If you’ve seen the touching documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the words “The Roast of Mister Rogers” might seem like an oxymoron. Roasted? The national treasure who stands for everything good and pure in this crazy, mixed-up world? But that’s exactly what Character Assassination– a comedy troupe born in Louisville, Kentucky that has previously roasted Luke Skywalker, Freddy Kreuger, Walt Disney, and many others– plan to do at The Creek and the Cave on Aug. 30.
Not only that, but the roasters who’ll hold court at the Long Island City bar will be some other beloved figures from our childhood (or stand-up comedians playing them, anyway): Kermit the Frog, Pee-wee Herman, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. (It’s unclear whether Tom Hanks, who is playing Fred Rogers in an upcoming biopic, will make a cameo.)
What kind of trash will they talk about the guy who made cardigans cool way before Kurt Cobain did? One imagines there’ll be “yo momma” jokes, since those sweaters were knitted by his mom. There will probably be some jabs about foot funk, given the man’s propensity for changing his shoes in public. And he was a lifelong Republican, though not a very good one. Come to think of it, Mister Rogers has already been skewered by everyone from Eddie Murphy to Jim Carrey to SCTV. And there’s been some debate– granted, on Fox and Friends— about whether he ruined a whole generation of children with his “you’re special” shtick. So maybe this won’t be that sacrilegious.
Fine, go ahead and roast Mister Rogers for routinely dropping acid and going into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Just don’t tease him for Daniel Tiger, King Friday, et al– Multiple Personality Disorder is a serious mental health issue.
The Roast of Mister Rogers, Aug. 30, 10pm at The Creek & the Cave, 10-93 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, tickets $5.