Several late, great comedy legends are set to take the stage again for a second act—in hologram form.
The National Comedy Center, opening next year in Jamestown, New York, hopes to revive a number of comedy legends using new technology to offer fans a chance to see routines they may have missed the first time around.
The Center will feature a club where “folks can go back in time and witness a classic routine in a setting – God knows where it might have been – and experience that as if they were really there,” National Comedy Center chairman Tom Benson told the New York Times.
Among the Center’s lineup of comedy greats? Bob Hope, George Carlin, Milton Berle, and Rodney Dangerfield, though Benson told the paper that the lineup is subject to change before the club’s opening.
According to Benson, the 10 or so routines will last for about four to five minutes each, taking comedy fans through classic performances from venues like Madison Square Garden and Hollywood comedy clubs.
The holograms are reportedly being created by Hologram USA, who are already hard at work on photorealistic representations of Buddy Holly, Liberace, and Jimmy Kimmel.
Jamestown, located in Upstate New York, is the birthplace of Lucille Ball. The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is held annually in the city.