Denver native T.J. Miller can be a polarizing character in his hometown. Many in the comedy community see him as a local hero who’s helped bring national eyes to the scene; others think he’s a bro-down braggart who erroneously claimed civic pride with his “Denver” music video. Either way, though,…
If you want to join the ranks of the dozen or so local comics who have gone on to national recognition, then Comedy Works New Faces Competition is the perfect place to start. “A lot of comics use it each year to see where they are as comedians, judging by…
Governor Jack — a group comprising James Clark, Rollie Williams, Jason Metter, Asa Erlendson and Max Schwartz — is campaigning to make improv a more visible part of Denver’s burgeoning comedy scene. The group produces the improv show Governor Jack Watches You Sleep at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, with material growing…
Tonight The Office bids farewell after eight seasons and 200 episodes. Series finales have a complicated history; final episodes have left viewers with tears of joy as well as fists of fury as beloved characters have ended up in prison, happily in love, having mental breakdowns…or alone. Keep reading for…
Comedy writing pioneer Bruce Vilanch is bursting with gayness. One of the first openly gay comedians, he’s known for his continuing role on Hollywood Squares and as a head writer for the Academy Awards show, as well as writing jokes for Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, The Brady Bunch, Donnie and…
Dividing the Estate is a quietly incisive play about a large and contentious family. Stella Gordon, the 85-year-old matriarch, rules over a grand old house in Harrison, Texas — the fictional small town where author Horton Foote set most of his sixty plays. Stella is strong-willed and authoritative, but essentially…
The power of mothers — for good and ill — is a theater trope that never quite loses its potency. In Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water, three daughters convene for the funeral of their mother, Vi, who has, in different ways, ruined all their lives. Mary was the repository…
You probably remember him as the “grandpa’s old cough medicine,” urine-drinking cop from Dumb & Dumber, or the serial killer hitchhiker spouting “seven chipmunks twirlin’ on a branch, eatin’ lots of sunflowers on my uncle’s ranch” in There’s Something About Mary. But you may not know that Harland Williams improvised…
Ben Roy has some catching up to do: While his mates in the Grawlix — Andrew Orvedahl and Adam Cayton-Holland — are both promoting brand-new solo CDs, Roy is still recording his followup to last year’s I Got Demons. Tonight at 8 p.m., he’ll perform at the second of three…
Overhearing two pop-culturists argue about this comedy series, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a debate over gun-control or Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Passions can run high when a U.S. Office apologist clashes with a U.K. Office purist, leading to heated exchanges about whether David Brent was…
There have been a handful of standup comics with cerebral palsy over the years, but few have transcended the “inspirational” novelty and gone on to achieve legitimate credibility in their field. Not like Denver’s Josh Blue, who conquered the fourth season of Last Comic Standing and released his own Showtime…
If you’ve been keeping up with the reports, you already know that Grawlix comedy partners Adam Cayton-Holland and Andrew Orvedahl have been extra-busy for the last six months: In addition to Cayton-Holland’s Conan appearance in January and the more recent release of the Grawlix’s Amazon pilot for Those Who Can’t,…
Reading is about more than following a narrative or learning facts; it can also be a profound shared experience that culminates in a better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club, a weekly feature that celebrates the books that inspire Denver artists…
Shayna Ferm, a prodigal Coloradan returned from years in the New York comedy scene, hosts and organizes a monthly show called Pump and Dump, designed to engage with young moms and provide a sorely needed evening of fun. Ferm, young mother herself, was frustrated by the lack of entertainment opportunities for new moms and created a show specifically suited to their unique needs. In so doing, she has not identified an underserved demographic, but brought cathartic laughs to many overstressed local mothers. I met with Ferm to discuss Pump and Dump, moving back to Denver and the Highlands mommy mafia.
Maria Bamford has long been a comedian of choice for those who enjoy offbeat humor grounded in absurdist, sharply observed character sketches. Over the last decade and a half, Bamford has raised her public profile with appearances on the Comedians of Comedy Tour, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!…
If I were as intensely clever as playwright Itamar Moses, author of Bach at Leipzig, and as fond of intellectual games, I would write this review first as a review, then as an analysis of the forms of the review and the ways in which my piece of writing does…
For the better part of three decades, Kathy Griffin has been performing standup — but the two-time Emmy winner may be best known for her television domination. With more than a dozen comedy specials under her belt and multiple TV series with Griffin as the star, the comedian has found…
The long-awaited autobiographical comedy Maron has finally arrived on IFC, bringing all the anxiety, self-loathing and standup comedy wisdom of this podcasting pioneer into the homes of normal folks (i.e. non-comedy nerds), who were surely forced to watch its premiere by their sycophantic boyfriends. And I gotta say…it’s not great…
The Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company has just announced its upcoming season, the eighth for this troupe, and it’s an intriguing one that includes three regional premieres and one significant capture: And the Sun Stood Still, a play about Copernicus and his struggle to publish On the Revolutions of the Heavenly…
Less than four months after it opened inside Loveland’s Suede Events Center, Wildflower Cabaret was forced to pack up its programming after a falling-out with the owner of the space. Wildflower founders John Seaberry and Sky Cash walked away with heavy hearts and a serious financial loss. But the couple…
The dancers at Wonderbound — the company formerly known as Ballet Nouveau Colorado — are breathtakingly talented, as anyone who’s seen one of their shows can attest. But dancing is just one facet of their skill. Several of the Wonderbound dancers are also interested in choreography, and the upcoming Industrial…
“Normally, whenever I’m doing a show, I like to find out what people do for a living. Should there be a zombie apocalypse — which there will be — I want to find out if their skills are applicable,” comedian Chris Hardwick told his Comedy Works audience last night after…
