The Q&A sessions with the audience — led by star Jay Johnson — will begin following the Oct. 11 performance.
In a statement Two and Only! co-creators and co-directors Paul Kreppel and Murphy Cross said, "The Wednesday talkbacks offer the audience a rare look into what happens to Jay's puppets once the performance is over, and, like a bonus track on a CD, is an added part of the actual show."
The salty "Bob" from TV's "Soap" became a Broadway baby Sept. 19, with the first preview of Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!, which officially opened Sept. 28.
The bow, also marking Johnson's Broadway debut, follows a 2004 Off-Broadway run and recent regional engagements in Los Angeles and Boston.
Calling The Two and Only! a solo turn is misleading. Johnson, the producers say, "deconstructs and demonstrates his lifelong obsession" with a "cast" that includes Bob, Amigo, Darwin, Long John La Feat, Nethernore — the Bird of Death, Spaulding, Arthur Drew, Jackie and Ga Ga, and Squeaky. According to production notes, "The ancient craft was discovered thousands of years ago and was used by early chieftains and tribesmen, who acted as mediums between men and supernatural forces. The case has also been made that diviners in many religions, including the Oracle of Delphi, were ventriloquists. With his dummy Bob, Jay Johnson follows in the footsteps of such performers as Jules Vernon, Fred Russell (and Coster Joe), The Great Lester (and Frank Byron, Jr.), Edgar Bergen (and Charlie McCarthy) and Paul Winchell, who have all helped to define ventriloquism as a bonafide modern art form."
The Two and Only! is conceived by Jay Johnson, Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel and directed by Murphy Cross & Paul Kreppel.
The creative team also includes Beowulf Boritt (scenery), Clifton Taylor (lighting), David Gotwald (sound) and Michael Andreas (original music).
Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! plays Tuesday-Thursday at 7 PM, Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM, Sunday at 1 PM & 5 PM.
Tickets are on sale via Telecharge.com and (212) 239-6200, and at the Helen Hayes Theatre box office on West 44th Street.
For more information, visit www.thetwoandonly.com.
