Beginning this week, Dulcé Sloan will be the newest member of the Daily Show team and, we think, will bring a whole new facet of attitude to the show.
Her addition was just announced today by Comedy Central and, for those not familiar, you can enjoy her Conan set here.
Season 4 of BoJack Horseman is premiering this week and, to honor the occasion, pop culture art treasure trove Gallery 1988 will be holding a special “Hollywoo Art Event” this Friday, September 8th with BoJack Horseman inspired art that will be on display through 9/26.
Admission is free, but if you go on opening reception night, know that it might be a bit crowded. Get more details here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
The 2017 Cinder Block Comedy Festival will run this week Thursday 9/7-Sunday 9/10 in several venues throughout Brooklyn.
On the line-up:
Janeane Garofalo
Jeffrey Joseph
Judy Gold
Nikki Carr
Aida Rodriguez
Amy Miller
Carole Montgomery
Jo Firestone
Shalewa Sharpe
Aaron Chasteen
Alex Fleming
Alison Klemp
Alvin Irby
Amanda McQueen
American Express (improv)
Amy Shanker
Arish Singh
Astronomy Club (sketch & improv)
Barbara Bush (sketch)
Bill Larkin
Brian Mitchell
Brian Parise
Caitlin Durante
Caitlin Peluffo
Cameran Hebb
Camille Theobald
Cara Connors
Carolyn Castiglia
Carter Deems
Cassandra Dee
Catherine Zini
Cathy Humes
Chloe McGovern
Christina Catherine Martinez
Christina Galston
Christopher Crespo
Coree Spencer
Danielle Thralow
Derrick Lemos
Drew Anderson
Ed Galvez
Elsa Waithe
Emily Winter
Emmett Montgomery
Erin Lynn O’Connor
Erin Spencer
Fantasy Grandma
Gastor Almonte
Gianmarco Soresi
Hana Michels
Harris Alterman
Irene Merrow
J Smitty
Ja-Ron Young
Jacky Beren
James Huessy
Jenn Wehrung
Jenn Welch
Jes Tom
Joanna Briley
Kara Buller
Kat Herskovic
Kate Willett
Katherine Jessup
Katie Barbaro
Katie Boyle
Kelli Dunham
Khalid Rahmaan
Kristee Ono
L Michelle
Laura Merli
Lauren Faber
Lauren Hope Krass
Lynn Bixenspan
Maddy Smith
Mamoudou N’Diaye
Marie Faustin
Marisa Douenias
Mark James Heath
Mark Pagán
Marlon Jean-Baptiste
Maurice Licorish
Molly Kornfeld
Mostly Sara(h) (improv)
My Dark Little Corner
Nanie Mendez
Nasser Khan
Nick Chambers
Nicki Wright
Nina Manni
Patrick Holbert
Pedro Gonzalez
Rae Sanni
Raghav Mehta
Raj Sivaraman
Rhonda Hansome
Riley Silverman
Rosa Escandón
Sam & Bill
Sammie James
Sarah Kennedy
Sarah Sherman
Sharron Paul
Shelly Colman
Sonya Vai
Steven DeSiena
Steven Castillo
Stine An
Subhah Agarwal
Sydnee Washington
The Gay Trauma Archives (sketch)
The Unconventional Lesbians
Took Edalow
Tyler Snodgrass
Whitney Chitwood
Will Winner
Yogi Paliwal
Zack Hammond
More specifically, there will be an “Educated Guess Science Fair” and another round of “What a Joke!”, a comedy showcase that raises funds for the ACLU.
Get more details, schedule, etc. here.
The 10th and final Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival will run from Friday 9/15-Tuesday 9/19 at The Bell House, Union Hall, and King’s Theater.
On the line-up:
Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Ian Black, Reggie Watts, Todd Barry, TJ Miller, Ira Glass, Michelle Wolf, Scott Adsit, Michael Showalter, Bobcat Goldthwait, Caroline Rhea, Jon Glaser, Mike Birbiglia, Janeane Garofalo, Robyn Hitchcock, Wyatt Cenac, Sarah Vowell, Ophira Eisenberg, Aparna Nancherla, Maeve Higgins, Derrick Brown, Joel Kim Booster, Kyle Ayers plus StarTalk Live with Neil deGrasse Tyson, career advice from a unicyclist, a Mike Pence look-a-like afterparty, and more.
Also, part of Eugene’s signature hijinks, he’ll be doing a “A Day of Cardboard” where companies can choose to sponsor a box for hundreds or thousands of dollars where Eugene will write about that company on said box.
Get more details and tickets here.
Nikki Black and Nina Tarr’s It’s Your Funeral really does feature live eulogies of audience members that have not yet left this mortal coil after a brief interview by featured comedians.
If you wanted a fun preview of what a living funeral might be like, this is absolutely for you, especially for the fact that Black and Tarr play two charming Jersey Girls who love the macabre.
The latest edition of It’s Your Funeral is happening this week at Think Tank Gallery. Get more details here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
In case you didn’t know, Orange County does have its own cool, arthouse/revival theater: The Frida Cinema.
As you can see above, all September long, they’ll be doing a Wes Anderson Month that you ought to not miss. There’s no doubt in our minds that stepping back into the worlds of Wes Anderson sounds pretty nice right now.
Admission to screenings at Frida are $10 and $7 for members. Get more details and tickets here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
If you’re wondering what people are doing at the edges of comedy in terms of experimenting with the form, challenging methods, etc., you might want to check out The Idiot Hub.
The Idiot Hub is an absurdist comedy collective, started by one John Gilkey, that likes to peel back every convention and trope of comedy that they can in favor of something silly and visceral. Starting off in 2013 as the ensemble known as Wet The Hippo, they have since expanded into other shows that you might have heard or seen around LA such such as The Murge and The Vivian Beckley Performing Arts Players and classes.
Typical performances will have a very sizable cast and aim to be more interactive, very physical, defy expectation, and be absent of a “fourth wall”. For instance, The Murge will have Gilkey pick and guide/heckle players into some sort of crazy bit as if a stand-up was directing a very otherworldly improv scene.
The Murge and The Vivian Beckley Performing Arts Players will be doing their next show at The Think Tank Gallery in Downtown LA as part of Drinkin’ Smokin’ & West Coastin’ on Saturday September 9th starting at 9PM.
Tickets are $17-$23 and you can (and should) get them here.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
The long standing, well respected humorist publication McSweeney’s Quarterly has just released its 50th Issue as a hardcover (with the art work by Tucker Nichols above), which includes written pieces from such great folks as:
Patton Oswalt
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Jonathan Lethem
Lydia Davis
Heidi Julavits
Kevin Young
Ismet Prcic
Sheila Heti
Sherman Alexie
Carrie Brownstein
Sean Wilsey
Valeria Luiselli
Rebecca Curtis
Thomas McGuane
Sarah Vowell
John Moe
Steven Millhauser
Jason Polan
Tucker Nichols
Eduardo Berti
John Hodgman
Aparna Nancherla
Diane Williams
Etgar Keret
Corinna Vallianatos
Sarah Manguso
Jeff Parker
Kevin Moffett
Jesse Ball
Brian Evenson
Lilli Carré
Carson Mell
Kristen Iskandrian
Lucy Corin
Zain Khalid
Dan Morey
Eli Horowitz
Bianca Bagnarelli
Andrew Leland
Haris Durrani
Vauhini Vara
Benjamin Percy
Wendy Molyneux
Sarah Walker
Dan Kennedy
James H. Folta
Keaton Patti
Matthew Sharpe
Jesse Jacobs
Sophia Foster-Dimino
We got to go to the live reading of the 50th Issue this week and we can tell you that you’re in for a nice, layered, nuanced, otherworldly treat if you pick up a copy.
Turns Out Our Comedy Bureau Ridealong Airbnb Experience Lets “You Live Like a Hollywood Insider”
We just got mentioned in the same list with world famous costume designer Janie Bryant because of our Airbnb Experience of the LA Comedy Scene.
Book us for a night here.
Sure, there’s thousands of unofficial Rick and Morty merch made by very talented fans. It’s a testament to not only how popular the show is, but how dedicated their fans are.
Just see how many people have already made “Pickle Rick Enamel Pins” on Etsy.
On the more officially licensed merch side, there’s plenty of stuff that you might want to cop that you didn’t know about.
There are plenty takes that turn the talk show format on its head.
One of the best (and most out of left field) is The Jesse Miller Talk Show with Andre Hyland as Jesse Miller, reppin’ Cincinnati like nobody’s business, along with badass co-hosts Daryl and Tanya (Paul Oyen and Anna Lee Lawson).
The latest edition is coming back to the Hollywood Improv Comedy Lab next week and tickets are only $5.
In addition the line-up above, ANGELA TRIMBUR (Final Girls, @Midnight, LA City Municipal Dance Squad) will be on the show.
Get tickets ASAP here.
There are plenty of ways that you could with this idea of Trump going to a school for manners as that is one of many places where he is lacking.
As Anthony Atamanuik and The President Show explore every facet of Donald Trump in order to properly satirize him (listen to Atamanuik wax poetic about how deeply he goes with his Trump on Abe Lincoln’s Top Hat for even more proof), they take this remote segment to the nth level and keep going.
If this doesn’t convince you that this is the best comedic rendition of Trump out there currently, we don’t know what will.
Please enjoy watching this several times over here.
Ryan Hamilton expertly uses his bright shining, natural smile as a great foil for which his comedy can play off of.
In fact, the juxtaposition of his self-deprecating persona and that smile are the jumping off point and underlying thread for the meticulously crafted hour, Happy Face, which just started streaming on Netflix this week.
In many ways, this special is a great example of classical stand-up, if you can conjure up such a thing in your mind, with structure, rhythm, stage presence, execution all working together seamlessly.
As mentioned above, Ryan Hamilton: Happy Face is now streaming on Netflix.
Get a taste of it with this trailer.
There are so many overwhelming, almost incomprehensible things that are going on in the world right now that you might have not noticed that most of late night has taken a nice hiatus for a couple of weeks and consequently have not been able to comment on said happenings.
However, Desus & Mero at Viceland have been hard at work, calling out people who need some calling out. For Hurricane Harvey specifically, they riff on the Joel Osteen-reportedly-delaying-to-open-his-church-for-Hurricane-Harvey-victims debacle and a CNN interview that went far off course and included some f-bombs.
By the way, if you haven’t found your way to enjoying Desus & Mero yet, now would probably be a good time to go down a YouTube rabbit hole to catch up with one of the best newcomers to late night.
For 2 years, The Pack Theater has been home to our favorite inter-dimensional character/bit show, SPEEDFACE.
To mark this anniversary this Sunday, they’re starting earlier than normal at 9PM so they can put on an extra special, big Speedface chock full of the best bits of comedy that only last 100 seconds.
As with all shows at The Pack Theater, admission is ‘pay what you can’. Get more details here.
We spoke too soon as you have until the end of the month (i.e. a couple more days) to help us out by taking a quick reader survey that will help us get a better sense of our readers and give you a chance to snag a sweet $50 Amazon Gift Card.
The annual comedy Halloween tradition that happens on both coasts, Schtick or Treat, is coming up and you, if you’d like, could have a chance to be a part of dressing up and performing as a famous comedian of your choice.
E-mail schtickbooking@gmail.com for more info.
The original dark cult comedy Heathers hit theaters nearly 30 years ago in 1988.
TV Land has rebooted and adapted Heathers for the small screen and given it a very current day update to the look and feel (the original is very much a product of the 80s FYI). That being said, the tone of dark humor and salty language seems to be quite intact.
See for yourself in the teaser.
Heathers comes to TV Land next year.
This September, the fantastic Rory Scovel will be doing a two week run of dates at the Lyric Hyperion where he will be doing a “cold hour”.
If that sounds pretty nice to you, we’ve got a pair of tickets that you could win for Friday 9/15 and 9/22.
You can (and should) enter to win here.
FYI, we’re also giving tickets away for this Saturday’s Harmontown @ Starburns Castle too.
One of the best recurring shows at the marvelous Lyric Hyperion Theatre & Cafe is Dr. Brown’s Incubator.
Internationally renowned and award winning comedian Dr. Brown actually does a whole run of shows with a big cast that starts from scratch and grows and develops night after night into a beautifully interwoven interactive live show of experimental characters, sketches, etc.
Incubator’s latest run will be happening all next week in previews that are pay what you can for admission on:
Tuesday, Sept 5
Wednesday, Sept 6
Thursday, Sept 7
Friday, Sept 8
All of this will lead up to a final showcase night on Saturday, September 9th at 9PM for $10. Get your tickets soon here as they do go pretty fast.
The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
If you want a way to support people in need AND also have a great time watching Jude Tedmori put himself through something that no one would ever ask him to do, you should get in on this stunt of running in what should be one of LA’s hottest days this year.
Basically, you can donate money for Hurricane Harvey Relief at various levels and, as you can see above, get anything from frying an egg on Jude’s head to a pie in the face to having “Jude moonwalk the rest of the run”.
Get in on this ASAP here as Jude will be running in just a couple of hours of this post being written.
Oh yeah, we should say please follow everything Jude does including Jude News and Alex & Jude
Not only will many of those get to see Nathan Fielder present season 4 of Nathan For You right before it premieres, but he’ll be taking your questions (and we’re sure you have plenty) all throughout North America starting next week.
Get tickets ASAP here.
There’s a bit of dark, dry humor already in both installments of the John Wick franchise.
Now, if we were to imagine if that the focus shifted from the body count that Wick racks up as the most unstoppable assassin of all time to humor and Arnold Schwarzenegger were that supposed unstoppable assassin (along with some talking head interviews?), you’d get Taran Killam’s assassin comedy Killing Gunther.
See for yourself in the first trailer and enjoy Arnold having fun leaning into being the action star he always was and always will be.
Please Enjoy the Wryest Sing-al ‘A Million Matzah Balls’ Sing-along from “Lemon”
We really loved Janicza Bravo and Brett Gelman’s dark comedy, Lemon.
There are several reasons why we love it.
One of them is this scene of what’s supposed to be a traditional Jewish family sing-along that’s gone, albeit subtly, wrong (just watch Gelman juxtaposed against other family members trying to “keep it together” at a family dinner).
Watch and enjoy the scene over at Vulture here and go see Lemon ASAP/again.
Jerry Seinfeld is a master of observational comedy. He honed it into such a form that it influenced generations of comedians for decades after his appearances on The Tonight Show.
In this vein, you might have noticed that Jerry very rarely gets autobiographical in his stand-up. That’s all about to change with his upcoming Netflix special that’s aptly titled Jerry Before Seinfeld, hinting at life before the landmark sitcom he starred in.
See for yourself how personal Jerry is going to get in the trailer here.
Look for Jerry Before Seinfeld to start streaming Tuesday, September 19th on Netflix.
