New York Road Trip, Part One
I spent the last week visiting my daughter and mother in New York City, eating real pizza and real bagels, trying a couple of vegan restaurants at my daughter's behest, taking in a couple of college classes with her, and going to see two big Broadway shows,...
Abridged History Of Comedy Abridged
Austin Tichenor and Dominick Conti -- two-thirds of the Reduced Shakespeare Company* -- were in the studio with me to talk about their latest production, "The Complete History of Comedy (Abridged). We took it from the beginnings (cave comedy) through Abe Lincoln's...
One Leg Too Few
Last night on his Showtime series, "Inside Comedy," David Steinberg interviewed Eric Idle and Bob Einstein. The latter told some hilarious anecdotes about working with Redd Foxx, as well as the origin stories of his Officer Judy and Super Dave characters. But I was...
Thou Shalt Not Laugh
Austin Tichenor and Reed Martin, the writers/directors/actors behind The Reduced Shakespeare Company, have written and performed (with other cast members) some very funny shows over the last two decades. Besides the Bard, they have lampooned and condensed the history...
Spamalot Revised
Last night, my daughter and some friends went to see The Muny's production of "Spamalot," which she enjoyed, but she was surprised that the lyrics to one of the songs had been changed. It's a number in the second act that, in its original New York production, was...
An Evening With Brian Regan
We went to see Brian Regan last night at the Peabody Opera House, completing a season in which we've seen the men and women I consider today's five best touring standups, all at the top of their game -- besides Regan, we've seen Paula Poundstone, Jake Johannsen, Louis...
Standing Up For Sitting Ovations
Ben Brantley has a front-page NY Times piece today on how the standing ovation has become the default reaction to live performances, with audiences leaping to their feet at the end of virtually every production, regardless of whether it was deserved. The reasons for...
Ricky Jay Hits The Wall
That's a photo that Teller posted on Twitter of a portrait of Ricky Jay, the magician/actor/author known for this card-throwing abilities. I don't know where it was taken, but the portrait consists entirely of thrown playing cards. If you're not familiar with Jay, he...