Mr. Pants performs on the semifinals of America’s Got Talent
Mr. Pants punned his way into the semis of AGT in 2022, but his run proved shorts-lived, as he did not advance to the finals.
Jo Koy at Madison Square Garden headlines 2022 New York Comedy Festival lineup
Get ready to add Jo Koy to the list of stand-up comedians who’ve made it to the big time of headlining Madison Square Garden. Koy is just one of the 14 acts announced today as headliners for the 2022 New York Comedy Festival, happening Nov. 7-13, 2022, mostly across Manhattan …
Episode #401: Robin Thede
The creator and star of HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, Robin Thede and her crew already have enjoyed 13 Emmy nominations and one Emmy win heading into the 2022 awards ceremony, as well as 2020 honors from the TV Critics Association for outstanding sketch/variety series. Thede grew up in …
Mr Chonkers at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
**** (out of 5) This is unlike any clown show I’ve ever seen. Because it’s not exactly clowning. More like buffoonery. There’s a whole lotta buffoonery going on in the small cavern above a meat restaurant on Cowgate after midnight. I still don’t know exactly who or what Mr. Chonkers …
Business Casual: “FERAL,” at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
**** (out of 5) Jeremy Elder, Cory Peter Lane, and Hunter Saling have been here before, making their Fringe debut in 2019. Which means this sketch comedy trio from Los Angeles can pack even brighter local UK references into their tightly-packed, fast-paced scenes. Despite possessing individually unique hairstyles and outfits, …
Chris Gethard: “A Father and the Sun,” at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
**** (out of 5) The popular podcaster, improviser and storyteller makes his return to the Fringe for the first time in six years. If you haven’t seen him in while, you’ll quickly notice something different about him. The beard, obviously. His midlife crisis, not as noticeable. But Gethard claims that …
Hannah Pilkes: “A Woman on the Verge,” at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
***1/2 (out of 5) Plenty of shows at the Fringe have accidental false starts to them, since the headliners must serve as their own opening warm-up acts. But false starts are built into this show from the get-go. Pilkes not only portrays a variety of characters who sit on the …
Nic Sampson: “Marathon, 1904,” at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
*** (out of 5) Marathons: Famously not sprints. The 1904 Olympic Marathon was rather infamous, yet might have been all but lost to history, if not for Wikipedia and folks like Nic Sampson to keep the events fresh in the memories for a new generation. As Sampson reminds us, the …
Don McMillan on the semifinals of America’s Got Talent
The 2022 season of America’s Got Talent is under a bit of a time crunch, so instead of judge’s cut and quarterfinal rounds, we’re zipping right into the semifinals, although they’re calling them Qualifiers 1-5, as they’ve got 55 acts, with two in each batch of 11 qualifying for the …
Patti Harrison at Edinburgh Fringe 2022
****1/2 (out of 5) Patti Harrison is a woman possessed. By comedy demons. No amount of content trigger warnings can prepare you for the absurdism she channels onstage, whether she’s conjuring up voices such as Bjork or Charli XCX, or opening up seemingly about her mental health and dating struggles. …