Results tagged “ucbtheater”

"Brooklyn comedy" might officially be (back) on the map today with news that comedian Jenny Slate will join the cast of Saturday Night Live when it premieres with Megan Fox and U2 September 26th. Slate is best known around town as the co-host of Big Terrific, the weekly free stand-up show that has been drawing big names into small spaces in Williamsburg for the last two years. Slate, who talked to us a couple months back, performed her show Dead Millionaire at the UCB Theater this past spring. With the other new cast member Nasim Pedrad having performed at UCB LA, the theater continues to show its dominance over the comedy scene this decade. Last year UCB's Bobby Moynihan (the pride of Yonkers) joined the cast and in recent years, the theater has funneled through Abby Elliott, Casey Wilson, Rob Riggle and of course, UCB founding member, Amy Poehler. As for Big Terrific, co-host Max Silvestri says, "Jenny will be back at Big T soon to tell lots of showbiz stories about what Megan Fox smells like and how Ted Danson always has mints handy or whatever." more ›

Word on the Grub Street is that the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is eyeing the now-abandoned Two Boots Pioneer Theater space at 155 East 3rd Street. Alex Sidtis, directing manager of UCB-Chelsea, "revealed that the troupe is hoping to open an East Village outpost," and because most comedy is exponentially more funny when you add alcohol, it's all "depending on whether it can secure a tavern wine license (the theater will plead its case at a January 12 meeting of Community Board 3’s licensing committee)." Sidtis points out the pluses of the space, mainly "that the 99-seat theater has a lobby, and the layout, “It’s a little different [than that of the Chelsea location]. The shows will be more presentational and less theatrical in nature.”." Two Boots owner Phil Hartman told the site, “I love the theater and I’m pleased to think that it would stay alive as a theater and not get gutted and turned into something else.” The neighborhood got significantly less funny when Mo Pitkins closed over a year ago. more ›

Williams has performed at the theater before at the ASSSSCAT 3000 show alongside more high-profile regulars like Poehler and other stars of SNL and 30 Rock who improvise every Sunday. But when he showed up last night at the theater, members of Bangs really had to improvise when they learned just before going on that he wished to join them on stage. The audience ate up what sounds like the sort of wildcard performance you'd expect from Williams and word from the team is that the star was nothing but friendly and gracious to them. more ›

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READING: Jeff Garigliano, Condé Nast Portfolio senior-editor turned author, will be reading from his debut novel titled Dogface. The story follows a rebellious 14-year-old boy who, like so many before him, gets sent off to a camp that specializes in "whipping mixed-up teens back into shape". more ›

THEATER: Lisa Kron’s solo play 2.5 Minute Ride, which won an OBIE when it premiered at the Public Theater in 1999, is currently being revived with Nicole Golden as the autobiographical “Lisa.” The play concerns Lisa's attempts to make a documentary about the life of her father, a German Jew who survived the Holocaust but lost his parents at Auschwitz. 2.5 Minute Ride finds him, in his later years, a blind diabetic with a heart condition and a passion for roller coasters. Allison Taylor deems it as comical as it is intense; a “patchwork of anecdotes about Kron's family, including memories of her Midwestern mother; an annual trip with her embarrassing relatives to the Cedar Point amusement park; and her brother's Orthodox wedding… genuinely poignant and simultaneously funny.” - John Del Signore more ›

THEATER: Frankenstein (Mortal Toys) is a “miniature spectacle that follows the haunted alpine journey of Victor Frankenstein, as he confronts the loneliness and rage of his alienated monster.” The production stars elegantly handmade puppets based on 18th century portrait paintings, lush sets inspired by Romantic era landscape painting, an eerie musical score by Severin Behnen, played live on toy piano, organ, bells and accordion. The Times calls it “an inspired melding of material and medium. It evokes the Romantic sublime with unflagging inventiveness: Arctic floes with icy blue light, lands of ‘mist and snow,’ the delicate flight of a bird over mountains.” – John Del Signore more ›

COMEDY: In November, shortly after the WGA strike sent SNL to reruns, the cast took the UCB Theater stage for an off-air show. If you missed that one, there's a chance to catch some of the cast doing stand-up at Comix tonight. The site says "sold out" but the people at the venue say they just added more tickets! So give a call and enjoy "An Evening with the Writers and Performers from Saturday Night Live." The money raised will go toward the Writers Guild of America. And yes, Andy Samberg (pictured with cat) will be there. Andy Samberg, originally scheduled to be there, has dropped out of the show. more ›

MOVIE: Nessie's taking off from the Marine Park salt marsh in Brooklyn, but you can catch the creature on the big screen. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep stars Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin and traces a boy's discovery of a mysterious egg that hatches into the sea creature of the Scottish legend. Way better than finding a sea monkey. more ›

We checked in with some folks recently for a little end of '07 "exit interview" before we enter a new year. Next up is Nick Kroll, actor, caveman and one of our favorite comedians of '07...and probably '08. more ›

SHOP: Still looking for that perfect gift? The Brooklyn Historical Society is holding the 4th Annual NY Creates Craft Fair, and they may have just what you're looking for. Check it out today and tomorrow, and it will be back the 22nd and 23rd for the real last-minute shoppers. more ›

Saturday night viewers of NBC didn't get a new episode of Saturday Night Live, but 150 audience members at the UCB Theater did! Live and un-aired, the show was to help raise money for crew members affected by the strike. Amy Poehler, who organized the event, made this statement:"The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater is a second home to a lot of these performers and writers. We are doing this to raise spirits, raise awareness, and... more ›

EVENT: White Castle is sponsoring an "over the top" (heh) event today at Port Authority...it's the 30th Annual White Castle Empire State Golden Arm Tournament of Champions. Over 100 ladies and gents will face off to become the arm wrestling champ! The event starts at 12:30 and the finals begin at 3:30pm. More info here. 12:30 and 3:30pm // Port Authority Bus Terminal [North Wing/Main Concourse at 625 8th Ave] // Free MUSIC: The Scotland... more ›

First amNewYork outs the secret bars around town, and now the NY Post is revealing the up-until-now secret shows happening soon at UCB. The casts of 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, both taking part in the WGA strike (as the actors are also writers), are bringing their shows to the stage. Each will perform new episodes live, in the small 150-seat theater -- 30 Rock on Monday the 19th and Saturday Night Live on... more ›

ART: Secrets of Coney Island Creek opens at the Brooklyn Public Library tonight. The exhibit of photographs by photog/author/Coney Island native Charles Denson goes back to the 1960s "when the waterway was at a low point, surrounded by industry and suffering from neglect and pollution. Since then, portions of the creek have been reclaimed, drawing both wildlife and residents to its shores. The photographs in Secrets of Coney Island Creek document those early decades and offer a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of the creek today and its relationship to the Coney Island community." more ›

THEATER: Temporary Distortion’s Welcome to Nowhere (bullet hole road) juxtaposes lushly photographed cinema with hypnotic live performance. Positioned within a small but elaborately designed boxlike installation, the actors draw the audience into their blood-stained world with a stillness that approaches meditation. When fused with the rich film projection above their heads – which furthers the abstract plot of the road movie/love story – the show draws you into an intimate embrace, as if the characters are whispering in your ear while you watch their dreams. (Read a feature article about Temporary Distortion in the current Brooklyn Rail.) – John Del Signore more ›

It seems like Pete Hornberger doesn't do much on 30 Rock, but Scott Adsit says it's a pretty accurate representation. And he should know, he's a producer on the Emmy Award winning Morel Orel, for which he's also a writer and voice-actor. And this Saturday, October 13th, and the two Saturdays that follow, you'll have the opportunity to see Scott and former Mad TV writer Tami Sagher at the UCB Theater perform hilarious long-form two person Improv. Gothamist caught up with the 30 Rock star to see what he's got planned for the future and a few questions about some earlier projects.. more ›

, isn't the standard memoir. It's not about getting addicted to drugs and going to rehab or about living on the streets and selling her body. It's about what happens when you start doing stand up for ten minutes every night at the dinner table when you're eight because you don't want your adopted parents to send you back to the adoption agency because you didn't provide the "hours of entertainment" that they expected and never stopping, not when you're meeting Jon Stewart on your first day at the Daily Show, not when you're going through a divorce, and not when you meet the friends and family of your live in boyfriend for the first time after the death of his wife. For this reason, Weedman's memoir is non-stop funny and provides "hours of entertainment". And she'll be reading at McNally Robinson on October 10th and the UCB Theater on October 11th. more ›

FILM: BAM features the work of Al Santana tonight. The Brooklyn filmmaker "has been a fixture on the independent film and video scene for years and his work ranges from documentaries about the transatlantic slave trade to coping with 9/11." Santana will be on hand for a Q&A; tonight as well. more ›

When 9/11 hit, Jonah Ray was attending community college, but the catastrophe of that one September day made him drop out, move to LA, and pursue a career in comedy. Since then, he's become a fixture of the Los Angeles's alt comedy scene, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, written for the Andy Milonakis Show, played the role of Clancy Mole Man on Adult Swim's Saul of the Molemen, and had a successful series on Turner Broadcasting's Superdeluxe.com . His off beat sensibility and personality is leading him down the path to comedy success and to Pianos on October 30th , opening for Man Man at Webster Hall on October 2nd , and the UCB Theater's Crash Test on October 1st. more ›

EVENT: Join Chief Jim Riches, 9/11 families, rescue and recovery workers in an effort to Tell Rudy Giuliani to "Stop Politicizing 9/11". Rudy will be at a fundraiser at the Waldorf later today, and will be greeted by those who believe he's no hero. Why? They say: "He failed the FDNY & uniformed & civilian victims. He gave us incompetent commissioners ( FD,PD, OEM). No integrated command. He abandoned us on 9/11. He gave the FDNY defective radios. He lied about the toxic air -- 70% of responders and many civilians are sick." More info here. more ›

THEATER: Sarah Maxfield, the brains behind theater collective Red Metal Mailbox, brings THROW, the bi-monthly performance series she curates, to The Chocolate Factory in Long Island City. Imbibe cheap beer and vibe new work by Rebecca Davis, Betsy Miller & Dancers, and Tara O'Con. After each experiment, Maxfield moderates an exchange in which each performer interrogates the audience in hopes of culling constructive criticism from the increasingly lubricated crowd. Who’ll be the first to declare, “Worst performance art EVER”? - John Del Signore more ›

TIP: According to Paper's Mr. Mickey, Chloë Sevigny is having a tag sale on her block this Saturday. We're guessing there will be lots of vintage Balenciaga. Check out her apartment in House & Garden...pretty nice! more ›

For one night only, Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin is bringing his popular LA show Combo Platter to NYC's UCB Theater. Every installment of CP begins with Garlin asking the audience for a topic that inspires a freewheeling conversation between he and his high-profile guests, in this case Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star Susie Essman and comedian Jim Gaffigan. A true gourmet comedy treat! more ›

MUSIC: Scottish indie sensations Camera Obscura bring their pop and their rock to the Seaport tonight. They're joined by The Last Town Chorus. After that, there's only one more show down there this season! more ›

MUSIC: Ever wonder what former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp has been up to? Well, he's back fronting his other old band, The Rentals. With a long list of former members, amongst them Maya Rudolph and Petra Haden, the group is now six-strong, and playing Nokia Theater tonight in support of their new EP, The Last Little Life. more ›