For anyone who watched a lot of TV in the ‘90s, the true mark of any cartoon’s success was when it earned a stupid live stage production. It meant a show was popular enough not just to warrant toys or a movie, but for multiple people to put on silly costumes and act out a comparatively dull episode in front of thousands of screaming fans. Pokémon did it, Rugrats probably did it, and Disney even had those ice shows that would travel around the country.
The Simpsons, one of the most popular TV programs of all time, has finally achieved enough success to be deemed worthy of doing something similar. As reported by Rolling Stone, The Simpsons will be putting on three live shows at The Hollywood Bowl this September in honor of somehow lasting 26 seasons. The events will be hosted by Hank Azaria, who plays Kirk Van Houten and Bumblebee Man (among others) on the show, and he’ll be joined by a number of special guests, including Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Jon Lovitz, and Al “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Julie Kavner and Dan Castellaneta—who play Selma Bouvier and Hans Moleman, respectively—are notably absent from this list, but longtime fans of the show will know that’s because the pair were replaced by a Voice Actor 3000 unit several seasons ago. Simpsons creator Matt Groening is also scheduled to appear and “regale the crowd with behind-the-scenes anecdotes,” assuming he’s not too busy writing a new issue of True Murder Stories or Johnny Reb. The shows—which are happening on September 12, 13, and 14—will feature live performances from the special guests and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, along with “selected scenes” and “never-before-seen clips” from the first 25 seasons of The Simpsons. Hopefully these will be timed out perfectly to allow everyone a bathroom break from, say, seasons 11 to 25.
Tickets for the shows will be available at The Hollywood Bowl’s official site.