Tag Archives: Show Review

Pop Culture, Theater and Live Comedy

The Comedy Stylings of Franklin Marshall The Third!

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Franklin Marshall the Third
All Photos, Except the Above Image, By Gail

Geoffrey and I had no idea what to expect, exactly, when we were invited to attend Feeling Franklin, a comedy showcase at The Producers Club in Hell’s Kitchen, starring LA-based character comedian, Franklin Marshall The Third. Geoffrey was familiar with Marshall already from social media and a guerrilla marketing campaign in which he has blanketed the streets of both LA and NYC with stickers and stencils bearing the likeness of his face, as seen above. The show seemed like it would be a worthwhile way to spend a Saturday evening in NYC, where anything can happen!

2-gs-at-fm3-2

When we arrived at the designated address for The Producers Club, a sign on the door assured us that we were in the right place. We felt like we were in for a magical evening!

Franklin Marshall the Third

We were then escorted to wait in the bar, where we lounged on a very comfy leather sofa and enjoyed some art, such as this fine painting of an Octopus.

Octopus Painting

Really nice, right? Soon, it was time for the show!

FM3 on Stage 1

As you can see, Franklin Marshall’s stand up persona, which is that of a shy-yet-horny nerd boy, relies heavily on his physical resemblance to Pee Wee Herman-meets-Ed Grimley, with a little of South Park’s Mr. Garrison thrown in. You will know what I mean by that last reference if you see him live, but I do not want offer any spoilers right now, because the thrill of discovery is a huge part of the fun!

FM3 on Stage 3

Franklin refers often to his well-worn notebook, as he bases his jokes and humorous stories on observational, everyday sorts of experiences and things, often contemplating how much he wants to score with hot chicks, but how the desired ‘scoring’ somehow eludes him. Everyone can relate, and in this way he builds a sense of intimacy with the audience. Here are  a couple of my favorite jokes from the set that I can still remember, because this was a couple of weeks ago now:

Franklin asked the audience if we wanted to hear a racist joke. Not wanting to appear uncool and overly PC, we play along and say yes. And the joke is . . .“Donald Trump.” That’s the entire joke, and it’s brilliant in its utter simplicity and resonant truth! Because Donald Trump is a racist asshole! I hate him soooo much.

Franklin also had a fun joke about a brand of Darth Vader condoms whose slogan is “I am Not Your Father.” Hilarious!

FM3 Cupcakes

After the one-hour set, Franklin served the crowd a tray of very delicious cupcakes, which are my favorite thing ever.

G and FM3

It’s nice that Franklin takes the time to meet his fans after the show and pose for selfies. Here he is with Geoffrey, who Franklin recognized immediately from the FaceBook. Special! The most hilarious thing though is that if you just look at Franklin, it’s not hard to imagine that if he stood up straight, put on some clothes that fit and shampooed the product out of his hair, he probably cleans up pretty good! For more information about Franklin Marshall the III, who has opened for comedy greats like  Rob Schneider, Dave Chapelle, and Nikki Glasser,  you can visit Franklin Marshall the Third Dot Com!

FM3 Cupcake

Pop Culture, Theater and Live Comedy

Craig Ferguson at Radio City Music Hall

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Radio City Craig Ferguson Marquee
All Photos By Jamie Moroni

I love comedian Craig Ferguson as the host of CBS’s The Late Late Show, but can rarely stay up late enough to watch it, so I was excited to have the chance to see Craig do Stand up at NYC’s best performance venue, Radio City Music Hall. Ferguson is so off the wall and charming, so I suspected he would put on a pretty good show, and I was not disappointed.
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Pop Culture, Theater and Live Comedy

Must See Comedy: Daniel Tosh Tour 2010

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Photo By Geoffrey Dicker

2010 has been a great year for seeing some of my favorite stand up comedians: Ricky Gervais, Demitri Martin, and just last night I was lucky to catch Daniel Tosh – certainly one of the most wildly popular comedians on the circuit right now – at the first of two shows he played at New York City’s Beacon Theater. I’ve been an avid fan of Tosh’s Comedy Central show, Tosh.0, since I discovered it accidentally about a year ago. As soon as I heard tickets were going on sale for his Tosh 2010 tour, I made sure I grabbed a pair.
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Pop Culture, Theater and Live Comedy

Must See Show: Demetri Martin Live at NYC’s Town Hall

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Very Funny!

Comedians are the new Rock Stars: amiright? Speaking of which, I’m a huge fan of comedian Demetri Martin and his Comedy Central show, Important Things with Demetri Martin. When I heard that Demetri would be playing NYC’s Town Hall theater I knew I could not miss his show! Can I just say, I was not disappointed! Even before Demetri came out on the stage, an awesome mix of Beatles songs played over the PA at Town Hall to entertain the crowd of rabid Demetri fans and set the mood to expect an excellent show. Because, The Beatles, come on: Greatest Band Ever. Not to mention, but you can see I am about to, I had a great seat: just to the right of the stage, front row, on the aisle. Yes!

As a comedian who strikes a chord with almost everyone who has a sense of humor, Demetri Martin has a whimsically goofy outlook on the weirdness of everyday life, a deadpan delivery and a fondness for playing various musical instruments while delivering his ingenious one-liners. Demetri is thoroughly engaging and has a great flow from one bit to another; say, from explaining the enigmatic drawings on his Large Pad into playing the piano (he is quite good) while singing a list of things he’d rather do than wait in line to get into a nightclub, so he is consistently laugh-out-loud funny. He does maybe a half dozen bits that fans of the Comedy Central show will be familiar with, but I guess every comedian does that kind of thing.

You can’t expect the entire show to be made up of bits you’ve never heard before – but those in the audience without cable probably laughed even harder at those bits than the rest of us. He did a solid 90-minute set, then came back out and took questions from the audience, including performing a few requested favorite skits. He also told a few poignant personal stories; my favorites of which were his recounting of riding his skateboard to the home of a friend, through the nearly empty streets of NYC, on the day of the September 11th attacks, as well as his story about the time he met the late comedian Mitch Hedberg while working as a writer on Conan O’Brien. Demetri became less of a comedian at that point and more of a funny guy with good stories that we, the audience, were having a conversation with. At any rate, the audience at Town Hall on Friday just went insane for him, and the enthusiastic vibe added to the fun. As a side note, he is also really, really cute!

Over all, Demetri Martin at Town Hall was a fun night and a great entertainment value for a rather reasonably priced ticket. The only bummer of the evening was when Demetri revealed that his beyond-hilarious Comedy Central show would not be returning for a third season. That sucks so hard. Hopefully, season one and two of Important Things will be available on DVD soon. In the meantime, go see him perform if he comes to a town near you. Demetri Martin!

Pop Culture, Theater and Live Comedy

Must See Broadway Show: Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking!

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Wishful Drinking Playbill Cover

Even though I live right in the heart of hustling, bustling Manhattan, I do not tend to see a lot of Broadway shows, particularly since being made to suffer the tortures of the damned that is Spring Awakening. But when Geoffrey came back from having seen Carrie Fisher’s one woman show, Wishful Drinking, with non-stop rave reviews, I knew I had to check it out. Because Geoffrey knows his funny. Knowing that my BFF Sue would be in town visiting me from LA this past weekend, I purchased a couple of tickets for us to see Wishful Drinking on Saturday evening. (BTW Goldstar Events has tickets for selected show dates on sale for half price, so I recommend checking that site first before going to the box office/Ticketmaster). Needless to say, we were not disappointed.

Wishful Drinking Geneology

In Wishful Drinking, Ms. Fisher, the actress best known to everyone as the iconic Princess Leia from Star Wars, candidly enthralls the audience with various excerpts from her recent autobiography of the same title. From the flow-chart-style examination of her convoluted “celebrity” family tree (her parents are actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher) to her “behind the scenes” tidbits about working with director George Lucas on Star Wars, to her marriages, bouts with drug rehab and ongoing treatment for Bipolar Disorder, Carrie takes a brutally frank approach to peeling back the layers of her darkly comic and extremely fascinating life. Mental illness was never so hilarious! Sue and I completely fell in love with Carrie while laughing our asses off. Immediately after the show ended, we ran around to the back of the theater and hovered briefly by the stage door, from which Carrie soon exited and cheerfully signed our Playbills! Yay for souvenirs! Trust me, even if you think Star Wars blows, this is one Broadway show you will not want to miss if at all humanly possible, because Carrie Fisher is awesome.

Wishful Drinking runs through January 3, 2010 at the Roundabout Theater (formerly Studio 54), 254 West 54th Street; (212) 719-1300. Running time: 2 hours & 20 minutes (including a 15 minute intermission).
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