THE ANNOUNCEMENT for Oscar nominations was the big headline news last week. There were omissions: “A Single Man’s” Julianne Moore losing her expected nomination to Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart.” There were surprises: with the expansion of the Best Picture nominations from 5 to 10 films, “The Blindside” made the final ten while the Clint Eastwood’s much ballyhooed “Invictus” fell short. And there were disappointments: the critically panned “Nine” continued to receive little “major category” love from the Academy, but came up with 4 nominations including one for Penelope Cruz. Nonetheless, while many categories seem to be a lock, Best Picture and Best Actress seem to be between “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” for picture and Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep for actress. Stay tuned.

After a four-week run, another headline grabber, “The Peewee Herman Show” closed last weekend at the spectacular LA Live district in downtown Los Angeles. I had the chance to check it out and see how Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee) can reintroduce his 30-plus year old character and get another movie deal.

Pee-wee opens the show standing in front of the curtain, greeting us “boy and girls” and making us say the Pledge of Allegiance. From that moment, you have no idea what else is expected. The audience loved it, especially the diehard fans hungry for nostalgia. They hung on to Pee-wee’s every swipe, goofy giggle and, of course, secret word. (Every time the secret word is uttered by anyone the audience gets to scream real loud.)

The rest of the action of the roughly 80-minute show takes place at Pee-wee’s Playhouse with visits from Playhouse regulars. Back for the madness are Cowboy Curtis (Phil LaMarr) and Miss Yvonne (Lynn Marie Stewart), and buddies Chairy, Conky, Clocky and a new one, Bear. Pee-wee hates new characters, so there wasn’t much love or patience initially for Bear.

There’s always a lesson in a Pee-wee show. This time Peewee wants to fly. Pterri (the pterodactyl) taunts Pee-wee about not being able to fly which gets the best of Pee-wee. When Jambi, the wish-granting genie, hears anyone utter the word “wish,” Jambi is eager to help out. Unfortunately, Miss Yvonne also utters a wish she wants – to be liked by Cowboy Curtis. Pee-wee is conflicted about which wish Jambi should grant and ultimately gives up his happiness for his friend’s wish.

In between the wish granting storyline, the show is full of favorite Playhouse elements such as classic cartoons and even a 1950 educational film about Mr. Bungle and the importance of good manners at school. With sparklingly brilliant sets and costumes, the very retro-feeling show has been updated a bit with hilarious moments: Pee-wee goes online for the first time using slow-dial AOL and also flaunts his purity ring (with a wink to Reubens’ transgressions for which he was arrested) made popular by the Jonas Brothers.

While the performers are exceptional, especially with their timing, the problem is the script - everything old is not new again. (And for the record, I’m a HUGE fan.) After 20 minutes into the show, it all feels a little tired and tedious, like a few episodes played back to back. It all seemed to liven up significantly when we get a glimpse of Pee-wee adjusting to life in the 21st century. While Pee-wee seems to be perpetually stuck in his own world either by choice or design, there’s lots more humor when he’s reluctantly thrust into a new world and new experiences, and made a little more relevant. And it might bring new audiences who buy movie tickets too. I’m just saying.