If there was a perfect way to remember 2019, it would be an irreverent, mad dash showcase of the worst jokes that many of LA’s best told throughout the year.
Lucky enough hosts Barbara Gray and Dave Child are, once again, doing 50 Worst Jokes at Silverlake Lounge to revel in the burning garbage pile of 2019 in the way that it absolutely should be remembered.
Admission to 50 Worst Jokes is FREE. Get more details and updated line-ups for the show here.
All of those dates were all around the country, but didn’t quite have an LA date.
Well, that is until now.
Rory, Nick, and Freddy will be doing an exclusive preview show at the Virgil on Mon. Jan. 6th at 10PM (following Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen). Tickets are $5 in adv., $8 at door (cash only) and you really ought to go and see what sort of tomfoolery these three got planned for the rest of the country’s Tool fans.
Get tickets here.
Basically, some of the best improvisers in town will not only be in town, but will be doing one of the daftest forms of improv ever conceived and we’re down for it.
Will Hines, who we love for intentionally doing bad guitar solos with a great backing band, indeed will be doing improv with boxing gloves and perhaps questionable British accents (and one legit one) as play off of the UK’s Boxing Day the day after Christmas and we’re sure this will be a wonderful offering of top shelf silliness.
For our money, Boxing Day Improv at UCB Franklin is the perfect follow-up for that post-Christmas haze. Get tickets here.
It has been a minute since the duo behind Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino, have gone out just as The Zach and the Jess to do whatever musical comedy they damn well please (improvised, scripted, or otherwise).
Thankfully, they’ll be kicking off 2020 with a night at Silverlake’s The Satellite with a fantastic collection of musical comedy from the likes of Demi Adejuyigbe, Erin and Melissa, The Sloppy Boys, and even Zach and Jess’ “emo group” Every Place I Cry.
It’s absolutely one of the first must-see shows for next year.
The Zach and The Jess at The Satellite is set for Tues. Jan. 21st at 8:30PM. Snag your tickets now for $8 here.
A monthly Jen Kirkman live talk show at the Hollywood Improv Lab where Jen gets to talk as candidly and unfiltered as she so pleases?
Yes, that’s what’s happening and we can’t wait for it to start. The first Real Talk with Jen Kirkman is set for Thurs. Jan. 9th at 8PM with special guest Ione Skye (from Say Anything of course).
Tickets for Real Talk with Jen Kirkman are $10 and you can (and should) go get them here.
Demi Adejuyigbe never ceases to amaze in the ambition of and conception of his bits and the scope at which he expands them to.
Case in point, his latest show wherein he will do an amazing multimedia variety show with great guests (Lizzy Cooperman and Sarah Squirm are fantastic), as he normally would with any show he’s involved in and a single backflip with no prior experience or training. The spectacle alone, whatever it may be, has to be worth the price of admission.
Tickets for Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip are $15 now and $20 on the day of and you can (and very, very, very much should) get them here. It very well may be the first great thing you see in 2020.
Not only is Pop-Up Magazine a super neat concept that combines so many creative disciplines into one amazing live show, this will be a chance for you to see both the absolutely hysterical Catherine Cohen and Jo Firestone in LA.
So, you get both of them, which could be a great bill on its own, plus a live score and so much more. If this sounds pretty swell to you, tickets are $39-$49 (but you can knock off $5 w/code LIVESTORIES). Go get those tickets here.
Of the things to look forward to in 2020, we’re adding a monthly slot at Dynasty Typewriter for The Dollop Podcast to the list (in fact, we’d probably put it near the top). The crucial and hysterical comedy history podcast hosted by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds has become such a podcast that it regularly tours around the country and the world sharing perhaps the most entertaining versions of some of the weirdest and darkest stories in history.
The live episodes are really something special and you ought to know, in LA, they’ll be getting some damn fine guests TBA.
Anyhow, this monthly Dollop at Dynasty Typewriter will be raising money for various charities FYI, making this residency even more wonderful than already is.
Their first date is Tues. Feb. 11th at 8PM and tickets are $20 right now (and $25 on the day of-though we suspect they might be sold out before then). Go get them here quick.
In the aftermath of Christmas, when you might have just had enough of the mandatory holiday cheer, a great alternative to that yuletide haze might be a dark Christmas musical from LA comedy scene staples Jeffrey Baldinger and Jessica Michelle Singleton.
I’ll Be Broken Home for Christmas is just such a new musical from Baldinger and Singleton that will be sure to send off the holidays properly with a whole lot comically sinister takes on those classic songs that play non-stop around this time of year.
I’ll Be Broken Home for Christmas is going up at the Hollywood Improv on Thurs. Dec. 26th at 9:30PM. Tickets are $10 and you can (and should) get them here.
Set List is and has been in rarefied air playing almost every big time international comedy festival and airing as an original TV series on opposite sides of the planet.
It’s such a special show as you get to some of the best comedic minds actually at work conjuring up material from thin air (well, thin air and a never before seen topic).
So, don’t miss the return of Set List to LA at the Hollywood Improv this Friday with some of their personal favorites. Tickets are $10 (plus 2 item min.) Go get your tickets here.
We’re not exactly sure what’s going to happen here, but, then again, that is the magic and wonder that is the absurdist experimental comedy offered up humbly by Kyle Mizono and Anna Seregina.
There will be some holiday surprises, guests, but, apparently, you’ve got to stand at the door? Again, it’s a little vague as to what that will be, but we trust in Kyle and Anna to make the best immersive holiday comedy experience with whatever secret plans they have in store for us all.
The mystery of Come Home for the Holidays with Kyle and Anna but Please Stand at the Door at Lyric Hyperion next weekend will probably rival the mystery of opening up any holiday gift.
So, go get your tickets already.
Frankie Quinones iconic character Creeper from the hysterical CholoFit™ workout video series is putting on a very special holiday themed stand-up comedy night at the wonderful Dynasty Typewriter at the Hayworth Theater. We have no doubt that you’ll get a workout from both laughing and whatever holiday “exercises” that Creeper is going to share.
Also, “proceeds will benefit The Andy Vargas Foundation helping scholarship funding for underprivileged youth in California.”
Tickets are $20 in adv., $25 day of and you can (and very much should) get those tickets here.
An entire decade has passed since the gathering of Lost Moon Radio has dazzled audiences in LA and abroad.
Part theater company, part sketch comedy troupe, part musical comedy extravaganza, the players, writers, and good folks behind the scenes delivered a theatrical musical comedy unlike nearly anything we’ve seen and have been doing so for this whole ten year run.
So, we really think you ought to join them for the Lost Moon Radio 10 Year Anniversary Spectacular at Club Fais Do-Do next weekend. Tickets are $20 for what we’re sure will be a barnburner of a show. Go get them here.
P.S. Our loyal followers can snag $15 tickets for Sat. Dec. 14th with promo code “COMEDYBUREAU”.
Though we staunchly do not enjoy the holidays, even our cold bureaucratic hearts truly enjoy the annual Jen Kirkman’s Dysfunctional Christmas Show that happens in the middle of every December at the Hollywood Improv.
Stories, songs, stand-up, gifts, surprises, and so much more all abound in the more Jen’s celebration of the holiday season in spite of how the family or the world makes you feel around this time of year. Here’s a small taste of the sort of thing that happens at the Dysfunctional Christmas Show.
Jen Kirkman’s 7th Annual Dysfunctional Christmas Show is set for Fri. Dec. 13th at 8PM at the Hollywood Improv. Tickets are $20 and you best go get them here before they sell out.
Again, some of the coolest things at UCB these days often happen past your bedtime and this Black Metal themed improv show is just one of those things.
Taking a pun on the massive American shopping day known as “Black Friday”, some of UCB’s best improvisers will be let the darkness of black metal fuel what should be hysterical chaos wrought there on the UCB Franklin stage.
Also, we’re confident this will be much more fun than standing in line for deals on electronics at big box stores.
Black Metal Friday is set for this Friday Nov. 29th at 11:59PM at UCB Franklin and tickets are only $7. Go get ‘em here and get ready to delve into the black metal void (in a long form improv sense) this weekend.
Basically, you’ll get to watch JoJo Rabbit, Charlie Chaplin’s The Dictator, and Mel Brooks’ The Producers, three satirical comedy classics for FREE (so long as you RSVP*) this Saturday at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre.
This is a no-brainer to go to (especially if you haven’t seen all of these), right? Get more details, RSVP, etc. here.
*Please arrive early; RSVP is not a guarantee of seating. American Cinematheque Members will have priority seating when the doors open one hour prior to showtime. For more information on Membership, email andrew@americancinematheque.com.
The (somewhat) unbridled, beautiful chaos of Late Late Breakfast is back for a special one-night-only event deep in the Valley, all the way in Canoga Park.
For the uninitiated, Late Late Breakfast combines the obstacles of absurdist game show with stand-up comedy by having comedians attempt to tell their jokes while having to play volleyball with the crowd, fitting in their jokes between choruses during a karaoke sing-a-long, etc.
This time around, the comedians daring to take the Late Late Breakfast plunge will be:
Langston Kerman
Christine Medrano
Jordan Doll
Katrina Davis
Rachel Weeks
Rivers Langley
Pallavi Gunalan
Cindy Aravena
Nadav Fleisher
Jessica Singer
Chris Crittenden
& more TBA!
as well as hosts, Tyler Jackson & Danny Maupin
This latest edition of Late Late Breakfast will happen on Fri., Dec. 6th at 8PM. Admission is free, but donations are accepted! Get more details here (FYI, they’ll probably post address on or near day of as it is a backyard show).
For us, Straw Men has time and again proven that some of the best* debates are ones where the debates are pushed to be as childish as possible.
They’re back once again for another round of beautifully petty-as-can-be presentations at UCB Sunset on Fri. Nov. 29th at 9PM at UCB Sunset.
Forget about Black Friday and spend your $12 going to one hell of a live comedy show featuring the intentionally ludicrous arguments of Dave Ross, Will Miles, Debra DiGiovanni, Nick Ciarelli, Brad Evans, Chris Charpentier, and Sarah Sherman as well as hosts/and very judgy debate judges Lindsay Adams, Danny Palumbo, and Sam Wiles.
*by “best”, we mean best in a comedy context where no real change is going to be enacted or threat of social change is imminent
Go get tickets here.
This is one of the more insane things you’ll see all year long as Jon Gabrus and guests do an actual power hour on stage as an annual special edition of his High and Mighty podcast done live on stage. The 60 shots of beer taken every minute on the minute provide for truly unforgettable moments that will you get through Thanksgiving (if that’s a thing you’re dreading).
Go get tickets for the High and Mighty LIVE Power Hour at UCB Sunset on Nov. 27th before they sell out here.
So, Matt O’Brien has devised a way to have comedians act out a scene with a green screen, then finish a video with a background suggested by the audience before that comedian finishes a normal stand-up set.
For us, it sounds like some beautiful chaos and something you should definitely check out (especially with a great line-up of Julia Hladkowicz, Johnny Pemberton, JB Ball, Andrew Johnston, Steph Tolev).
This madness will be called Green with Matt O’Brien and happening on Fri., Nov. 22nd at 10:30PM at UCB Sunset. Tickets are $7 and you ought to go get them here.
While so many reality cooking shows skirt the edges of the human condition via near impossible cooking and baking challenges given to people desperate for a win of some kind, Bake Stuff with Lindsay Adams takes it to the next level by confronting the past directly with a very specific recipe.
Last time, Lindsay made a revenge themed cupcake that was step-by-step designed to shade her HS bully, which Adams hilariously filled us on the whole way through. Also, it should be noted that you get to snack on truly delicious baked goods the whole show.
Bake Stuff with Lindsay Adams is happening once again, this time in the beautiful Rita House near the Grove on Fri. Nov. 22nd at 7:30PM. Tickets are $15 and space is very, very limited. Go purchase some tix here while you still can.
A true, curious treasure from Norway, Daniel Simonsen has honed and imbued his marvelously offbeat sense of humor and rhythm in NYC, even recently getting a set on Colbert.
Simonsen has popped up in LA every now and again, but later this month, he’ll be doing headlining in a special limited engagement at the Lyric Hyperion that you absolutely should catch.
As of now, Daniel is slated for Fri., Nov. 22nd and Wed., Nov. 27th, both at 10PM. Tickets are $7 right now and you really ought to go get them here.
Andy Wood and Bryan Cook’s night of celebrating the best of the worst songs as chosen by very esteemed guests and has been one of our favorite shows to catch since its creation.
So, please join them to mark their Two Year Anniversary over at The Virgil later this month Thurs., Nov. 21st at 8PM with very special guests Janet Varney, Randy Sklar, and James Urbaniak.
Tickets are only $10 right now and you can (and should) get them here.
It’s so rare to seem someone great actual headline in LA, much less at The Comedy Store.
So, you really ought to not miss your chance to see the one and only Eric Andre, harbinger of (comedic) chaos, do his latest hour up in The Comedy Store’s Belly Room next Fri., Nov. 15th at 8PM. We’re not sure exactly what’s going to happen, but that is part of the thrill of seeing Eric Andre live these days, especially on this Legalize Everything Tour.
Tickets are only $15 (+ 2 item min.). Go get them before they sell out here.
So many of LA’s best queer comedians will be assembling for a mad dash of a stand-up show, A Night of a Thousand Queers, next week. They’ll all be doing two minutes or less, so you can see as much amazing LGBTQ comedians (many of our favorites are on there FYI) as possible.
The show is free to attend leaving you very little reason to not make your way downtown to In Heroes We Trust Gallery next Saturday. Get more details here.