful runs throughout Australia, the UK and North America. Wang-wielding as entertainment? Why not? Here's a review of the live show from New York:

Come on, admit it. You're curious.

I know I was.

The surprising thing is, I actually kind of liked Puppetry of the Penis. At least I have a healthy respect for it: it's a show that delivers precisely what it promises: if you're in the mood to watch two grown men play with their penises and testicles and scrotums, manipulating them into various unexpected and silly shapes, then by all means, this is the show for you.

Now I have to admit that, in many decades of life on this planet equipped with those very organs, it has never once occurred to me to try to make them look like, say, a hamburger. But David Friend and Simon Morley, the Australian "penis puppeteers" who created and star in this harmlessly silly show, not only thought of it, they figured out how to do it--along with a couple of dozen other "installations," including the Eiffel Tower, a windsurfer, and, most memorably, a sea anemone. Their craft, or art, is pretty much the same as that of a contortionist, or a fire eater, or a stiltwalker; to wit, they've learned how to do something that almost no one else can do. And they're confident and unembarrassed enough to do it, not just in public but on stage in front of a paying audience. I say: more power to them.

Puppetry of the Penis begins with about fifteen minutes of stand-up from British comedienne Wendy Vousden; it's actually the bluest part of the evening, treating sexual subjects of all descriptions that would have been taboo even fifteen years ago. Next comes a short visit from Priapus, "God of the Penis," who basically sets the ground rules for what's to come; he's played by Morley's brother Justin and also works the video camera, providing live feeds of the puppeteers' endeavors on a giant screen behind them on stage.

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