Saturday Night Live cast member Bobby Moynihan made the big trek all the way down the stairs -- never trust the 30 Rock elevators -- to pay a visit to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. During his brief stay, Moynihan described his ordeal waiting between his first and second auditions (including a run-in with SNL producer and Fallon announcer Steve Higgins in Rome!), explained where his Mark Payne character came from (sort of), and talked about being Snooki (not only with Snooki herself, which was confusing for Snooki, but also for his 33rd birthday just after midnight during Weekend Update on SNL).
I know you've seen Bill Cosby on Letterman this week, but what if I were to say you could hear Cos talk for an hour about Temple sports and John Chaney, breaking though on I Spy, the original Bill Cosby Show (and the writers he hired for it), working on the Jell-O commercials (and the writers he fought with on it), and more? You'd like that, wouldn't you?
Cosby did just that earlier this week on a podcast. No. Not the podcast you're thinking of. Not that one, either. Nope. Guess again. Wait. Stop guessing. Cosby guested Sunday morning with "Big Band Files" in Florida, hosted by Doug Miles of The Bradenton Times.
Asylum.com has a recurring feature called Hot Girl, Cool Job, and for their "comedian edition," they followed stand-up Rachel Feinstein for the night (or what appears to be multiple nights, from the costume changes -- if not, then what weren't they showing us!) and documenting it on film.
If you're on Twitter and enjoy reading funny things, then odds are strong that you likely already know and follow the quick-hit offerings of Rob Delaney @robdelaney. If you read The Comic's Comic, then the house won't even take your odds, because I've mentioned his ribald brilliance on the Tweets multiple times.
But what happens when you see Delaney in person, spinning a 45-minute yarn in real life, in real time? That's what you get in "Naked and Bloody," which Delaney is quick to point out is not just a one-man show. Only the worst people do one-man shows, he says in a short stand-up routine before he regales the audience with his story.
Delaney opens his narrative arc directly at the title's tipping point, with himself bleeding and revealing all of his naughty bits about nine years ago, precariously perched on a wheelchair in jail. He goes on to explain what he did to get to there, and what he did to get better. Along the way, you'll hear him talk glowingly about "the fun" and "great people" he encountered, even as he's describing scenarios that don't sound like they'd be much fun to experience yourself. "Naked and Bloody" can be looked at as a cautionary tale, a shining beacon of hope out of the darkness of life, perhaps both, or even just an obscenely funny story about the lowest points of Delaney's own young life, and how he has emerged a different man because of it. A seemingly normal tall, dark and handsome man to look at, with an even taller, darker and more beautifully absurd and raunchy sense of humor inside of him.
Delaney has performed his show in Los Angeles and Seattle, and last night performed in New York City's UCB Theatre to an audience packed with some of the funniest people utilizing Twitter.
He'll bring "Naked and Bloody" next to San Francisco for SF Sketchfest, and he says he'll continue to share his story with audiences when and where the situation fits, and enjoys telling the story because he says it continues to evolve.
I enjoy watching Rob Delaney continue to evolve as a comedian and a man, and you should demand to experience him for yourself in person in a theater or comedy club near you.
Somewhere in a land between Reggie Watts and Bo Burnham is the fabulous rock 'n roll piano-playing comedy of Tim Minchin, who has become increasingly popular where he lives in the U.K., as well as in his native Australia.
In America, audiences in New York City and Los Angeles (and comedy festivals in Aspen and Las Vegas) only have had a few chances to experience Minchin's talent since 2007. Last night, everyone got a chance to see and hear him as Minchin made his American TV debut on Conan. He opened with "Inflatable You."
Safe choice? Good entry point? Perhaps and yes.
But the folks at Team Coco pointed out this morning that Minchin considered performing a completely different song, which has more of a socio-political bent, as well as a message that would have rang right at home with Conan himself. Team Coco wasn't so sure, revealing: "we thought that the US audience wouldn’t be familiar enough with the term 'ginger.'"
Let's take a look and listen to "Prejudice," shall we?
When comedians are bald, they'll usually be the first to point that out. In that respect, Maz Jobrani was no different on his appearance this week on Lopez Tonight. But Jobrani was born in Iran, so his mother had some unique solutions to help him grow his hair back. Plus, his wife is from India, and their nanny is from Guatemala. Is that why they called our country the great American melting pot?
I don't know. I just remember that Saturday morning cartoon. Everybody else: Roll the clip!
DEVELOPING: Remember when MySpace introduced that fancy new MySpace Comedy hub all the way back in December? Er. Well. Ugh. Yesterday the company laid off half of its entire workforce, about 500 employees, including the executive editor of the MySpace Comedy hub. Writers were told to stop pitching. But stand-up comedian Ben Gleib has a contract to continue producing original videos for the site. So, if nothing else, we'll still have those to look forward to and keep clicking over there? When I hear more, you'll know more. UPDATED: While the executive editor for the comedy hub got de-friended from MySpace, Randi Siegel remains with the company as Director of Myspace Comedy Relations and Talent.
Doogie Horner joined Emily Gould for the latest episode of her web series, "Cooking the Books," because why not? Horner wrote a book.
And here he is demonstrating how to make a batch of "Gettin' Laid Lemonade." Make sure you have at least 13 minutes of free time. Ready? Roll the clip!
The third annual Women in Comedy Festival is accepting submissions from stand-ups, improvisers, sketch groups and others through Jan. 12, 2011, which, of course, means today.
Headliners this March in Boston include Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler, Jen Kirkman, and Morgan Murphy, with shows taking place at ImprovBoston, Mottley's Comedy Club and the Brattle Theatre. Jeff Singer, executive consultant for Just For Laughs, also will be teaching his workshop, "Step Up Your Stand Up." And as you may have noticed, the WICF does include men, too.
The Onion's first TV series, Onion SportsDome, debuted last night on Comedy Central. As it aired in the Eastern/Central time zones, immediate reaction was divided between lovers and haters.
My immediate reaction was a lot like Keith Olbermann's, except for the fact that the MSNBC prime-time commentator used to be one of the main anchors for ESPN's SportsCenter when that show became the thing that SportsDome is now lampooning. Roll it like a ReTweet.
Noticeably, the segment advocating the killing of athletes, sports agents and others wasn't available online.
You know what's great about Bill Cosby? Just about everything. Still. After all of these years.
The Cos can go on David Letterman's show without having anything but another stand-up date to promote, and go out, as he did Monday night, sit in his chair, and regale us with comedy. In this bit, he jokes about what it's like to be an old man today.
And then he does panel, and Cosby tells Letterman about the early days of doing comedy, working across the street from Richard Pryor back in the old days of Greenwich Village, and how he had dropped out of Temple, but how his dad hoped that a New York Giant could convince The Cos to go back to school and pursue an NFL career instead of stand-up comedy. Looks like Bill Cosby knew best, didn't he? If you have the chance to see Bill Cosby perform stand-up, by all means do it!
Jay Leno said Monday night that Dan Ahdoot was making his first appearance on The Tonight Show, which is true, but also, more than a year ago, Ahdoot appeared on The Jay Leno Show. So it's not as if they were strangers. Plus, fun fact: Last time I was in Los Angeles, Ahdoot introduced me to Ross Mark and Bob Read, the bookers for Leno!
Entirely coincidental circumstantial evidence. I know.
The first new SNL of 2011 arrived just hours after a tragic shooting that dominated the national conversation. It also happened to be the week that the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in Congress, which normally would be fodder for a sketch on SNL, potentially even the cold open. Would the show need to scrap any jokes it had planned about Congress? With Jim Carrey hosting, that's kind of a silly question. It has merit. But let's get physical. C'mon and get physical. Let me hear Jim Carrey's body talk.
First, though, the cold open. They went political, though borrowing the famous Tip O'Neill mantra of all politics being local, kept within the five boroughs of New York City with a message from Mayor Mike Bloomberg about the city's poor response to the post-Christmas blizzard. Featuring Fred Armisen as Bloomberg. I bet you didn't know Bloomberg was black. Wait. Armisen isn't black! He does, however, impersonate both biracial President Barack Obama and now former New York Gov. David Paterson. It's all very confusing times in 2011, where anyone of any race can impersonate anyone of any other racial identity. Let's focus on the important points, shall we? For one thing, can people who don't live in NYC relate to this blizzard issue? Though I live in the city, I wasn't anywhere near it when the blizzard happened, and the shutdown of New York (and particularly its airports) impacted everyone's local news. OK. That's one thing. But was it funny? More like hit-and-miss, as it landed some solid laughs on the more absurdist takes (questions about snow, putting boroughs in their place) than on the specific political take on the city's Sanitation Department.
As host, Jim Carrey was great. Of course he was. You knew he would be. Even if you had forgotten about him, you remembered that he was a real pro in both stand-up and sketch comedy. And he took a monologue that could have been completely cold and stiff -- as it involved audience plants -- and made it seem both real and ad-libbed. I know that the object of his proposal was related to an NBC employee, and yet, it seemed quite real, didn't it?
Then SNL pulled out its multi-played ad parody of Bosley Hair Restoration. Hmmm. Interesting. But then again, how many times did they repeat that "Taco Town" ad parody in Season 31, right? Or is our collective memory being Incepted? Moving on.
Now that everyone in America is within driving distance of a cinema playing "Black Swan," it's time to tackle one of the year's most talked-about movies. Especially since Carrey can channel a former In Living Color character to inhabit the black swan herself. Oh, yes. There were SNL cast members in this sketch, too. Nasim Pedrad played Swan Lake's Queen. Bill Hader took on the creepy ballet master, Kristen Wiig was there as a decoy, and newbie Taran Killam provided featured-player color as a foil for Carrey. Good god. You really get the idea that Carrey still has enough in the tank to jump back into a weekly sketch show, don't you?
In the fake talk show, "Finding Your Power," Jason Sudeikis played host Zach Weinfeld, who helped expose the insecurities of his guests (played by Andy Samberg, Vanessa Bayer and Carrey) by calling their bluffs. Nice job on the third beat.
Grady Wilson (Kenan Thompson) revealed in his ad for his new sex-position tape, "Tantric N Tasty," that he learned his moves from a spiritual guru played by Carrey.
And then there's the "Soul Train" full collection infomercial, hosted by Coughy Robinson (half-brother of Smokey, played by Bobby Moynihan). This is no Deep House Dish. Nope. Hey, look, it's Jay Pharoah as some random black singer dude. Samberg isn't rapping, but pretending to disco. Thompson gets a bunch of extras to join him in The Maxwell Family. Wiig plays Triangle Sally. Killam and Paul Brittain get to play a parody of Devo called Bro-Botix. And Ocean Billy is no Jon Bovi. Sorry, Sudeikis. Oh, Carrey had a role in this one, too.
The Black Keys played a song that sounded like a song I've heard a bunch in TV or movies, or maybe both. Having just watched Tuesday night's edition of The Colbert Report, I realize it was a song in three different national TV campaigns. That explains that.
On Weekend Update, head writer/anchor Seth Meyers didn't shy away from political jokes, opening with the change in House leadership and a joke that even hinted at violence. "Look out Nancy, he's got a hammer!" The desk also welcomed Wiig and Hader to play out the House Speakership transition from Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner. And Hader managed a fake-cry, or was it his take on Bobby Moynihan's Snagglepuss impersonation?
Speaking of Moynihan, here he was again as Second-Hand News correspondent Anthony Crispino. I hear second-hand news and I cannot help but think of SNL writer John Mulaney's routines about the New York Post. I also cannot help but laugh when Moynihan looks to the side as if someone might catch him telling stories out of turn.
You hear about the birds falling out of the sky? How about hearing the story from Cameron the Red-Winged Blackbird, aka Andy Samberg? Notice how Samberg's lips don't move when he squawks about the A-flock-alypse. And Taran Killam gets to jump in with an alternate theory about the Apoca-fish. And they're a couple. Sure. OK. Why not. It's almost 2012.
As for the amusement park ride gone awry sketch, The Merryville Brothers. It featured Carrey, Killam and Hader as animatronic characters who spook out riders Thompson and Wiig for good reason. Great physical comedy on the part of Carrey, Killam and Hader. But something seemed off on the live broadcast. Did they skip over something? Did I skip over something? Trusted sources tell me it went over beyond great during the live dress rehearsal.
Weirdly, people who don't know each other are all visiting a tarot card psychic who claims to speak to the dead. Bayer, Pedrad and Sudeikis are the clients. Carrey is the psychic. Who also was a former celebrity impersonator in the 1980s! Makes sense. Makes total sense. Cue the impersonations! Jimmy Stewart. Billie Holiday. Alan Thicke. Surprisingly, the audience recognizes the voice of Alan Thicke more than Jimmy Stewart. Miss Piggy. Kermit. Charles Bronson. Sudeikis' character loves it. Pedrad doesn't. Fun twist when Bayer's character wants to talk to her dead relative, Marlon Brando. Oh, and Sammy Davis Jr. Look out, Billy Crystal.
For the second song from The Black Keys, they played something that hasn't been in three TV commercials yet. But it's still early in 2011.
And in another of a series of sketches that pits tourist views of New York City with the "real" NYC, Hader welcomed the band "Taste of New York" to an audience that had a front row of Bayer, Samberg, Brittain and Elliott wondering what they were hearing from the band consisting of Armisen, Carrey and Wiig. Can they stay with you? They claim to be homeless and poor in Alphabet City. Was this sketch written in 1994? Funny to see the real audience members laughing behind the extras in the second row.
Hey, never lose your boing! I heard Carrey say that during the good-nights, and well, I'd be hard-pressed to name anyone else who was in sketch comedy in 1991 who'd also be killing it in televised sketch comedy in 2011, so kudos to you, Jim Carrey. Yes, some of it still bordered on shameless mugging, but oh my, so much talent this guy still has in the tank. It must be acknowledged. It must be appreciated. I acknowledge and appreciate you, Jim Carrey.
HBO and Funny or Die released two more sketches into the wild ahead of FoD's second-season premiere this Friday.
In this sketch, "Sticky Minds," two young guys in a restaurant fall in love and then some with their waitress, played by SNL star Kristen Wiig. Not sure which episode it'll air during, but you can watch it all right now. Roll it!
Ben Schwartz's recurring feature, "Terrible Decisions," debuts in the premiere with this sketch, "The Drop Off," co-starring Gary Cole. Fair to say this sketch is bananas. Roll it!
Catching up from the weekend before the next blizzard blizzards New York, here's a clip of Hannibal Buress on Late Show with David Letterman. Surprised, albeit pleasantly, to hear the pickle juice joke make a comeback!
At least one review of Pee-wee Herman's Broadway run this winter complained that his show was, in essence, preaching to a choir of lifelong fans. If you loved Pee-wee then, you'd love him now.
But any critic who didn't love "The Pee-wee Herman Show" on Broadway simply had no love to give. The joy of seeing Pee-wee wasn't predicated upon seeing the rest of the original gang back together again -- although, to be certain, audience members cheered upon seeing the original Miss Yvonne (Lynne Marie Stewart), Mailman Mike (John Moody) and Jambi (John Paragon) take the stage. Anyone could have a blast at this show. All you had to do was remember the child-like wonder and exuberance you felt when you were a child. I know that was true for myself last night at Pee-wee's Broadway finale, because I didn't grow up watching Pee-wee. I didn't watch Saturday morning TV when his show was on. I didn't watch his movies in the cinema. My experience with Pee-wee was seeing him make late-night appearances on talk shows, or even on HBO with occasional rebroadcasts of his original 1981 stage production.
Three decades later, "The Pee-Herman Show" is an ambitious and creatively inspired update to the original play, incorporating multiple characters and topical jokes for boys and girls of all ages to enjoy.
HBO taped last night's Broadway finale and will air it sometime in March, Pee-wee told the audience.
Some other things you may not see on HBO, as the taping process afforded Pee-wee close to two hours of bonus time to chat with the audience and goof around. Since you likely won't see much of this, they aren't spoilers, right?
1. Pee-wee said that in elementary school, a female classmate of his refused to stand for the pledge of allegiance for fourth, fifth and sixth grades because she was Canadian.
2. Pee-wee said that at one of the Broadway performances, a six-year-old girl sitting in the front row provided two additional moments of hilarity by not entirely understanding jokes early and late in the show. Unless she did understand them all too well. Hmmm.
3. At the curtain call, that young hottie you don't recognize is Lexy Fridell. She provided the voices for Chairry, Magic Screen, Ginger, Fish and Flowers.
4. You'll also see Lexy Fridell in a separate scene alongside Caesar Samayoa (who was the understudy for several characters), and in it, everyone in the audience is only pretending to clap and cheer. Pee-wee said we could all have great careers as extras in film and TV.
5. There's a guy inside Conky 3000?!? When they needed to go back later and film a pickup for one key shot, it took a few minutes getting the guy into the robot suit.
6. During the wait for the reshoot, a puppeteer controlling Pterri taunted other characters with some naughty dance moves.
7. Pee-wee brought up a stagehand who had a ring much similar to Pee-wee's abstinence ring, only not quite as plastic.
8. Pee-wee bantered with several audience members and told us his favorite joke currently involves his response to many fans.
9. A middle-aged man did get Pee-wee's attention, however, by boasting that if Pee-wee would lend him another abstinence ring, that he'd propose to his girlfriend. Pee-wee did. He did. And she said yes.
10. Pee-wee polled the audience to find out how they followed him via social media. Twitter got the loudest response, followed by Foursquare, with Facebook trailing well behind.
11. But if you've unlocked Pee-wee's badge on Foursquare and are in NYC on Sunday, well, then you're going to be in for a treat.
12. Pee-wee let fans know that if they stuck around, they could wait for him in the breezeway outside the theater near the Stage Door. True to his word, Pee-wee emerged and talked to fans until close to midnight (see above photo taken by one fan). He talked about the importance of art. He thanked fans for supporting him so much in his comeback. And he asked fans to be kind to one another. Who knew that you could have met Pee-wee outside the Stage Door every night this winter?
13. Me. You may not see me. But if you look at row J on the aisle in the orchestra, then you may just see me!
If you watch any NASCAR, then you know that driver/owner/analyst Michael Waltrip is a goof. That's not the same thing as being a stand-up comedian, but Waltrip is giving it a shot, anyhow.
Waltrip, who has a book out next month, will debut the Michael Waltrip's Comedy Garage on Jan. 21 at a casino in Kansas City, then take the act to casinos in Canada (Jan. 22) and Las Vegas (March 4-5). Though his name is in the title, Waltrip won't have to headline the shows. Instead, stand-ups Henry Cho and Jon Reep will do the heavy comedic lifting.
“This is something totally different from what I am used to. In a race car I am in my element and I’m comfortable. When you give me a microphone and tell me I have to stand up in front of a lot of people and be funny on purpose, that makes me nervous. I’m funny accidentally. The definition of stand-up comedy is being funny on purpose. It’s a great challenge and something that is a lot of fun. The people that do it for a living sure have my respect. I hope everyone will come out and give us a chance to entertain them.”
If you want to see Waltrip's accidental brand of comedy, well here's a clip!
Congrats to comedian Marc Maron for getting profiled in this coming Sunday's New York Times for his wonderful podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. Yes. Today is Thursday. But that's not going to stop you from watching this short video the NYT shot with Maron during his recent visit to the city to record his next Comedy Central CD.
Further proving that the Bravo channel has lost its marbles, comes this quote from Andy Cohen, who not only programs the network, but also puts himself on the network:
"There is no better way to start off 2011 than giving Kathy Griffin an unprecedented four new stand-up comedy specials on Bravo in one year. Kathy's quick fire humor and ability to tap into pop culture make for must watch television."
No. Just no. For all of the hard work that it took the late George Carlin, and the current Louis CK, to develop a new hour of hard-hitting stand-up comedy within the span of a year or two, just imagine the lack of effort it will take for Kathy Griffin to vomit out a new hour every three months of 2011 about whichever "celebrity" she stood next to the day before the taping. Because that's what Bravo viewers are going to get. Because that's what her brand of "comedy" has been about, since she played a version of herself mocking Jerry Seinfeld on Seinfeld almost two decades ago. Listening to someone yak about their day is not stand-up comedy. That's simply having a fag hag for a girlfriend. Bravo, Bravo.
Nicole Shabtai is going to move to Los Angeles and become famous. I'm not a prophet. Shabtai sent out an email saying she was moving. And if you've seen "Citizen Rothstein," her one-woman show -- or any of her appearances in videos for LandlineTV -- then you could arrive at a similar conclusion yourself.
Shabtai radiates an undeniable charisma that somebody is going to capture on film for mainstream audiences to appreciate.
In "Citizen Rothstein," she portrays all of the characters surrounding Ava Rothstein in the days leading up to her Bat Mitzvah except for Ava herself. The show's title may evoke references to Citizen Kane, but the introductory video is much more aligned with Apocalypse Now. Just watch!
Shabtai bounces from energetic 5-year-old younger sister Lula to real-housewife Jill Zarin, and around to others, including the teen's publicist, 13-year-old French best friend, mother and back to the rabbi again. Despite the cynicism you may feel from her adult characters, Shabtai will win you over with the child-like exuberance and naivete in which she inhabits her youthful personas. I haven't been to a Bat Mitzvah. And I'm not sure I'm going to be invited to one anytime soon. But I'm certainly glad I got a glimpse into the life of Ava Rothstein's. Even if there was no Rosebud. Spoiler alert?
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