The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Last fall, New York comedy writers Scott Rogowsky and Neil Janowitz launched a hybrid variety show that included videos, sketches, stand-up and interviews, all revolving around sports. Their 12 Angry Mascots debuted at the UCB, moved briefly to a Chelsea theater/art space, and have found a more comfortable monthly home …
All of this talk about ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his new Comedy Central series got me thinking about another man and his puppets. Particularly since his DVD was staring at me from behind my laptop. It's time to take a look at Terry Fator, 2007 million-dollar winner of NBC's America's …
Jon Reep is a self-described "Metro Jethro." It's his term for a rural Southern boy who finds himself living in the big city. People know he's from Hickory, N.C., because he has said it more than once or a billion times before, during and after winning Last Comic Standing. His …
The Second City has released more details about its upcoming 50th anniversary celebration in Chicago this coming December. I earlier reported about their extra-special SCTV Reunion Show that's happening Dec. 11. Well, plenty of Second City Mainstage alums are coming back to party and participate in a series of panel …
I'm not the only one who is a fan of NYC-based sketch group Pangea 3000. These guys are regulars at the UCB Theatre (nevermind their current show run title of "Pangea 3000 Sucks"), and on Oct. 22, they'll be part of the UCB-NY's Best of Sketch Showcase, as well as …
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 …
Comedians like to party just as much as you do, if not more so. Trust me. And yet, you don't see too many comedians who bring their party persona onstage. If you want a party comedian, Nick Swardson continues to be your guy. For Seriously, Who Farted?, Swardson's new hourlong …
When the D.C. Comedy Festival decided it wasn't returning in 2009, the folks at Brightest Young Things — who know a thing or two about throwing a party — asked comedian Tig Notaro — who knows a thing or two about funny people — to help them fill the comedy …
Have you been watching the Major League Baseball playoffs this October? If so, then you know beyond a shadow of a shadow that George Lopez will debut his new late-night talker on TBS on Nov. 9. And check out what showed up in my mailbox over the weekend. My very …
In the parallel TV universe, the Mad Men at Sterling Cooper are in 1963 and owned by Brits. Would they be called upon in 1969, when Monty Python's Flying Circus debuted on the BBC? Or in the early 1970s when Python first appeared on American TV? I asked Rich Sommer, …