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Posts Tagged “Comedy Matters TV”

Help Tom Cotter Win "America’s Got Talent"

Posted by on September 9, 2012

I’ve known Tom Cotter for a long time and always admired his work. Not only his performance but especially his writing. It’s just so sharp and clever, and he works really clean, which in a business where so many comics are obsessed with “bathroom related material”, is a breath of fresh air, (not usually found in most bathrooms! LOLOL)

Tom Cotter with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at The Comic Strip in 2003!

With all the times I’ve seen Tom perform, I still run into the room to catch his set if I know he’s going up. He’s a reliable crowd-pleaser! His lines like, ” I was the youngest in the family, but I was always beaten up by the two oldest, … Mom and Dad!” ” I used to get smacked around by these green berets in my neighborhood. Some people call them “girl scouts”, … whatever!” “The morning of my 16th birthday, the whole family tried to surprise me with a car, … but they missed!”, … make me laugh every time I hear them!(Which is not to say he’s not adding new lines all the time! Try giving a woman a compliment like that, and she’ll KILL you! “Every time I see you in that dress you look fantastic”!)

Those are just three of Tom’s jokes that helped him impress Howard Stern, Sharon Osbourne, and Howie Mandel, and pass the audition for the 7th season of the show. His material really lends itself to doing 90 second bits which is basically what you get on the show. Most comics are still adjusting the mic stand and asking people where they’re from for the first 90 seconds. Tom doesn’t fool around. He gets one laugh after the next. You can see it right here:

http://youtu.be/ug4ju_jFs70

As a long time writer, I appreciate people who punch out the jokes. One after the other. That’s why you’re out there to tell jokes and make the audience laugh, and Tom is a master at that.

Howie Mandel gave him two “thumbs up” on camera right after his audition set, told Tom he had just become a big fan of his, and that he was confident, polished and very funny. Sharon said Tom’s performance was one laugh after the next, and “really, really spot on!”, and Howard not only thanked him for being on the show but used the word “excellent” to describe his performance!

Since that time, they have grown to love him as has the audience, and you can see they’re really rooting for him to win.

Tom is married to the very funny, and very pretty comic Kerri Louise and they have 3 little kids. I remember when they were shooting their show for the WE Channel called “Two Funny” about the lives of two married stand-up comics who have baby twins. They were shooting an episode at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, which is the biggest comedy festival in the world. (I just got back from there last month, where I shot 40 interviews for Comedy Matters TV, including one with Tom Cotter which you can see below!)

Anyway, I was chasing them all over to get a photo with the help of their manager Peter Rosegarten from The Conversation Company, but I could never get the two of them together in the same place at the same time! Finally I just gave up, and as I was leaving, and waiting for my car to take me to the airport, who pulls up in their car but Tom, Kerri, and the twins Cameron and Harrison. They got out of the car and I got my photo, and I just spent the last two hours searching for it on my computer to no avail!

I found the column from September of ’05, but I can’t find the photo! However I do have the video I just shot with Tom up in Montreal where I was the official videographer this year for my Comedy Matters TV! Check it out right here:

Those twins are 7 years old now and they need their Dad to win America’s Got Talent, so he can keep them in the style they need to be kept! And that goes for Kerri Louise as well, whose nick-name according to Tom used to be “Comic Relief”! (LOL)

Tom Cotter and the lovely Kerri Louise at Danny Aiello’s comedy room Danny’s Upstairs, back in 2007! You’d never know she had 3 kids, right?

In order to get into the finals, Tom took the “ballsy” move of letting Howie Mandel choose the category of his material from a list. Howie chose “College” and Tom went on to destroy the crowd with his killer set!

So the finals begin this Wednesday, Sept. 12th, on NBC, at 9 P.M. New York time, 8 P.M. Central time(whatever that is! LOL), and the results show is the next night on Thursday, 9/13. So make sure to vote for Tom, and let a true comedic talent win. He’s not only funny, but the nicest guy you’d ever wanna meet!

The world needs more laughs and Tom is the guy that can bring it!

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Saturday Night Live Comes To The Comic Strip

Posted by on September 2, 2012

The cast members and writers of SNL seem to have found a home at the legendary club called The Comic Strip, in NYC. This year is the 35th year that it’s open and still going strong. SNL made it’s debut in 1975!

The Strip opened June 1st of 1976, and on June 17th Jerry Seinfeld walked in to audition. The reason we know this is that his original sign-up sheet is still on the wall. It’s also in the book that will be out Oct. 1, 2012, called “Make ‘Em Laugh” written by myself and owner/founder Richie Tienken.

Make “Em Laugh with an intro by Chris Rock will be out on Oct. 1st but is available right now for pre-order at a big discount on Amazon.com!

Recently D.L. Hughley filmed a Comedy Central special there because of it’s history with Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. Richie was Eddie’s manager for the first eleven years of his career, from his SNL days through Beverly Hills Cop 2, so lots of big comics today grew up dreaming of someday being on that very same stage.

D.L. Hughley with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage at The Comic Strip for DL’s Comedy Central taping!

SNL writer Colin Jost is a regular performer at The Strip and he’s been bringing his buddies from SNL, writers and cast members to do shows at The Strip. Recently one went down on Sunday night. The MC was Danny McDermott, currently working with Richie Tienken and Bob Wachs as his managers.

Danny McDermott MC’ing the SNL show at The Comic Strip!

The packed crowd got to see a hilarious show, with an opening set by Teddy Smith who is always hysterically funny.

Teddy Smith killin’ it onstage at The Strip!

New featured player Kate McKinnon was there and her strength is character work, which is the only way you can get on SNL. I believe her first time on the show she did a sketch with Sofia Vergara, who was the host that week, and it was a faux Pantene commercial where she played Penelope Cruz.

Sofia got all the easy words and Kate as Penelope got all the impossibly difficult scientific words to try and pronounce in her Spanish accent! It was hysterical. This night at The Strip Kate put on a bee hat with little antennaes and discussed the mating habits of bees!

SNL cast member Kate McKinnon showing very unusual but effective mic technique onstage at The Comic Strip!

Mike O’Brien came up, who is in his third year of writing for the show. He is also the host of the very funny Hulu internet show called ” Seven Minutes in Heaven” which he created with another SNL writer Rob Klein! He takes celebs into a closet and tries to make out with them! I always thought only the kids I went to school with knew that game. I had no idea it was real and that other kids knew it too!

Mike also created the sketch “Kickspit Underground Rock Festival”, where they advertise things like spraying viruses on the crowd, and a band named Mrs. Potato Dick. That sketch he wrote with Colin Jost, while both were suffering from sleep deprivation! The part I liked best was that everyone who attended got a pitchfork!

That reminded me of a short film I made several years ago called ” Men Who Take A Pitchfork To The Movies”, which was part of my “Men Who” Series, including “Men Who Enjoy Latin Dancing With Tools”, and “Men Who Dance In Traffic With The Sunday Edition of the New York Times!” Watch it here if you dare!

SNL writer Mike O’Brien, host of Hulu’s “Seven Minutes in Heaven” onstage at The Strip!

I did a video with Colin recently for Comedy Matters TV which will be up soon. We kept passing each other in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Festival last month,and we kept saying we had to sit for an interview but it never happened. I knew I’d see him in NY though so we caught up backstage at The Strip one night and got it done!

Colin Jost with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in the luxurious, uncluttered private office of The Comic Strip!

I thought he was kidding when he announced from the stage that his parents were in the audience, because his material at the moment was not particularly parent-friendly, having focussed mostly on bj’s, but he was serious. So afterwards I told him of the first time I met Chelsea Handler, when she was performing and doing BJ jokes and her Dad was in the audience.

Chelsea Handler with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in Montreal at the Just for Laughs festival!

In the interview I did with Chelsea in Montreal recently I reminded her of that and she said she takes every opportunity she can to torture her father! That video will also be ready very soon!

And cast member Vanessa Bayer also performed at The Strip, and she’s adorable, and very funny! We all hung out backstage while they were waiting to go on. Her celeb impressions on the show include Kourtney Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, (although now she’ll need a short blonde wig for that one!), and Hillary Clinton!

SNL performer Vanessa Bayer onstage at The Comic Strip!

The last SNL performer to go on was Jay Pharaoah. His Denzel Washington is so killer! He and Colin Jost are both in my “Make ‘Em Laugh”, and when I saw him in Montreal at the Just for Laughs festival, he read out loud from the intro written by Chris Rock, in Chris Rock’s voice which was absolutely hysterical.

Jay Pharoah of SNL, the man of so many voices, onstage at The Comic Strip!

We were all just chillin’ in the lobby with JB Smoove, his manager Rick Dorfman, JB’s wife Shahida Omar, Lou Wallach past head of Comedy Central and a bunch of other people, when Jay took the book and started reading as Chris. I filmed it and the video will be ready for you guys very soon! Jay said when Chris sees it he’ll probably just “nod his head like he usually does when he sees my ass!”

Finishing up the show were Gary Gulman, who can take one concept and run with it for an extended period of time. Like when he examines the history of Greece and how they fell as a culture. They went from one of the most educated and sophisticated cultures in the world, to focussing on salad. One day in modern times they decided to put all their efforts into salad, and they knocked it out of the park!

Gary Gulman, an expert in Greek Salad, making people laugh at The Comic Strip!

Last up was Phil Nee, one of the original Asian comedians whose parents were so avant-garde, they were Asian before it was even popular! You can always count on Phil as a strong closing act, and that’s exactly what he did. It was a great night at The Comic Strip!

Phil Nee doing what he does best, onstage at The Comic Strip!

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Bob Marley at Gotham Comedy Club

Posted by on August 30, 2012

Every so often someone gets past my radar, so when I saw that Bob Marley was headlining Gotham I was like, ” I know Chris Mazzilli is amazing but to get a dead reggae star to headline his club, that’s really outdoing himself!”

Then I looked it up on Google where everyone finds everything they need to know about everything, and saw that Bob’s been performing for 15 years and has been on all the hot late-night shows, plus movies and even a regular radio spot in Portland, Maine where he lives called “The World According to Bob.”

Jimmy Failla MC’ing at the Bob Marley show at Gotham!

Jimmy Failla was the MC/host and he’s always great. I like when he talks about how men act with a woman before they’ve had sex with them. He compares them to politicians. They’ll say anything they need to say to get you to take your clothes off!

And then he talks about the Mets: “The Mets are so bad, if you get there early you can play!”

Jimmy was followed by Erin Jackson who helped warm up the crowd for the headliner.

Erin Jackson onstage at Gotham Comedy Club opening for Bob Marley!

Phil Hanley and I have performed together and his writing is really sharp. As a comedy writer for so many years, I admire people who write great, unpredictable jokes, where you can’t guess the punchline.

Like when he said he’s not gonna complain about his parents , because if it wasn’t for them he wouldn’t be here. Then he added the killer tag, “They dropped me off!”

The audience loved it when he described himself as a “stay-at-home son!” Or when he described the difference between a vegetarian and a “fruitarian”! With a fruitarian, all they eat is fruit and medication for diarrhea!

Phil Hanley entertaining the crowd at Gotham Comedy Club!

He also doesn’t kiss on the first date! He thinks women should be happy with just sex! I love jokes like that!

Mike Young was also very funny and I hadn’t seen him before. I like when he spoke about guys getting “used” by women for sex. He gave the guys in the audience a tip to know if you’re being used: ” If every line you use on a woman is working, it’s not you!”

Mike Young in a T-shirt and fedora making people laugh at Gotham!

It goes back to my concept that women never really get talked into anything. If they’re participating at all, it’s because they really want to! Not cause of your skilz!

Then Bob took the stage, and it was obvious that the audience had come out to see him. He was talking about how wives ask you to do things you would never do on your own. ” Wanna go blueberry picking?” “Yeh sure,let’s do some immigrant work!”

His wife would give him jobs just cause he had his shoes on. “You got your shoes on? Go pave the driveway!”

Bob Marley headlining the show at Gotham Comedy Club in NYC!

And talking about his Irish Catholic middle class upbringing he said, “Nothing screams financial success more than the above ground pool!”

It was a great show!

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Broadway Comedy Always A Treat

Posted by on August 28, 2012

At any given night you will find an amazing line-up of comedians at Broadway Comedy Club, on West 53rd Street, right in the heart of the Times Square area. On a recent Tuesday night when I stopped by, the place was packed as it usually is, and Dan Siegel was MC’ing.

Some of the top performers were Leah Bonnema, who recently performed at the Glascow Comedy Festival, where she was in the America Stands Up Showcase, the Huffington Post voted her one of their 53 favorite comedians to watch, … and I really meant to ask her how they came up with that number, because most news organizations stop at their favorite 51 comics!, (I on the other hand was listed as one of the top 10 comics to keep under surveillance!), and College Candy listed her as one of their top ten female comics in the country! So that’s all good!

Leah Bonnema onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ricky Velez went up and killed it as usual. I just find it hard to believe he’s only 23. He comes across as much more mature than that! Not by his material, by his appearance! It’s a great time to start performing when you’re in your 20’s, but then you have to be funny for 60 or 70 years. That’s a long time. I only wanted to have to be funny for 20-25 years tops. That’s why I started so late!

A young but mature looking Ricky Velez making people laugh at Broadway Comedy!

And I was glad to see Ross Bennett on the show because he is always a crowd pleaser! Ross talks about a guy who got killed in a skydiving accident, because his parachute failed to open, and at the funeral they said that at least he died doing what he loved. Ross differs with that. Ross said the guy probably was doing what he loved up until about a minute before he died, unless what he loved was seeing small things become larger very quickly!

He talks about speaking to a young woman who was willing to share with him what men she would “do”, and he came to the conclusion that when a young woman feels comfortable enough with you to share who she would “do”, she will NEVER do YOU! (LOL)

Ross Bennett entertaining the folks at Broadway Comedy Club in NYC!

At the end of his act, he asked the audience if they minded if he did an older joke because it was one of his favorites, and when they agreed he said, ” How about that Watergate thing?”

Every night at Broadway is a great line-up, so be sure to stop by and tell ’em I sent you!

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D.L. Hughley with Jeffrey Gurian at The Comic Strip

Posted by on August 18, 2012

It took eight long years for D.L. Hughley to find a home for his project “D.L. Hughley’s Endangered Species” in which he wants to get “the Black man” added to the endangered species list!

Most people outside of show biz have no idea it could take that long to get a project done. Finally Comedy Central stepped up to the plate, and agreed to make the special and D.L. decided to shoot part of it at the legendary club “The Comic Strip” where both Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock got their start. Owner Richie Tienken managed Eddie for the first 11 years of his career, from his SNL days through Beverly Hills Cop 2!

D.L. Hughely performing onstage at The Comic Strip for his new Comedy Central special “D.L. Hughley’s Endangered Species”!

As a matter of fact it’s all in the book I wrote with Richie called “Make ‘Em Laugh – 35 Years of The Comic Strip, the Greatest Comedy Club of All Time!” From Skyhorse Publishing, which will be out in a few weeks as of Oct. 1, 2012. It’s already up on Amazon.com for pre-orders.

The book “Make ‘Em Laugh” by Jeffrey Gurian and Richie Tienken with an intro by Chris Rock, plus interviews with Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Lewis Black, and so many more!

Chris Rock wrote the funniest, most amazing introduction,and while I was recently up on Montreal at the 30th anniversary of the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Jay Pharoah of SNL read Chris Rock’s intro in Chris’ voice for a crowd of people in the hotel lobby like J.B. Smoove and Lou Wallach past head of Comedy Central!

Richie Tienken, Chris Rock, and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at The Comic Strip after Chris’ interview for “Make ‘Em Laugh!”

I caught up with D.L. backstage after the taping, at which Comedy Central execs JoAnn Grigioni and Val Boreland attended, and filmed a little video interview for Comedy Matters TV on the special and on D.L.’s new book ” I Want You To Shut The F**k Up – How the Audacity of Dopes is Ruining America!”

D.L. Hughley and Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage at The Comic Strip!

Check it out right here:

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Heather Height: "Comedian Who Matters" At The Comic Strip

Posted by on July 23, 2012

Comedy Matters held it’s periodic contest for “The Comedian Who Matters”, where up and coming comics win a shot at performing at the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip, the club that launched the careers of legends like Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Paul Reiser, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock to name just a very few.

Heather Height, winner of the “Comedian Who Matters” contest on stage at the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip!

Comics from all over submitted entries to the contest and we chose 6 finalists. Heather Height was the final winner, and got to perform on the late show I host at The Strip on Sunday and Monday nights.

Heather hosts an open mic at Cha-Cha’s restaurant on Mulberry Street in Little Italy every Wednesday evening with two shows, one at 8 and the other at 10:30. I’ve been there and they’re great! Cha Cha is also a well known actor, and has been in many movies and TV shows.

Heather had this to say about her Comic Strip experience: “I really want to thank the staff and Sunday night manager of The Comic Strip Jenn. Every time I’ve been there they have always been awesome, and last night was no exception. Unfortunately after my second drink, I didn’t recognize Jenn when I was leaving the club, and I asked her if she was a comic, being starved for the company of another female comedian. She just laughed and reintroduced herself. It was embarrassing, but funny, and pretty typical of how I bumble through my interactions with other humans. (but I’m gonna blame alcohol anyway, HAHA!)

Check out more about Heather Height at http://www.heatherheight.com

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Ladies of Laughter 2012 Kicks Off at Broadway Comedy

Posted by on July 22, 2012

Peggy Boyce is back with the 2012 Ladies of Laughter comedy competition, and it’s stronger than ever. It kicked off at Broadway Comedy Club, and I’m proud to say I was one of the judges.

Ladies of Laughter 2012 Comedy Competition kicked off at Broadway Comedy Club!

Founder of Ladies of Laughter, Peggy Boyce onstage at Broadway Comedy, greeting the packed audience!

The very funny Dena Blizzard who actually won this contest, maybe back in 2002, was the host of the evening, and she did not disappoint! She was really great as usual, and has been doing warm-up for several TV shows including Anderson Cooper.

Dena Blizzard, host of Ladies of Laughter with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV,(and we match perfectly!)

There were two categories of female performers, pros and amateurs. Some of the amateurs had very little experience, like Jamie Leigh Falk who had only performed maybe twice, but were still funny.

Brand spanking new comic Jamie Falk onstage at Broadway Comedy for Ladies of Laughter, 2012!

Pro Nancy Witter kicked it off, and said she had two kids who by now ” had to be in their 20’s! They’re like family!”

Nancy Witter performing in the “Pro” category at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ellen Orchid, another “pro”, ( comic, not hooker!), did a funny impression of a TV set.

Ellen Orchid with a glimpse of how she would look on TV!

Amateur Nicci Page had great stage presence and material to back it up, and she won for best amateur comic.

Nicci Page who won for Best Amateur Comic at Ladies of Laughter, 2012!

Lisa Blythe Perlman, another “Pro” had an interesting game she played by judging women from behind, ” Asian or Skinny Jew?” She was the runner-up on the “Pro” category!

Lisa Blythe-Perlman, runner-up in the “Pro” category onstage at Broadway Comedy!

Jen Remauro, an amateur, said she got suspended from Twitter for wishing Kim Kardashian’s vagina a “Happy Black History Month!” She also said she explains away her child to prospective dates by telling them she has a 7 year old roommate!

Jen Remauro, at Ladies of Laughter! She wished Kim Kardashian what???

Sheila Smiley had good energy onstage, and was an audience favorite, but didn’t win cause that’s how these things go! Only one person can win at a time!

Marie Faustin was very cute, and had a fun hairstyle. She was in the amateur category, and said she lived in a neighborhood so bad they had a rape schedule. She was the first runner-up in the amateur category, and I think you’ll be seeing more of her!

Marie Faustin and her fun hair at Broadway! She was the runner-up in the amateur category!

Nancy Lombardo of course was in the Pro” category and did some fun character work which she excels at!

An animated Nancy Lombardo in Peggy Boyce’s Ladies of Laughter at Broadway Comedy!

The winner of the “pro” category was Maryanne Donnelly, who was very unique and reminded me of a female Ross Bennett, before he cut his hair!

Maryanne Donnelly, the winner in the “Pro” category for that night at Broadway Comedy! Finals are August 15th!

Runner-up Marie Faustin, winners Nicci Page and Maryanne Donnelly, and founder Peggy Boyce at Broadway Comedy!

It was a fun night at Broadway Comedy with lots of laughs! I would have loved to judge other shows in Ladies of Laughter (LOL- that’s the abbreviation for Ladies of Laughter, not Laughing Out Loud! LOL), but I’m heading up to Montreal this week to do celeb interviews for the 30th anniversary of the Just For Laughs Festival, for my Comedy Matters TV channel! Stay tuned!

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Sheba Mason in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant at Broadway Comedy Club

Posted by 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.

Remina Nishida playing Trixie in 702 Punchlines at Broadway Comedy Club!

It plays on Sundays at 3 P.M. Do yourself a favor and go see it!

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Ted Alexandro Packs ‘Em In At Gotham Comedy Club

Posted by on July 2, 2012

Those in the know love Ted Alexandro. The man is just so clever. I’m in awe of Ted’s delivery. I was laughing with him about it the other night. If he was any more relaxed onstage he’d pull up his blanket and go to sleep!

Ted Alexandro with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at The Comic Strip with Ted’s photo peeking out over his left shoulder!! Coincidence? No one actually knows!

Sometimes he pauses so long, I wonder, ” Will the man ever speak again?” And he makes it work, because it’s who he is. Most comics, me included are afraid of the silence. Ted welcomes it! He has no fear! He knows his stuff is funny, and you’ll just have to wait for it until he decides to share it with you! (LOL)

It’s a sign of supreme confidence, and I always admire that in a person! On top of that Ted is a super nice guy! I was happy to see such a packed crowd for him at Gotham. His reputation must have preceeded him, because the main room at Gotham is pretty big, and it was full.

Sherry Davey was the host, and the audience not only loves her material, but they love her English accent. Her business card says,”I’m not Mary Poppins” and believe me she isn’t! Mary Poppins would have passed away if she heard some of the language that Sherry uses so elegantly in her act! It all sounds good with an English accent!

Sherry Davey onstage hosting the show at Gotham Comedy Club!

I couldn’t believe her youngest child is 9 already, because I remember very clearly going to watch her perform downtown when she was still with the late Marty Fischer, and she was pregnant. So that was ten years ago! That’s crazy!

Buddy Fitzpatrick was bemoaning getting older and said he took a fall recently. He said when you fall as a kid, you say to yourself, ” Gee I hope nobody saw me!” But when you fall as an adult you say to yourself, ” Gee, I hope someone saw me! I need help getting up!”

Buddy Fitzpatrick with headliner Ted Alexandro waiting to go on at Gotham Comedy Club!

He also said he had more money in high school than he does now! Buddy Fitzpatrick is a reliably funny act. He always brings it!

Mike Yard is another dependably funny act. His style goes well with Ted Alexandro. Very laid back and relaxed! It’s a product of many years of stage time.

Mike Yard doing his thing onstage at Gotham Comedy Club! He has such an angelic look he makes Kyle Grooms look gangsta!

And when Ted took the stage he spent the first few minutes on a guy in the audience who was facing away from the stage. The guy took the time to get good seats and then sat not facing the stage. And Ted milked it for every laugh, and there were plenty!

He even did something I had never seen him do before! He imitated a Walkman slowing down when it needed batteries, while singing the song “Don’t Stop Believing.” It was very funny.

He wondered why Classical music has no song titles, but yet they do tell you the key it was written in, as if you were planning to play along at home! (LOL)

He also says he would never hit a woman, but he’s been provoked to the point where he says to himself, ” This is where some guys would hit a woman!”

And when he talks about the term “sexual preference” I think it’s one of his most clever lines. He says he doesn’t believe in the term sexual preference, as if it’s a true preference. He explains it like this, ” I prefer direct flights, but if there’s a layover somewhere and that’s the only flight available, I’ll still take the flight. But if I book a flight to “Vagina”, and they intend to make a stopover in “Men’s Ass” I’m cancelling the trip!” That is hysterical!

And I don’t know what’s funnier, the thought of having two cities called “Vagina” and “Men’s Ass” or the creativity to put those two thoughts together in a sentence!

And on a joke that didn’t get the response he expected he said,”That joke’s not for everybody. Just think of it like the specials in a restaurant. You don’t have to order them, but you do have to listen to them!”

And that’s why Ted Alexandro gets a packed room! Cause he’s that good!

P.S. Ted has also been opening for Craig Ferguson lately, and touring parts of the country with him on a huge tour bus! They’ve been in places like Phoenix, Tucson, California, and San Diego, and sometimes drive all night to get to their next destination. Since they’re both kind of low-key guys, Ted says instead of sex, drugs and rock and roll, it’s more like naps, multi-vitamins, and light reading! He’ll be performing on Craig’s show this month!

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Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Featured, Nightlife Events

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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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Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Featured, General Information, Self Help Information, Variety Show

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