Stand-Up Comedy
Lenny Bruce’s Rock Song Legacy
On Oct. 13, had he lived, Lenny Bruce would have turned 86 years old. You could joke about the very idea of him ever living that long, but the fact remains that there was nothing at all funny about him dying at age 40 in 1966. Lenny Bruce’s preferred music was jazz, though in the … Continue reading
Satire is What Closes on Saturday Night Live
What does “Live from New York” mean to you? It means that Saturday Night Live can be the most theater-conscious mainstream comedy show on TV. You can imagine the SNL writers staring out their Rockefeller Center windows waiting for inspiration to strike, glimpsing Times Square, then rushing to the typewriters. The list is extensive. Highlights: … Continue reading
Burlesque Excess
The Ninth Annual New York Burlesque Festival starts today, Sept. 29. By Oct. 2 it will have peeled completely away, and winners of the Golden Pasties awards will have been announced. Connecticut has welcomed many of the New York-based artists active in the latest burlesque revival scene. The World Famous Pontani Sisters are not just … Continue reading
Sinthea Starr Shines on Westville’s Lyric Hall: An Interview with Her Muse Joel Vig
“I first met Sinthea Starr aboard the Theatre Guild ship when Joy Behar was supposed to join us but got snowed in in New York. We had 25 minutes, but needed to get 55 ready, while sailing. “Sinthea Starr had performed before, a single number. So I had seen her perform at that time. Since … Continue reading
Jerry Meandering
I did a pre-show lament about the MDA no-longer-Jerry-Lewis Telethon yesterday on my other page, www.scribblers.us. Having watched as much as I could stand of last night’s Lewis-starved broadcast, I realized that an even greater loss can be registered. The Jerry Lewis Telethon was the last bastion of a certain type of TV variety show … Continue reading
Colin Quintessence
Colin Quinn ends his two-week stand of his one-man show Long Story Short at Long Wharf with two performances today (Sunday the 21st, 3 & 7 p.m.), than heads to Chicago’ Broadway Playhouse Aug. 24-Sept. 10, where I imagine his fiercely friendly discourse on a slew of failed (or just plain funny) social systems will … Continue reading
The Long Story Short review
Long Story Short Through August 21 at the Long Wharf Theatre. Written and performed by Colin Quinn. Directed by Jerry Seinfeld. The quintessential Colin Quinn is the gruff- sounding yet genial and reflective persona he perfected as the Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live. That gig began auspiciously, with Quinn hurriedly summoned to replace … Continue reading
Artistic Viz-ion
I’ve been reading VIz for over 20 years, shortly after it debuted and when I was still in its target audience of horny, irrespressibly young adults who think they’re smarter than everyone else. I never “outgrew” the magazine partly because I never “outgrew” the British comic books and tabloid newspapers which it satirizes. Also because … Continue reading
Lenny Lives
Two Quotes About Lenny Bruce… plus recently rediscovered photos of Gary Cavello as Lenny Bruce in a production of Julian Barry’s play Lenny that I directed for New Haven Theatre Co. in February of 2000. (Other actors in the photos: Kim Mikenis in red, Rob Rocke in purple and Craig Gilbert in yellow.) Photos by … Continue reading
Richard The Slurred
My friend Stephen Kobasa, with whom I’ve attended many impersonations of Shakespeare plays, alerted me to this. It appears to have been posted by its performer, Jim Meskimen, just a couple of days ago, to promote a Hollywood performance at the end of this month. I laughed loudest at the Paul Giamatti one, because I’ve … Continue reading