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Meg Stalter

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TCB Debriefing 4/20-4/25/24: Kate Willett, Cole Escola, Chris Gethard/Eddie Pepitone, Cora Bora, Roots of Comedy, DINKS, Robot Dreams, Clue, Hyperobject, Flipside, 9 to 5, Free Ben Schwartz Tix

April 25, 2024
News
9 to 5, ben schwartz, chris gethard, cole escola, cora bora, dinks, eddie pepitone, jennifer aniston, kate willett, Meg Stalter, pbs, roots of comedy

1. Many a comedian has excavated their sexual history and proclivities for comedic material, but more often than not just for the spectacle of it and nothing else. There is nuance and finesse to being frank and completely and unforgivingly honest on a comedy stage, especially when it comes to about sex and relationships and one Kate Willett puts on one hell of a show doing just that. Her new hour special, Loopholes, is stellar display of dissecting what might be one of the most trodden upon topics in stand-up comedy, but, of course, done by a very thoughtful, crafty, and forward thinking Willett. Credit to her for infusing plenty of socialist, leftist twists throughout the hour as well. The phrase the “glass gutter” is still, in our minds, a sort of trailblazing sentiment put forth by Willett in a previous album and Loopholes offers a very enjoyable, very accessible look into vast swaths of spectrums that exists between dating and politics, even just on the left side of things.

Please enjoy Loopholes, now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.

2. Exquisite alt/indie/queer comedy is going Broadway, everyone. Cole Escola‘s play centered on Mary Todd Lincoln, “Oh, Mary!” is going to play at the Lyceum Theater this Summer and hopefully this will shake up Broadway forever (Variety).

3. Chris Gethard and Eddie Pepitone are going on tour. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said. Oh yeah, go get tix at chrisgeth.com.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chris Gethard (@chrisgeth)

4. After years and years AND YEARS of scene stealing in pretty much everything she’s in, Meg Stalter (finally) is getting top billing with the indie comedy, Cora Bora, where Meg pretty much plays herself (a blessing for us all). Get your first look at Cora Bora with the official trailer here, then look for it in theaters on Jun. 14th.

5. PBS SoCal has tapped Jesus Trejo and a wondrous, diverse collection of stand-up comedians from around the country to explore the actual stories, “roots” if you will, behind the actual jokes that they tell on stage. Take a gander at the trailer for Roots of Comedy here

6. Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael are finally getting back to some of their improv roots with the new Marta Kauffman series DINKS (short for Dual Income No Kids) as it will be an improvisational multi-cam (Deadline). Perhaps, Scheer and Raphael getting to be a little Curb-esque might be the key to doing multi-cam in 2024?

7. The Creator and the upcoming J. Lo vehicle, Atlas, seemingly take an apologist view on A.I., but in the most maudlin way possible. Robot Dreams from Pablo Berger takes a much more whimsical route with a dog and robot becoming his new best friend (and got an Oscar nod to boot) that seems much more akin to Brian and Charles.  Take a gander with the official trailer for Robot Dreams here, then look for it in theaters on May 31st.

8. A reimagining of Clue might be coming to a screen near you (yet again) as Sony and Hasbro have shaken hands to develop a project around the storied board game (Variety). The arms race between studios for toy based IP is well under way, in case you didn’t know, thanks to LEGO Movie and Barbie.

9. Adam McKay is getting into the podcast game with the likes of Connor Ratliff, James III, and Allan McLeod (Deadline). While less caustic and biting than Don’t Look Up, these Hyperobject Industries podcasts have an underlying missive about shaping cities and challenging corporate structures on top of talking about “Tiny Dinos”. Perhaps, it’s the next wave of edutainment.

10. Documentaries are getting meta/comedically self-reflexive and we’re into it. Check the trailer for Chris Wilcha’s Flipside coming soon from Oscilloscope Laboratories.

11. The seminal 80s comedy 9 to 5 is getting a reboot courtesy of Jennifer Aniston and Diablo Cody (Deadline). Since Cowboy Carter has a Dolly Parton cover on it, will Beyonce do a cover of the iconic theme? Kind of just makes sense.

12.We’ll leave you with this: Ben Schwartz is returning to The Orpheum Theater in LA on Sat. Oct. 5th (tix avail now) and your favorite Bureau might have some tickets if you want them. E-mail us at thecomedybureau@gmail.com to find out.

Meg Stalter Might Be Getting Her Very Own HBO Max Show “Church Girls”

June 23, 2022
News
church girls, hbo, hbo max, Meg Stalter

(via THR)

Turns out that Meg Stalter’s turn as Kayla in HBO Max’s jewel original series, Hacks, stole so many scenes that HBO Max is giving her a pilot for her very own show.

Called Church Girls, this comedy pilot will be somewhat based off Stalter’s life as a closeted Ohio Christian girl, but undoubtedly have Stalter’s charming chaos woven all throughout it since she is co-writing it.

If you want to get a taste of what Meg does when given her own show, go and binge her wildly fun and demented podcast, Confronting Demons. We hope that sort of energy finds its way into Church Girls, then results in a series order so more of the world can marvel at one of the purest expressions of chaotic good in all of comedy.

Pick of the Day: The Tops! A Top Surgery Fundraiser for Ever Mainard (in LA) 1/7

December 27, 2021
News
alysia brown, danielle perez, ever mainard, fundraiser, la comedy, libbie higgins, Meg Stalter, naomi ekperigin, nori reed, solomon georgio, stand up comedy, tony soto, top surgery

The weird week between Christmas and NYE has begun and on top of there being little going on and the little that was going on getting canceled due to Omicron, one has to wonder if there’s any hope to bring into 2022.

Well, one thing you could do is bring hope to the hysterical Ever Mainard and their upcoming top surgery so they can fully realize themselves as the amazing non-binary person and splendid comedian that they are. They’ve got a massively stacked line-up for their The Tops! A Top Surgery Fundraiser for Ever Mainard slated for Fri. Jan. 7th at 8PM at The Elysian with the likes of:

  • Meg Stalter
  • Libbie Higgins
  • Nori Reed
  • Naomi Ekperigin
  • Solomon Georgio
  • Lindsay Adams
  • Danielle Perez
  • Silver Lake Icon, Tony Soto
  • Alysia Brown

Ever will be presiding over hosting duties and it should be a good time (fingers crossed that it still gets to happen). In any case, you should buy a ticket to support Ever (oh yeah, there will be a bake sale to boot) for $20 and you can do so right here right now.

Oh Goodness, Please Witness Meg Stalter Do a Set for HBO Max’s Human By Orientation Series

June 24, 2021
News
hbo, human by orientation, Meg Stalter

When it comes to the element of presence on stage, Meg Stalter is whirling with it in such a marvelously chaotic way that you can’t help be charmed by it. Even if Meg takes it off the rails (which she almost literally does here), her command of the audience, even to the point of directing reactions, is just so damn fun and transfixing.

Everyone is on the Meg Stalter ride as soon she takes the stage and you won’t want to get off. Stalter put all of these notions on display for HBO Max’s Human By Orientation Series that celebrates queer artists during pride and we can only hope that this leads to a more full-length special of Meg very, very soon.

Watch Meg get wild on a rooftop on DTLA for this set here.

HBO Max to Release Specials from Meg Stalter and Ashley Ray as Part of Pride 2021

June 4, 2021
News
ashley ray, comedy special, Meg Stalter

Pride 2021 or not, (Happy Pride, by the way) both Meg Stalter and Ashley Ray both deserve their own comedy specials.

You very likely have seen Stalter play a gloriously oblivious assistant on Hacks, but she has been a delightful agent of chaos on comedy stages for years (and also on her fantastic podcast, Confronting Demons). Ray has had a sharp, whip smart voice when it comes to dissecting pop culture from a black, queer lens and has also been sharing her pinpoint observations on stages all across the country for quite some time.

Now, HBO Max will have their latest specials from Meg and Ashley as part of their nod, as a network, to Pride 2021. Again, no matter the month or what we’re celebrating, we’re very much looking forward to see what both Stalter and Ray have cooked up for their very first specials in the coming weeks.

Pick of the Day: Padma Puts On a Virtual Comedy Show 12/17

December 15, 2020
News
amber ruffin, aparna nancherla, Ayo Edebiri, Benito Skinner, bowen yang, Caleb Hearon, chelsea peretti, dulce sloan, emily v gordon, fair fight, georgia runoffs, hasan minhaj, jo firestone, joel kim booster, john early, julio torres, kumail nanjiani, marie faustin, matt rogers, Meg Stalter, michelle buteau, mike birbiglia, mitra jouhari, naomi ekperigin, nikki glaser, padma lakshmi, patti harrison, patton oswalt, phoebe robinson, roy wood jr, sarah silverman, Sydnee Washington, tituss burgess, w kamau bell, wanda sykes

We told you that there would be plenty of big time comedy benefit shows for the Georgia Runoffs and, lordy lordy, there sure are. This latest one is being put up by the one and only Padma Lakshmi that’s very explicit in this regard by being called, “Padma Puts on a Virtual Comedy Show for the Georgia Runoff Elections: An Evening to Benefit FairFight”.

Stacey Abrams’ FairFight was instrumental in registering voters and contributing to Biden’s 2020 Election win and will undoubtedly be crucial in the upcoming special Georgia Senate Runoffs.

So, they tapped Padma for a live benefit show and she, in turn, got one hell of a line-up that includes:

Hasan Minhaj, Phoebe Robinson, Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Peretti, Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, Benito Skinner, Mike Birbiglia, John Early, Roy Wood Jr., Julio Torres, Michelle Buteau, Patton Oswalt, Aparna Nancherla, Caleb Hearon, Wanda Sykes, Joel Kim Booster, Tituss Burgess, Meg Stalter, Patti Harrison, Nikki Glaser, Ayo Edebiri, Jo Firestone, Amber Ruffin, Dulce Sloan, Naomi Ekperigin, W. Kamau Bell, Mitra Jouhari, Sydnee Washington, Marie Faustin, and Andy Cohen.

There will also be music from King Princess, Perfume Genius, Waxahatchee, Brittany Howard, Local Natives, Aloe Blacc, and Cautious Clay.

Lastly, the evening’s virtual festivities will be hosted by none other than the Las Culturistas themselves, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang.

Reads like a festival line-up, doesn’t it? Well, we still can’t do that in person right now, but you can enjoy this gigantic Padma Puts on a Virtual Comedy Show comedy live-stream on Thurs. Dec. 17th at 6PM PT/9PM ET at youtube.com/padmalakshmi and donate to FairFight here.

Pick of the Day: Safe Housing 4 Nori Reed 9/5

August 27, 2020
News
benefit show, jes tom, Jessica Henderson, Joe Castle Baker, kate berlant, lgbtq, Meg Stalter, naomi ekperigin, nori reed, patti harrison, safe housing, sarah squirm, Spike Einbinder, trans lives matter

Nori Reed is a great comedian that blessed LA with her presence in moving down from SF not too long ago. She is also a trans woman who, tragically, is in need of safe housing due to being forced out earlier this month by a bigot she was living with.

So, there is a big benefit live-stream comedy show next month that aims to raise enough money to help her live and thrive in a space that she deserves. Safe Housing 4 Nori Reed will take place on Sat. Sept. 5th at 8PM PT/11PM ET and feature a terrifically stacked line-up of Kate Berlant, Patti Harrison, Naomi Ekperigin, Meg Stalter, Spike Einbinder, Sarah Squirm, Joe Castle Baker, Jes Tom, Jessica Henderson, and more TBA.

You can get more details on the show and where to donate here and in the flyer below.

Pick of the Day: Cabernet Cabaret with Catherine Cohen 8/12

August 10, 2020
News
blair socci, cabernet cabaret, catherine cohen, Chris Murphy, Meg Stalter, palehound, Sydnee Washington

At the outset of quarantine, one of the instant live-stream hits was Cabernet Cabaret with Catherine Cohen. Her transition of her subversively whimsical weekly comedy variety show to an IG Live show was successful with a weekly audience that dwarfed the actual live-in person crowd at Club Cumming.

Cohen took a hiatus for her show over the last several weeks as the current cultural uprising took hold across the world. Now, she’s back this week and has shifted Cabernet Cabaret to YouTube. She still has another stellar line-up of Meg Stalter, Chris Murphy, Sydnee Washington, and Blair Socci, with music from Palehound for any and all in virtual attendance this Wed., Aug. 12th 5PM PT/8PM ET.

Tickets for the return of Cabernet Cabaret are $5-$10 and profits will go to supporting the performers and the show as well as the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. Go get them here.

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