The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Michael Ian Black is familiar to anyone who has watched TV in the past two decades — first as a member of MTV sketch group The State, later in shows including Ed, Stella, Michael & Michael Have Issues, and several other series not named after first names. This summer, you …
The last time I saw Will Franken, he and I enjoyed a lovely chat years ago in the balcony of the Cabaret Juste Pour Rire during one of Andy Kindler’s “Alternative Comedy” showcases for Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival. Well, the Cabaret long since closed up shop, and so has …
Earlier this summer, my childhood neighbor posted “10 Ways to Know You Are From Simsbury” in his Facebook feed. This upset me in more than one way, not only because I lived and grew up in this Connecticut town that strives to maintain its prestige as both suburban enclave of …
Australian comedian James Smith made it back to the States this week to perform on Thursday night’s Conan. Smith is single, ladies! Ah, but there’s a catch. As a single fella, he’s figured out what he’s willing to do for a mate, and more importantly, what he’s not willing to …
The nominees for 2015’s Primetime Emmy Awards were revealed Thursday, and there’s plenty of honors and kudos to go around — from broadcast networks to cable channels to streaming online sites, everyone found something to be happy about. Even amid the snubs. But first, the congratulations! Twenty-five nominations for Comedy …
That moment when the president of the United States takes a moment during a news conference about a nuclear agreement with Iran to weigh in on dozens of rape allegations against comedy legend Bill Cosby. President George W. Bush awarded Cosby the Medal of Freedom in 2002. Would President Barack …
What do they say about New York City: There are eight million stories, and sometimes it seems as though eight million of the people telling them think they’re comedians? No, that’s not it. It is a fact, though, that America’s biggest city is also its biggest comedy mecca. Hollywood may …
Stand-up comedians need an audience to laugh at their jokes and pay for their services. Comedy clubs provide a direct conduit for both, and need a steady supply of both to survive. Audiences need to know their place is in the audience, laughing (or not) offstage. When comedians and clubs …
Myq Kaplan not only passed his audition, but also survived the “Judges’ Cuts” round this week on America’s Got Talent, currently in its 10th season on NBC. On Tuesday night’s episode, we saw Kaplan joke about and with his long-distance girlfriend, and impress the judges with his quick wit. So …
Following a two-week break from late-night, Jimmy Fallon took to explaining why his absence from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon started a day earlier than planned. “I tripped and fell in my kitchen,” he said from his TV desk following Monday night’s monologue. Fallon blamed the fall on his …
