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Andy Engel Offers Free Comedy Workshops at Gotham

Posted by on July 2, 2012

Every so often Andy Engel, the Director of New Talent at Gotham Comedy Club and the founder of Manhattan Comedy School holds a free comedy workshop, and gets industry people and well known comics to come out and address the crowd of potential comics and comedy writers. It’s always a very informative day.

A rare photo of Andy Engel onstage addressing the crowd at Gotham Comedy Club, for his complimentary comedy workshop!.

This one was on a Sunday afternoon at 12:30 and Ben Rosen from Gawker, was the host. He was very funny.

Wali Collins was up first. Wali is great, and always reliably funny, and it was kind of like family day at Gotham because several comics brought family members with them. I had the pleasure of meeting Wali’s beautiful wife Iralma, who was really sweet. It’s nice when people can share things like that together.

He introduced me to her by telling her how I supported him with an article about his clothing line Ya Nevano, when it first came out. It’s also nice when people remember things like that!

Wali had some great advice for the aspiring comics in the crowd. One thing that stuck with me was that an old rule said that your closing joke should be a strong joke. Wali made the point that every one of your jokes should be able to be a closing joke, and to try and think of them that way. When you don’t, you’re not doing justice to your other jokes. Very interesting point of view.

Ha also advised not to engage hecklers! Especially new comics who don’t have the stage time or experience to know how to handle that! Ignoring them is always the best way to go, otherwise you can lose control of your show. Just point them out so the rest of the audience can hate them, and go on doing what you do!

Jimmy Faiila tried out a new prop during his set, his 3 year old son Lincoln, named after the 16th President I’m sure, because Jimmy is very patriotic, and would definitely do something like that! (LOL)

It was funny because Jimmy couldn’t get a babysitter so he brought his son with him, and when they introduced Jimmy and brought him to the stage, he left his son with one of the women to hold, and Lincoln started crying so loud that Jimmy came and took him on stage with him, and did his act with Lincoln holding on to him. It was very cute, but I don’t think he’d want to do that on a regular basis.

Although I thought I heard him say maybe he should have another child so he could see how it felt doing his act holding a newborn infant! (JK!)

Jimmy Failla onstage holding his new prop, 3 year old son Lincoln, making his stage debut at Gotham! It was hysterical, and may set a new precedent!

What was funny, (besides Jimmy’s jokes! LOL) was that he didn’t alter any of the language in his act because he was holding his young son, so if Lincoln grows up saying words he shouldn’t be saying, we all know where he got it from! That fateful day on stage at Gotham!

The comics performed first, and then addressed the audience and shared some nuggets of wisdom. Jimmy said something interesting that I never really thought about before. He said that many times the MC’s of shows are less experienced, because they are needed to stay for the entire show, which means they don’t have other spots scheduled anywhere else.

I always thought the other way, that MC’s had to be very experienced, since I think it’s hard to keep a show going, and you have to have more material than the average comic who just comes up and does his regular length set. I found that interesting.

Another rare photo of Karen Bergreen, Harrison Greenbaum, and Ben Rosen at Andy Engel’s comedy workshop at Gotham! Look closely! You may never see these three people together again!

The last two performers were also very good, Harrison Greenbaum, and Karen Bergreen who often hosts shows at Gotham, and Harrison geared his remarks to jokewriting. All in all it was a very informative day, and I bet that Andy got some new students for his classes!

I also got to meet a new young comic named Wednesday Suarez, and I’m hoping she’s funny because it’s one of the best stage names for comedy I ever heard! How could you not like a girl named Wednesday Suarez???

You can see an earlier post on Andy Engel’s industry comedy workshops at http://wp.me/p1pHIm-IQ

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Rick Newman Has The Comedy Midas Touch!

Posted by on July 1, 2012

It’s always a good feeling when you can be happy for a friend’s success, and when your friend happens to be Rick Newman, you could literally be happy all the time! (LOL)

Rick and I go back a long way, as we were reminiscing on the phone the other day, and he was kind enough to give me a very special scoop which I will share with you Comedy Matters guys!

Rick Newman and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at the Friars Roast of Pat Cooper in 2007!

Rick and his partner, Peter Martin, have undertaken a complete overhaul of what was The Triad Theatre on West 72nd Street, (which has been owned by Peter for the last 16 years!), to come up with a place “non pareil” in New York nightlife, (in other words, that can not be compared to, for you non-linguists), which will tentatively be called “Variety 72 Theatre.”

A photo of the new, completely refurbished Triad Theatre, NY home of Celebrity Autobiography, on West 72nd Street. set to re-launch this coming November!

This is the former space where once a month, on Monday evenings, for the last four years, Rick has been offering his international hit “Celebrity Autobiography”, where celebs come in and read other celebs autobiographies, and audiences go crazy for it.

Some of the New York regulars who appear are Susie Essman, Joy Behar, Matthew Broderick, John Leguizamo, Martin Short, Brooke Shields, Mario Cantone, Sherri Shepherd, Alan Zweibel, Rachel Dratch, and Kristen Wiig! It’s like a Who’s Who of showbiz! And I hear there’s actually a waiting list of celebs who would like to appear.

This new expensively overhauled theatre is set to be re-launched this coming November, right in time to run a week of shows during Caroline Hirsch’s New York Comedy Festival. As a matter of fact, the entire month of November will feature new “avant garde” productions in comedy, music, one person shows, plays, and seminars, and right now I’m thinking about what I could present in that one-of-a-kind space! According to Rick, “there’s no other place quite like it”, and he should know!

They even installed a complete state-of-art projection unit for screenings plus a luxury green-room. Rick has always stayed current with trends so part of the transformation of the theater “is to make it flexible and be able to use as a studio for the Internet”, he said.

“It’s a natural extension of what Peter and I have been doing for many years … providing new platforms and exposure for new writers, musicians, comediennes, comedians, bands, original plays, one person shows, animation, short films,etc. We are hoping to be able to provide new original programming for the Internet and for fresh talent and their ideas.”

And it will be nice not to have to run all the way downtown for this experience, as many art houses are down in Tribeca. This is great because it’s on the Upper West Side! I can’t wait to take him up on his offer to give me a private tour!

And now with Rick’s collaboration with longtime friend Orin Wolf of Off Broadway Booking, (which is a hot beautique agency that takes successful Off-Broadway shows on the road), Celebrity Autobiography will be touring internationally as well. They always wanted to do something together and I think that this definitely falls into that category! (LOL)

As a Broadway producer Orin is involved with the new hit “Once” which opened to rave reviews on Sunday, March 18, 2012. A national tour will begin in the summer of 2013, and the cast recently appeared on The View.

ONCE has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It was recently named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Outer Critic Circle and the Lucille Lortel Awards. In addition, the production has been nominated for three Drama League Awards and five Drama Desk Awards.

And the story of how Rick came to be involved with Celebrity Autobiography is also a great story. Four years ago, our mutual friend Susie Essman, star of HBO’s hit “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, called Rick all excited and told him he needed to come and see her in this show Celebrity Autobiography. He went, and was hooked from the first night.

Rick Newman, Susie Essman, and Richie Tienken the day we did Rick and Susie’s interviews at The Comic Strip for the new book on the 35 year history of The Strip called “Make ‘Em Laugh”!

The four producers at the time, Peter Martin, Angelo Fraboni, Eugene Pack, and Dayle Reyfel, were seeking a fifth producer, and Rick became that producer, but with his own billing. It’s Peter Martin, Angelo Fraboni, Eugene Pack, and Dayle Reyfel in association with Rick Newman! That’s very cool!

The final part of this exclusive Rick Newman scoop is that on top of everything else, he is the Exec. Producer of a new online series for Comedy Central called “Thirty Seconds Over Washington” and it’s an updated version of a show he did 16 years ago for HBO, with Dennis Miller and Bill Maher.

It consists of political commercials with comics doing analyses and comedic commentary before and after the commercial. I love stuff like that because it’s so fun and so easy to poke fun at these pompous buffoons who take themselves so seriously, while making decisions that affect the course of all of our lives. This is a show I can’t wait to see. I’m not particularly political, but you don’t have to be Mort Sahl in order to see the humor in this type of stuff.

Rick appears in my new book with Chris Rock called “Make ‘Em Laugh- 35 Years of The Comic Strip, The Greatest Comedy Club Of All Time”, a book I wrote with Richie Tienken the owner and founder of The Comic Strip. What is especially nice about having Rick in the book is that at the end of 1972, Rick opened up the second big comedy club in New York City called “Catch A Rising Star”. The Strip opened in 1976.

Before that it was just Budd Friedman’s “Improv” which opened in 1963. Catch had regulars like Larry David, Robert Klein, David Brenner, and Billy Crystal. Richie Tienken was present when I did Rick’s interview at The Strip and Richie had the opportunity to tell Rick that he was his idol and the inspiration for The Comic Strip. That was a very special moment in comedy history and I felt privileged to be present for that, … with these two lions of comedy!

Rick Newman and Richie Tienken, the two “lions” of comedy at The Comic Strip, for the book I wrote with Richie called “Make ‘Em Laugh.”

When I launched Comedy Matters back in 1999, Rick was one of the first, if not THE first one-on-one interview I did, because I never wanted to just focus on the talent. I wanted Comedy Matters to also be about the people who made things happen in the comedy world, and Rick has always been one of those people.

Rick Newman being interviewed by Jeffrey Gurian for Jeffrey’s new column at the time called “Comedy Matters”, circa 1999. We both had darker hair and matching moustaches!

On top of everything else he does, Rick runs the Activities and Entertainment Committee at The Friars Club with Prior Stewie Stone, and plans special events for the club.

Rick Newman and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at The Friars Club back in 2006!

We wish Rick lots of luck in all of his many endeavors!

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Nancy Savoca Scores With Union Square

Posted by on June 30, 2012

Nancy Savoca’s new indie feature “Union Square” starring Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, and Michael Rispoli, is a great example of the beauty and freedom of independent film.

The poster for Nancy Savoca’s film “Union Square, starring Mira Sorvino and Tammy Blanchard!

As a writer and more specifically a comedy writer,I know the feeling of having someone who thinks they have an incredible sense of humor try and change what you wrote. More often than not, their sense of humor is easily surpassed by their sense of smell!(LOL)

With independent film you don’t have to worry about a studio handing over your script to someone who doesn’t get it! With independent film YOU’RE in charge!

It’s a natural extension for a writer to want to direct, since the writer has the vision in the first place, and sees the movie in his/her mind. In the case of this film, it’s birth came about in a coffee shop, with Nancy, producer Neda Armian, and co-writer Mary Tobler commiserating on how hard it is to get an independent film made.

A smiling Nancy Savoca at the press junket for her new film ” Union Square!”

Neda offered her apartment, which is just one room, made to look like two, and said, ” Let’s just shoot something! Anything!” and they all agreed. Nancy said that Mary was “fearless” and over a summer they hashed out the script. They even believed in it enough to put up the initial financing. Once you’ve got the money, it’s a go! That’s the one ingredient that keeps everyone from making a film! (LOL)

They chose locations they could walk to from Neda’s apartment which was one block from Union Square. They purposely wanted a small cast, maybe two principal characters and two or three supporting characters.

You’ll see in the attached video how excited Nancy was to get the cast she wanted. Casting is always key, and when you get the stars you want, especially on an indie budget, you know they’re doing it because they believe in the project, and not for the money!

The film was also shot using less equipment than many student films. They had a very small crew, almost no lighting equipment and shot on a Canon 5D, which is a still camera, capable of shooting high def video.

Again, the beauty of independent film does away with the necessity of using crews of 50 or 60 people, and trailers, and truckloads of equipment. Most of the time they didn’t even use a tripod!

Nancy Savoca and Mira Sorvino at the press conference at The Regency Hotel for “Union Square”!

Mira plays Lucy, a free-wheeling, sexy, but confused girl on the verge of a nervous breakdown over a relationship with a married man, gone wrong before our very eyes. She virtually has a meltdown in Union Square Park, in front of innocent passersby, some of whom had no idea she was shooting a film, which is another funny story you’ll see Mira describe in the video below.

Director Nancy Savoca with Tammy (Jenny) Blanchard at the press conference for “Union Square!”

With her life seemingly in shambles, on a whim she decides to drop in unannounced on her estranged sister Jenny, (Tammy Blanchard) who she hasn’t seen or spoken to in three years. On the surface they couldn’t be more dissimilar.

Mira, as I told her in the video, totally nailed her inner “Bronx-girl”. The accent was perfect as was her style of dress. She dressed really sexy, and with all due respect, she has the body to pull it off too! (Even Tammy said that, … but a lot more graphically! LOL)

Tammy as Jenny, on the other hand played a woman who had seemingly gotten away from her “Bronx past”, and was leading a quiet sedate life with her fiance Bill, played by actor Mike Doyle. In real life, Tammy is a beautiful, stylish woman. In the film she plays kind of a frumpy part, to the point where she said she didn’t even want to look at herself in the mirror!

Writer/Director Nancy Savoca with a very stylish, “un-frumpy” Tammy Blanchard, one of the stars of her new film “Union Square!”

Lucy announces that she would like to stay with Jenny for at least a couple of days, and begins to wreak havoc in Jenny’s life and with her relationship. Lucy drags Jenny out to a club, where Mira’s character Lucy, gets to dirty dance with a guy who turns out to be her own real-life husband, Chris Backus, with whom she just had her fourth child about a month ago. You’d never know it because she’s in such great shape!

Lucy and Jenny’s mom in the film is played by Patti LuPone, and it’s a great, and funny part, and actor Michael Rispoli also plays a wonderful part, as a very stable down-to-earth guy, which he’s so good at. Michael is an old friend, who’s been in so many films, like “Kick-Ass”, “Invincible” with Mark Wahlberg, Spike Lee’s “The Summer of Sam”, and of course he was mob boss Jackie Aprile on HBO’s hit show “The Sopranos.”

He played the lead in the film “Two Family Home” which won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award back in 2000, which is when we took the photo that appears below. It was a party for “Two Family Home” and many of the Sopranos’ cast were there like Aida Turturro, Michael Imperioli, and Drea De Matteo. I was so happy to see him in Union Square.

What will make this film even more popular, is the fact that so many people will relate to the theme of estranged siblings. Unfortunately, it’s all too common.

I was most happy to meet Mira as I’ve admired her talent for years, ever since “Mighty Aphrodite” with Woody Allen in 1996. I actually wrote a film with her in mind for the lead, about a tough biker chick who falls for a stand-up comic. A very unlikely couple to say the least!

So I was so happy to be able to meet her and interview her in person. It was also special for me because I know her Dad, Paul Sorvino for a very long time as evidenced by the photo below taken at Columbus Cafe back around 1991.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Paul Sorvino at Columbus Cafe, circa 1991!

Mira and I had a good laugh about how her Dad bursts out into song at a moment’s notice,(or sometimes without any notice at all! LOL), very often while you’re seated with him in a restaurant.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, philanthropist Karen Koeningsberg, and Paul Sorvino at a party for Karen’s birthday at The Standard Hotel! Paul graced us all with a song, and his magnificent voice!

She says he’s been doing that all her life, and Paul has a beautiful, operatic voice, which you can easily hear from several blocks away. She says such nice things about her Dad, which you’ll also hear in the video I keep talking about. I think it’s time for you to watch it, right here.

And after you watch this, run out to the theatre on July 13th and watch Union Square. You won’t be sorry!

Nancy’s work is also an inspiration to all filmmakers. If you have something in you that needs to be said in film, just go out and do it! These days if you want to get it done, there’s always a way!

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Great Night At Broadway Comedy

Posted by on June 15, 2012

On almost any night of the week you can find a great show at Broadway Comedy Club. Sometimes I just drop by unexpectedly and have yet to be disappointed! The last night I went Monroe Martin was MC’ing the show.

Monroe Martin MC’ing at Broadway Comedy Club!

He said he should never be working with kids because he looks like a huge child! And he does. He said if you detach his head from the rest of his body, he’s actually adorable! (I’m sure he didn’t mean to decapitate himself, cause that couldn’t be cute no matter who you are! LOL)

I had never seen Rich Aronowich before since he’s from Cali, but he’s really funny and the audience thought so too! He does a lot of physical humor, like his impression of a muppet running, plus sound effects, and crazy voices and faces, and it all works.

Rich Aronovich, Screech, or Horshack onstage at Broadway Comedy Club! All three of them did well!

Talking about internet dating he mentioned his favorite site, www.yourgonnadiealone.com. I liked his take on why he hates musicals! ” I don’t wanna pay $85. to hear every thought I ever had in song!” Exactly the reason why I hate musicals too!

He said he looked like either Screech or Arnold Horshack and again the audience likes when comics make fun of their own appearance!

Bryan Scott McFadden is so used to getting thunderous applause I don’t even think it phases him anymore. His character work is superb, like when he imitates the old fighters at the gym. Fantastic.

Bryan Scott McFadden making a point onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

I liked his new bit about every job should have an MC to announce you when you get to work. And he told one couple they were sitting there staring like an Amish Village at Radio Shack!

Laurie Parmenteri was also very funny. I had also never seen her before. Her writing is very sharp and her jokes are succinct. She said she started birth control. Once a month she throws herself down a flight of stairs.

Laurie Parmenteri making people laugh at Broadway Comedy Club!

She said she was against abortion except in a case of emergency, like if SHE got pregnant! She also said she never got an abortion, but asked the audience not to tell her boyfriend because she already spent the money!

Kyle Grooms is another killer act. He said in Detroit you can buy a house for five dollars. Detroit is doing so bad, Haiti is throwing a benefit for them! I love when he talks about growing up in the hood with a name like Kyle. No one would ever be scared if they heard that Kyle was looking for them! “Kyle? That ni***r with the glasses??? Hysterical.

And his Barack Obama impression is so right on, I think Kyle should run for President!

The dangerous looking Kyle Grooms killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

And who better to end a killer show than Mike Vecchione? (That’s a redundant question, meaning it needs no answer! It answers itself!) Mike says that women love doctors so he wears a stethoscope on the subway.

He also has sex like he performs CPR, 15 thrusts, two breaths and then he checks for a pulse.

Mike Vecchione doing what he does best, onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Mike is a smoker, and when people tell him that smoking is bad and that every cigarette takes 7 minutes off your life he tells them that if their conversation goes on another 30 seconds he’s gonna kill himself anyway, so it won’t matter!

And before I knew it I laughed so much that the show was over! It’s that way every time!

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Spectacular Evening at Sotheby’s for 20th Anniversary of ACE

Posted by on June 13, 2012

It was 20 years ago that social activist Henry Buhl created ACE which stands for “The Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless” with the help of people like Tony Goldman,a real estate magnate, who’s also responsible for building up a lot of South Beach in Miami.

Prince Lorenzo Borghese, Tinsley Mortimer and Henry Buhl at the gala 20th anniversary ACE event at Sotheby’s!

Last night there was a gala event honoring ACE’s work over the past 20 years as well as honoring Russell Simmons and international opera star Jessye Norman.

I was covering the red carpet so I was really hoping to see and interview Russell, who I hadn’t seen since we honored Brett Ratner at The Friars Club some months back, but unfortunately he was detained in arriving.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV ready to man the red carpet at Sotheby’s for the 20th anniversary gala of ACE,, to assist the homeless!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Rosanna Scotto of FOX TV’s Good Day New York at the ACE gala at Sotheby’s!

I did get to see and interview Henry Buhl, Sara Herbert-Galloway who was one of the esteemed hosts,(and a friend!), Jessye Norman, who couldn’t have been nicer, Rosanna Scotto, the anchor from FOX’s Good Day New York, Prince Lorenzo Borghese who I hadn’t seen in quite a while and who was there with Tinsley Mortimer, my old dear friend Countess LuAnn DeLesseps from The Real Housewives of New York City, who was there with her boyfriend Jacques Azoulay, two other old friends Dr. Judy Kuriansky the famous sex therapist, and Mary Sliwa, ex-wife of Curtis Sliwa, and one very special interview for me, with Aviva Drescher one of the new women on Real Housewives of NYC. That was a real treat!

Countess LuAnn DeLesseps with Jacques Azoulay on the red carpet at Sotheby’s!

Jessye Norman was passionate about helping the homeless, and about Henry Buhl’s work over the past 20 years.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with international opera star Jessye Norman at Sotheby’s!

Lorenzo and I caught up on old times and he was shocked that I remembered the name of his line of pet products, Royal Treatment! It always amazes me what I do remember because very often I remember nothing at all!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Lorenzo Borghese at a party back in 2006!

And Tinsley Mortimer and I had a good laugh about the first time we met in of all places, a McDonald’s. You’d have thought maybe The Four Seasons, or Nobu maybe, but no, … it was McDonalds. It was very late at night and we were both hungry and on line for a snack! She has a new book just out for a month called “Southern Charm” and one day soon we’re going to sit down and shoot a little video interview about it for Comedy Matters TV!

Countess LuAnn and I always have something to laugh about together! We just look at each other and laugh! We’re friends since the 80’s, when she was still a nurse and a model, and we had lots of fun times together. It wasn’t that long ago when she was interviewing me on Plum TV in the Hamptons. I’m so happy for her for all of her success, and for being with Jacques who’s such a great guy, but could have been a little more creative with his name! (LOL)

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Countess LuAnn DeLesseps at one of the opening parties for “Real Housewives of New York City”! ( Her Mom is next to us!)

Countess LuAnn DeLesseps and her beautiful Mom at a Real Housewives party!

Who would believe a French guy named Jacques? It’s like an Italian guy named Carmine! Or a Jewish guy named Sol! Not very creative! (LOL)

Anyway, I suggested to LuAnn that we do a comedy thing on Housewives, like some kind of comedy event, and we’re going to discuss it!

But I’d have to say my interview with Aviva Drescher was the highlight of the evening for me. I asked her about her charity “One Step Ahead” and she complimented me on my preparedness, which led to such a heartwarming interview on people overcoming obstacles in their lives.

Real Housewives Heather Thompson, LuAnn DeLesseps, and Aviva Drescher at Sotheby’s!

Aviva is an amputee which you would have no way of knowing unless she told you. She’s a gorgeous woman with a super personality, and a handsome husband with four beautiful kids. When she was six, she lost her left leg in an accident at a friend’s house. But she never let it get the best of her and I admire people so much for that. Because not everyone rises above difficulties like that. Some people let it overwhelm them.

And she shared with me that when she was younger she thought she might never get married or have children, but fortunately none of that was true. I was able to share with her my own story of overcoming obstacles, of which I feel there were many. None as serious as the loss of a limb, but I was a very severe stutterer until I was in my 20’s.

My parents took me for speech therapy but no one was able to help me. One day I realized that I did’t stutter when I was alone, only when I tried to speak to someone else. That basically told me there was really nothing wrong with me, and I vowed to cure myself. I was determined not to go through the rest of my life as a stutterer.

For the next two or three years I became obsessed with curing myself, and as I look at it now, I was given the Grace to figure out how to stop. I now work with other stutterers to teach them how not to stutter. I love doing that kind of work.

So Aviva and I had an instantaneous bond,and I can’t wait to see her again!

You’ll see it all when the video is edited!

And all of this glitz and glamour was thanks to the team at Oui 2 PR, Rob Goldstone and David Wilson who are both so humble and hate to be recognized, but the truth is they do A-1 events, that are well organized, and I for one appreciate that, and believe in giving credit where credit is due! So there!!! (LOL)

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Tom Segura at Gotham Comedy

Posted by on June 12, 2012

I had only seen Tom Segura perform once, cause he’s an LA guy, so I went down to catch him headlining at Gotham, and I was glad I did. He’s really funny, which is a big plus when you’re in comedy! I can’t emphasize it enough, how important that is! (LOL)

Tom Segura onstage at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC!

I was very glad to see Marion Grodin MC’ing the show. She’s really great and a consummate pro!

Marion Grodin making a point while MC’ing the Tom Segura show at Gotham!

Marion used to produce shows all over town, sometimes with Danny Cohen down at The Duplex, on 7th Avenue, and always invited me to perform, except in those days I wasn’t as experienced as I am now, and was often reluctant to go up on big shows.

Marion Grodin and Jeffrey Gurian down at The Duplex in 2001!

I remember one in particular with Adam Ferrara at the old Gotham. I agonized over whether to do it or not, and wound up not going up. I wish she was producing shows now, cause now I’m ready for anything! (LOL)

Marion Grodin with her Dad, the legendary Charles Grodin!

Marion was followed by Wali Collins, which as I’m writing it sounds very weird. He followed her on stage, not like on the street, like a stalker or something. What I meant to say was that he was the next act. Wali is always enjoyable and a real crowd pleaser.

Tom Segura has a very interesting delivery. Very relaxed and very laid-back, yet very matter-of-fact!

He started out by saying he recently did the fattest thing he ever did, and then corrected himself because he said the fattest thing he could ever do would be to eat another fat person!

He talked about unusual inventions like a toilet that makes turkey sandwiches, and a shoe that’s also a plane. It reminded me of my own inventions, like the 24 hour stapler, where when most staplers stop working at midnight, my stapler works 24/7, … and the battery operated beard, which took the beard-wearing world by storm!

Another view of Tom Segura saying very funny things onstage at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC!

He said sex is the only thing he’s been doing so long that he’s not better at. He generally ends every session by saying “I’m sorry!”

And he talked about his cousin who’s so dumb, that they went out to eat and he ordered a jerk chicken and his cousin said, ” Oh man, I wanted to order that!” in a very disappointed tone. So Tom explained, ” Well go ahead. You still can. We’re in a restaurant. I didn’t order the last one!

Funny dude!

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Tony Rock Home At The Strip

Posted by on June 11, 2012

When Tony Rock comes to town he always makes sure to hang out at The Comic Strip. He comes in to visit Richie Tienken, the owner and founder of the club, who was his first manager.

Tony Rock with his first manager Richie Tienken, owner and founder of The Comic Strip!

It’s where he got started, back in 1998 with his cousin Sherrod Small. They started performing the exact same day, and when I did their interviews for the book “Make ‘Em Laugh- 35 Years of The Comic Strip, The Greatest Comedy Club Of All Time”, they both answered all their questions in the “we” form. It was both funny and touching at the same time.

Tony stops by and usually surprises the audience by doing a guest spot, and then hangs out to check up on the progress of his little brother Jordan Rock who hosts the latenight shows on Wed. and Thursday evenings. It’s really great to see how the audience responds to Tony. They really love him.

A fun night at The Strip when Tony Rock comes to visit! (L-R) Jeffrey Gurian, Jordan Rock being held in place by Richie Tienken, and in the back Sherrod Small and Tony Rock!

When I co-produced a show starring Kevin Hart back in 2010, Tony was the featured performer. Needless to say it was an amazing show! (And if it’s needless to say, then why did I say it???)

Richie Tienken, Kevin Hart, and Jeffrey Gurian at The Comic Strip!

Tony’s been in quite a few films lately, the most recent being Think Like A Man, with Steve Harvey, Kevin Hart, and Taraji P. Henson, but the real excitement is coming up for Tony on July 9th when he kicks off hosting the new Jamie Foxx produced show ” Apollo Live” on Centric, which is an updated version of “Showtime At The Apollo”!

Everyone’s excited about that, and Comedy Matters TV will be there for sure to get a fun interview with Tony, and hopefully Jamie as well!

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Comedy Juice with Tom Papa and John Mulaney

Posted by on June 11, 2012

Comedy Juice regularly puts on a great line-up every Tuesday night at Gotham, at 10:00 P.M. I’ve become kind of a regular because it’s a reliably good show, and I always write about it! I just wish Mark Serittella would re-post it somewhere! (LOL)

Jared Logan is often the host and he’s always funny. He’s great with crowd work and very quick, and he comes up with appropriate references, like when speaking to audience members from Australia he not only referenced the Duckbilled Platypus, but kangaroos, and boomerangs as well!

He’s from West Virginia and hates when people don’t know it’s it’s own state. It’s not just the Western part of Virginia.

And I liked his bit on the fact that 90 countries have a national bird. That’s something I would definitely talk about, because it’s true and it’s so absurd. Not even one bird knows to be proud of such a thing! Even if they did, birds don’t usually brag anyway!

Tom Papa just being very funny at the Comedy Juice show at Gotham!

I was glad to see Tom Papa there. Not only because I enjoy his work, but I wanted to send him an advance copy of my book “Make ‘Em Laugh” and we wound up sitting next to each other so it was a perfect opportunity to broach the subject. Chris Rock wrote the intro besides being in the book with his own interview, and Tom’s best bud Jerry Seinfeld is in it too!

Tom has the ability to make anything funny. His comedy is very relatable to everyone, and he’s always a crowd pleaser!

John Mulaney is also always a treat to watch. Lots of comics try and describe themselves to the audience. Show business and comedy specifically is the only area in life where you WANT people to laugh at your appearance. Comics do very self-deprecating material.

No one wants to laugh at someone who’s perfect or looks like they’re doing too well in life. They don’t relate. Like I tell the audience I’m a mix between Phil Spector and Elton John and they love it. If someone said that to me in real life, I’d probably be pissed!

John Mulaney, onstage, killing it at the Comedy Juice show at Gotham Comedy Club!

John describes himself as looking like a very tall child. He also says he has a girlfriend which is weird since he’s probably gay, based upon the way he’s acted for the past 29 years. He says that having a girlfriend is like having a lawyer in every day life. Before his girlfriend, he had no idea of how he should be treated in his life. She gets offended FOR him, and tells him when and how he should respond, like, ” You ordered your food an hour ago. It should be here already”, and that way he knows to complain to the waiter.

I can’t wait to see the sketches I did with John and Nick Kroll out in LA for Nick’s new show coming up on Comedy Central, tentatively called “The Nick Show Kroll” (until further notice!)

George St. Geeland (John Mulaney), Jeffrey Gurian, and Gil Faizon (Nick Kroll) on set in LA for the taping of Nick’s new show on Comedy Central!

And then I got to see Nick Griffin who I had heard of but not seen before. It always amazes me when someone escapes my comedy radar! I also liked the way he wears his hair. From the front. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to have two different hairstyles at the same time. From the front it looks spiky and hip. From the side it looks like a totally different guy. See if you can tell what I mean from the photos.

Nick Griffin from the front, very hip spiky hairdo!

Nick Griffin from the side. Totally different hair attitude!

I like guys who take the time to choose a hairstyle. Most men wear their hair like they’re embarrassed for having any. Almost like an apology. “I’m sorry I have hair. I’ll try and wear it in a non-descript, inoffensive way so you won’t notice!” And they do!

Nick was very funny. He said somebody told him that there’s always somebody worse off than you, and now he’s worried about that other guy!

He also said, ” You know you’re getting older when your favorite thing is not to be awake.”

Also on the show was Mara Merrick and the very funny Dan St. Germaine who also brought his beard with him.

The very funny Dan St. Germaine accompanied onstage by his beard!

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Fresh Fisch at The PIT with Tyler Fischer

Posted by on June 10, 2012

Tyler Fischer is a funny young guy, who I look at as a young Jim Carrey. I get to see him perform on my latenight show at The Comic Strip, which I host on Sundays and Mondays and he’s very unpredictable. Predictably unpredictable!

Tyler Fischer in a rare moment standing still onstage at his Fresh Fisch show at The PIT!

You never know what he’s gonna do when he gets up there, or even if he’s going to come on stage the regular way, or maybe make his way to the stage through the whole audience.

Sometimes he may make believe he has an accent, or maybe turn his back to the audience, or do a scene from an old movie, but the one thing you can count on is that it’s never anything regular and I love that. I reminds me of things I used to do.

Tyler Fischer onstage at The PIT. He insists he will only perform under a green light!

The first time I was onstage at Carolines I walked out carrying an iron. I told the audience it had always been a dream of mine to come out on stage carrying an iron, because it was a thing in my family to always carry a small appliance with you.

It had something to do with an uncle of mine who made a huge fortune in the small appliance business, or a small fortune in the large appliance business! And I told them I always carried an iron with me wherever I went so please don’t be distracted by it.

The next night, I felt I couldn’t do the iron bit again, so I came out onstage carrying a bag of groceries, and apologized to the audience for not having had time to go home first and drop them off. Then I asked some guy in front to hold them for me. Just saying those things makes me want to do them again!

Anyway, Tyler often produces his own shows in Brooklyn but since I don’t often go out to Brooklyn, I was excited when I heard he was doing a show at The PIT, (People’s Improv Theatre) on East 24th Street called “Fresh Fisch”.

The highly stylized, and incredibly ornate sign announcing “Fresh Fisch” available at The PIT!

Ali Farahnakian built such a beautiful place, and it’s packed with comedy fans and comedians just hanging out! The energy is amazing. I forgot to check the Men’s Room to see if my photo was still hanging up like it was in the old PIT. Ali stopped me in the street one day and asked if he could take my photo. He said I had an interesting look!

I was cool with that, and then one night I went to The PIT, and was using the Men’s Room when I happened to glance next to me and saw me watching me do my thing! My photo was posted on the wall right next to where I was standing!

Photo of Jeffrey Gurian mounted on the wall of The Men’s Room at The PIT, by Ali Farahnakian personally!

As I walked in the show had already started, and Jermaine Fowler was onstage.

Jermaine Fowler onstage in Tyler Fischer’s show at The PIT! Watch for him in the new ” In Living Color”!

I hadn’t seen Jermaine in a while but I used to see him a lot at The Comic Strip in his early days, so it was great to see him again. I got to congratulate him on his being added to the cast of the new “In Living Color”. That is so awesome and well deserved.

When Shauna Garr and Keenen Ivory Wayans were in town casting the show, I helped them line up some talent to be auditioned. One of the people I sent was Tyler Fischer. I had heard that Jermaine did very well, and I guess he did cause he got it.

Jermaine Fowler and Tyler Fischer looking really surprised to see me at The PIT. I guess I should come around more often!

I also understand that my old friend Kali Hawk will be a cast member as well.

That is really exciting for me cause I know Kali for many years, from the days she hung out in comedy clubs watching from the sidelines.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with comic/actress Kali Hawk in LA for a party for Jeffrey’s book “Filthy, Funny and Totally Offensive.”

She went through a tremendous transformation and is one of the few true beauties in comedy! And she’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside! She could easily be a model, but she loves to make people laugh, as she did in Couples Retreat!

Anyway, when I saw Jermaine was already onstage, I didn’t know where to sit. Tyler guided me to a seat right in the front row, and in the middle of his act Jermaine was like, ” What’s up Jeff?” Which I thought was very cool. And then every comic who followed including Tyler did the same thing. They were all like, ” What’s up Jeff?” It was hysterical, as I accidentally became part of the show! (LOL)

Kevin Barnett onstage at Tyler Fischer’s show at The PIT!

I also got to see a young guy named Kevin Barnett who I also thought was very funny, and then Judah Friedlander closed the show. There may have also been someone on the show with a beard, which seems to be sort of a prerequisite to perform these days, especially if you want to be well received in Brooklyn.

The World Champion, onstage at Tyler Fischer’s show at The PIT!

The thing seems to be to look sort of like a woodsman, or a guy who lives alone in a cabin, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, with kind of like a Unabomber type of look.

Judah Friedlander has a beard but his doesn’t strike me that way. He doesn’t wear it on 30 Rock, but when he’s not filming the show he grows it back.

He explained to me that the beard fits the macho character of The World Champion and he’s right. The World Champion should have the longest, fullest beard in the world. It should be kind of like a Methuselah type beard, preferably one that swings like a pendulum! Because girls like that!

Judah Friedlander showing Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV one of his amazing karate punches from his book ” How To Beat Up Anybody!”

Judah is great because he is so committed. He’s out performing somewhere every night, and is happy to perform for young talented guys like Tyler. You can see how much pleasure he gets out of entertaining. I love when he talks about working out and says he lifts weightlifters while they’re lifting weights! What a great visual!

He was very excited when I told him that my book on the 35 year history of The Comic Strip was coming out very soon and had turned up on Page 6 in the NY Post, a couple of weeks back.

Chris Rock wrote the funniest intro for the book, and it’s got interviews with Seinfeld, Larry Miller, Ray Romano. Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Jim Breuer, and lots of other big stars that came out of that club. Including Judah Friedlander!

Anyway, Tyler Fischer will be doing his Fresh Fisch show at The PIT once a month so come down and check it out! Even if you’re from Brooklyn and don’t come into Manhattan much, make the effort. It’s worth it!

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Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Mike Birbiglia in "Your Sister’s Sister"

Posted by on June 5, 2012

I get to see a lot of films before they hit the theatres and that is one of the perks of writing Comedy Matters for so many years. This week I had the pleasure of seeing Sundance award-winning filmmaker Lynn Shelton’s fourth feature film “Your Sister’s Sister”, and when I use the word “pleasure” I really mean it. The film was great!

Interestingly enough when I heard the title it reminded me of Mike Birbiglia’s My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, not knowing that he was even in this film. As the film opened on a group scene where friends gathered to remember their friend Tom who had passed away, it was all about Mike Birbiglia. He had the entire opening of the film, and it was great.

An unclear shot of Mike Birbiglia onscreen in “Your Sister’s Sister”, and I think he’s wearing his own clothes in this shot!

I tried shooting some screen shots but it didn’t work out that well, mostly because I was so startled to see him up there, I couldn’t stop watching to get a grip on my camera! (LOL)

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage with Mike Birbiglia when he first did “Sleepwalk With Me” back in 2008.

Mike was recently in Sundance showing his own film “Sleepwalk With Me” which I saw when he did it live at the Bleecker Street Theatre. The New York Times called it “simply perfect”, and it was named “Comedy of the Year” by Time Out New York.

Richie Tienken, Mike Birbiglia, and Jeffrey Gurian at The Comic Strip after Mike filmed a scene for Sundance!

He came into The Comic Strip one night before he went to Sundance, to shoot a scene of him performing onstage to play over the credits of Sleepwalk With Me. That’s when I did this little video:

Mark Duplass is absolutely everywhere and for good reason. He’s incredibly talented, and he’s as nice as he is talented! The first time I met him was at a press junket for the film Cyrus which he wrote with his brother Jay, and which starred Marisa Tomei, John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill. It garnered well deserved rave reviews.

Jay Duplass with his arm around his brother Mark Duplass at the press conference for Cyrus their hit film starring Marisa Tomei, John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill!

I interviewed them both and then got to see Mark again on the red carpet of the First Annual Comedy Central Comedy Awards. He was with his beautiful wife Katie Aselton who is also an actor, co-stars with him in FX’s The League, and appeared in Cyrus as well. They assured me there was a part for me in their upcoming film “Jeff Who Lives At Home” even though it had already been shot and was ready to be released! (LOL)

Mark Duplass and his wife Katie Aselton from The League, on the red carpet of The Comedy Awards, holding up four fingers to show me how many awards they were up for!

You can see that right here in this red carpet video interview from my Comedy Matters TV channel:

When I was out in LA recently to shoot some sketches for Nick Kroll’s new show “The Nick Show Kroll” on Comedy Central, everyone on set was friends with Mark Duplass. Nick, as Ruxin, is one of the stars on FX’s hit show “The League”, and Mark and his wife Katie Aselton also star on that show as well. Mark is definitely everywhere you look these days, and deservedly so.

In “Your Sister’s Sister” Mark plays Jack, the brother of Tom who died recently. Tom’s girlfriend Iris, played by the fantastic Emily Blunt, is Jack’s best friend and because he is emotionally spent she offers him her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so that he can just chill and get back to himself.

Emily Blunt in a serious onscreen moment with Rosemarie DeWitt in “Your Sister’s Sister.”

Mark Duplass in an on-screen close-up from “Your Sister’s Sister” opening June 15th, 2012!

The cabin is supposedly empty, but when Jack arrives he finds Iris’s sister Hannah there, beautifully played by Rosemarie DeWitt, who just happens to be a Lesbian trying to get over the break-up of a 7 year relationship.

Rosemarie DeWitt in an onscreen moment, making a facial expression that makes her look like Diane Keaton in early Woody Allen movies. Tell me if you agree!

They proceed to get really drunk and despite the fact that she has no interest in men, they wind up in bed together, with some really unpredictable consequences. I really loved this scene because I have been friends with some women of that proclivity and I could swear we had an attraction to each other, which I found both very freeing and kind of exciting.

Things get even more complicated when Iris shows up unexpectedly the next day, and is thrilled to see her sister, but wonders how she and Jack spent the evening. I won’t tell you any more, because it’s too good, and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.

Iris ( Emily Blunt) and Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) having a sisterly talk in bed in “Your Sister’s Sister!”

I understand a lot of the movie was improv’ed which is incredible because that is just so hard to do, but it tends to give you more of a real feel as opposed to someone who memorized all of their lines. It must be very draining especially during the confrontational scenes which are very powerful in this film.

The film brought out some very interesting points to me, one of the most important being that you can have a terrible, all-out battle with someone you love, and if you step away from it for a few days, it tends to resolve itself. Sometimes distance is necessary to allow yourself to think clearly and to allow your heart to heal a little bit.

This is a heart-warming, thoughtful film that definitely needs to be seen, so go out and see it! It opens on Friday June 15th. Don’t even wait till then, go figure out a way to see it tonight!

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