Sheba Mason in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant- Jeffrey Gurian

Sheba Mason in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant at Broadway Comedy Club

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on July 12, 2012

To be 100% honest, I was totally unprepared for what I was to see when I attended 702 Punchlines and Pregnant, Sheba Mason’s show, written by her Mom Ginger Reiter. The show has been running for two years at the Broadway Comedy Club.

Ginger Reiter and Sheba Mason at Broadway Comedy Club for their show “702 Punchlines and Pregnant!”

I’ve known Sheba for quite a while and enjoyed her performance as a comic, but I had no idea she was so multi-talented, and had such a great voice. I’m assuming she gets her talent from her Mom, Ginger Reiter who wrote this entire show, (with Sheba), plus the music and lyrics to about 25 songs, which were expertly arranged by Markus Hauck.

I truly did not expect a performance of the caliber that I saw. I expected maybe a .22 caliber and this was like a .357 Magnum caliber! (LOL) It’s the story of how Sheba came to be as the result of a love affair between her mother and comedian Jackie Mason.

Trevor Crane as Jackie presenting Sheba as Ginger with a supposedly expensive watch, that turned out to be a cheap, broken watch!

It’s set in Florida and one of the sets is The Rascal House, a well known Miami Beach coffee shop. In the show, Jackie denies fathership of the baby, until it’s proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s his. In real life all you have to do is look at Sheba to see the resemblance. Thank G-d she’s a pretty girl!

Unfortunately, the actor that plays Jackie Mason was hurt in a bike accident as was Sheba who performed with a bandaged leg, but she still managed to show up, dance and do her part. What a trouper! That’s the essence of “the show must go on!”

A talented actor named Trevor Crane, who is a Conan O’Brien impersonator, took the role of Jackie, and was introduced as a tall Gentile playing a short Jew. The essence of acting is being someone you’re not, and in this case he definitely stretched, (or maybe shrunk would be more accurate!), to play the part, and it worked well!

Trevor Crane as Jackie Mason and Sheba Mason as her Mom Ginger Reiter in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant, at Broadway Comedy Club!

The entire cast is very talented and includes Jara Jones as Wooley, and The Schlepalong, Gary Lizardo as Nelson Zee , and Bari Hyman as Rosa the waitress.

(L-R) Jara Jones, Trevor Crane, Sheba Mason, Gary Lizardo, Remina Nishida, Jennifer Yadav, and Bari Hyman at Broadway Comedy Club!

The cast of 702 Punchlines singing on stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

The cast of 702 Punchlines and Pregnant in a catchy dance number at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ginger gets to come onstage a couple of times, and be part of the production and stand-out voices besides Sheba were Remina Neshida, who played Trixie, the other-“other woman”, and Jennifer Yadav who played Mrs. Olivier, Ginger’s Mom. In the beginning of the show, Sheba plays herself, and then for the rest of the play she plays her Mom.