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for the love of this dog:
As you know, the ol’ Variety Pack machine is up and running again as we gear up to accept submissions for the FIRST TIME EVER!!
This is very, very exciting because heretofore it’s just been acts that Creative Director Chaz T. Martin has seen around town and wanted to see again so badly that they made up a whole festival just to get a front row seat. (It worked!) But Chaz is merely one person who needs sleep and to feed their dog on a regular basis! They cannot see it all or even know about it all!
Chaz’s dog needs your help.
So we at Variety Pack want to know from you, reader, what kinds of funny, silly, weird, wild shows or performers you love (here in Philly and beyond) that we should be checking out and courting (a la Bridgerton) for future Variety Packs. Tell us who you love from real life (and even the internet!) here:
The lazy version (affectionate) is to just forward this newsletter right to your funniest friends and then harangue them for tickets when we fall in love with them and program them into Vol. 3.
Free Comedy!
Gayborhood
Tomorrow, February 26th! Thank You, Places! does their last-Thursday-of-the-month show at Tavern on Camac. Show starts at 8:00p, but make sure you get there early to get a drink and a seat!
Comedy with Tickets
Sansom Street, THIS FRIDAY!
After you gluttons have had your fill of free comedy next week, go PAY SOME ARTISTS on Friday, February 27th! DJ Gleason of Kidprov! and Loosies! goes full sepia-tone in Detective Improv at ComedySportz.
If you like Sunset Boulevard, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Asphalt Jungle or smoking indoors then you’re going to love Detective Improv! Tickets are $20!
Callow Hill, March 5
Grace Lazarz can literally not be tamed and is bringing a clown duo to this delightful $10 variety show, Hat on a Hat. Pop into the Trestle Inn for a drink and see some of Philly’s freshest new characters and acts! Pay at the door like it’s the 90’s and your biggest concern is Y2K!
Queen Village-ish?, March 13
Em Harnett’s monthly standup showcase is back on March 13 at The People’s Gallery! If you love a low-key hang with funny people in a warm room, come on down. This month features Chaz T. Martin and Get to the Point’s very own Maeve Hennessey!
South Street, March 16
Watch as Theatre Contra takes on the greatest foes known to man...ICELAND. Join us at Tattooed Mom on March 16th to see if the Mighty Ducks (and Kenan Thompson) can overcome their differences and fly together as they represent Team USA in some wildly unrealistic international hockey competition. $15 in advance guarantees a seat, then it's PWYC at the door NOTALOF.
FUTUREMORE WINNER!
L to R: Eli Lynn, Trevor William Fayle, Tymothee Harrell, Hannah Parke, and DeAnna Supplee
This is your last week to catch PLANTATION BLACK at InterAct Theatre Company! This is decidedly NOT a comedy, but it sure did win Best Design at the Futuremores this year!
For real though, this world premiere is unlike most plays you’re going to see this year (maybe even your lifetime?): it begins and ends in a different place each night. You read that right: it’s almost never the same show two nights in a row. This is a BEHEMOTH undertaking for the outstanding cast of six and they pull it off gorgeously. Cannot recommend more highly. Here’s the synopsis from the InterAct website:
Two centuries after a murky agreement binds a Civil War era plantation family to the enslaved people working the land, the white and Black Prioleau descendants must finally determine who is the rightful heir.
A cast of six actors play both the Civil War and present-day characters, and each night the play begins at a different point in the timeline when a cast member spins a drum bearing the names of all the scenes in the play.
A really good, elaborate joke.
Ben Palmer created a website where people without souls, consciences, or basic human decency can call in to report people for deportation. He then takes down their complaints and asks follow-up questions that reveal astonishing results. Is this comedy? Who can even say anymore! But it sure is an interesting watch:
That’s all folks!
