Famed comedian and actor Jeffrey Tambor is coming to U of R this week, and he’ll see a familiar set piece from the cult-favorite TV show Arrested Development when he stops by.
Famed comedian and actor Jeffrey Tambor is coming to U of R this week, and he’ll see a familiar set piece from the cult-favorite TV show Arrested Development when he stops by.
Built by a local fan and posted to the local RVA subreddit, Patrick Kraehenbuehl and Robert Richards, both Assistant Production Managers for Modlin Center for the Arts, spent the weekend working on the project. The structure will not only be a physical reminder to passers-by of Tambor’s lecture event, it will also serve as a place to pick up tickets and get yourself a sweet chocolate covered frozen banana.
Admittedly, the banana stand is equal parts marketing ploy and labor of love. Kraehenbuehl called himself a huge fan of Arrested Development – “It’s gotten me through many sleepless nights and it gets better every time I go back to it,” he said – and he wanted to pay homage to the show and its star in any way he could.
He posted a call for help on the local subreddit last Friday and began working on it with Richards and other volunteers throughout the weekend.
The banana stand is fairly functional, with free tickets to Tambor’s show, as well as a number of chocolate covered frozen bananas. “It’s heartily constructed,” he said.
There are a few hidden compartments filled with bananas and tickets and even some replica money to go along with the ‘money-lined’ banana stand of AD lore.
“We went through the most Arrested Development quotes as we could,” he said about how they spent the 48 hour construction process.
“Without question, a six-sided curved cone is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to build,” said Kraehenbuehl about the wooden banana seen at the top of the structure. “Some things aren’t as straight as my eye for perfection would like them to be, but for having two days and a lot of coffee, I think we nailed it.”
He even reached out to Imagine Entertainment and Fox studios, the creators of the show, to see if anyone had plans for a banana stand, but had no luck.
“Man, I’m sure someone built this and wrote about it,” he said with a laugh. “But that was not the case… there are not a lot of blogs about banana stands built in Hollywood.”
To stay true to the series, Kraehenbuehl said he hoped the banana stand would be burned to the ground after Tambor’s event passes, but he said they might keep it around for a while first.
Kraehenbuehl also hopes his banana stand will set a precedent for other marketing ideas in RVA.
“There’s a real void as far as activity with grass roots marketing here,” he said. “With Richmond’s massive creative scene, he hopes this physical representation of an event will inspire other creatives in town to follow suit with wild and large-scale projects displayed for the world to see.”
“If you wanna see something great,” he said. “Sometimes you just gotta build it and put it on the street.”
Anyone with a student ID (any student ID from any college) can get a free ticket to Wednesday’s show if they stop by the stand. If you want to have the banana stand on your property, Kraehenbuehl will gladly drive it over there and drop it off, just hit him up at Pkraehen@richmond.edu.
Tambor’s lecture happens Wednesday night, 7:30 PM, at the UR Modlin Center for the Arts, you can snag tickets online here, or go out and find the Banana stand and bring your student ID.
The stand will be camped out on U of R’s campus near the student commons Wednesday from 10AM-2PM.
They’re also looking for questions from fans even if they can’t make it to the show – send your questions for Mr. Tambor by tweeting at @modlincenter.
