Showing titles in Performing Arts

Join Rick Reynolds as he guides you through the foibles, fumbles and pratfalls of his own life beginning with his bizarre childhood. From the drowning of his father at a family picnic, to a bank-robbing stepfather, to his mother's 3 marriages and innumerable affairs, Reynolds portrays a striking picture of the lengths people will go for love and the human connection.

Dennis Miller is back, and he means to shake the nation by its lapels. Miller respects no boundaries. Whether the subject is dope-addled baseball players who can no longer swing their bats, do-nothing politicians who devote their careers to creating meaningful sound bites, or the nation's resigned acceptance of violence as a way of American life, these thematically arranged monologues are funny and angry. More significantly, they shatter the conventions of comedy by simultaneously making us laugh, think, and seethe.

Dennis Miller is back, and he is Ranting Again in this hilarious compendium of wit, wisdom, and righteous outrage. This is good news for all of us who fume at the country's lack of common sense, and seethe at the absurdity of the daily headlines. Setting his sights higher and wider than ever before, Dennis Miller is at the top of his game in a biting and rowdy performance that unleashes his unique brand of scathing wit on anything and everything.

Mothers, immigration, marriage, parenthood, sports, political correctness, and our general attitudes toward each other - all are equally worthy of Dennis Miller's close inspection and ridicule. What's really going on in this country? Ask Dennis Miller. Or don't ask. He'll tell you anyway.

Don't think John Pinette is funny just because he's fat and is always talking about food. What's wrong with you? Don't you eat? Even if you don't tip the scale, you'll be able to find common ground with his hysterical routines that have landed him appearances on such important stages as

Caroline's Comedy Hour,

Showtime's Comedy All Stars, and

An Evening at the Improv. Or perhaps you already know Pinette as the "fat mugging victim" on the last episode of

Seinfeld.

The place: New York. The time: the early 1980s. The scene: the red-hot comedy clubs, very late at night. The cast: five would-be stand-up comics, their egos, and their girls. The result: a downright hilarious novel about trying to be funny for fame, fortune, and fornication. This is Bill Maher's report from the front, a stageside table at the birth of the comedy boom. You'll laugh in all the right places.

American Comedy Award-winner Brian Regan lights up the stage in this live performance. He has been on Letterman five times, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and had his own comedy special on Showtime called Something's Wrong with the Regan Boy. In his Playboy interview, Dennis Miller named Regan one of his favorite comedians. As he performs around the country, people are constantly requesting favorite routines. This recording answers that call.

In this ingeniously funny collection of humorous riffs, those who thought Martin's gifts were confined to the screen will discover what readers of the New Yorker already know: that Martin is also a master of the written word. Hilariously funny and intelligent in their skewering of the topic at hand, these pieces feature Martin at his finest.

This collection of humorous anecdotes, voiced by the gifted impersonator John Byner, is an enduring testament to George Burns' wit and charm.

"All the world's a stage...." In the enchanted forest of Arden, everyone has their way. Sins are forgiven, quarrels are resolved, and love rules over all. And - just as the author liked it - the frolic of clowns and comedy includes provocative insight into nature versus society and into humanity itself. Follow Orlando, Celia, Rosalind, and Touchstone the Clown from court to forest in this play that features disguised princesses, an unjustly deposed ruler, and a handsome leading couple. Actors Vanessa Redgrave (Rosalind) and Keith Michell (Orlando) head the cast of celebrity performers in this Shakespearean romp of mischief, intrigue, and surprise.

Margaret Cho has a way of disarming her audience, dismantling preconceptions, and delivering punchlines that sting with wit and veracity. She derives much of her material from her upbringing as a second generation Korean American in San Francisco.

It's funny! It's clean! And it's quite possibly George Carlin's earliest recording. A must for die-hard fans.

One of William Shakespeare's greatest plays, The Merchant of Venice is also his most controversial. A tale of the triumph of true love, it is packed with witty dialogue, philosophizing, and lyrical flourishes. But the comedy is often overshadowed by concerns about anti-Semitism swirling around the character of the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Listen as this production by the Shakespeare Recording Society brings the play to life, warts and all, and demonstrates that an exploration of religious intolerance makes this work even more vital and compelling than ever.

Kate Clinton is America's premiere "fumerist" � that's shorthand for feminist and humorist. This hilarious performance includes political material as fresh as the daily news, savvy send-ups of modern family relationships, and illuminating perspectives on life as a gay American. There are no skeletons in this Clinton's closet! She has appeared on Comedy Central, Good Morning America, and Entertainment Tonight.

The Gay Comedy Jam is the first and only gay comedy national touring show that features all gay and lesbian performers. Breaking many barriers, their first show in Houston sold out weeks before the performance date, requiring that additional shows be added. Since then, the Gay Comedy Jam has appeared at over 200 mainstream venues, large and small.

She's a comic whose timing and personality have made her one of the most exciting new faces on the scene today, performing for sold-out audiences at major venues across the country. Suzanne Westenhoefer talks candidly and hilariously about real-life topics like traveling, the LPGA (Lesbian Professional Golf Association), her mom, electric vibrating bunny rabbits, and Martina Navratalova.

In It's O.K. to be a White Male, Jeff Wayne asks the question, "How did the majority become the minority?" As he stomps through the minefield of "political correctness", his is the voice that heretofore has been silenced by the whimpering of gays, blacks, vegetarians, non-smokers, and Donahue devotees who have declared it "open season on my white ass". On the cutting-edge of controversy, Wayne's brand of comedy is never cruel, and always very, very funny.

Steve is a man for today. He was born in Oklahoma in the 50s and grew up thinking that the world was a wonderful place. Just like the Cleavers, he thought that everyone in the whole USA was like the people in his neighborhood - honest, hard working, God-fearing people. Then he started traveling around the country. Boy, was he wrong!

She gained millions of fans with her campy character Rhonda on the television show USA Up All Night. Now she'll make you laugh as she shares her views on everything from her boyfriend holding the "clicker" and watching ESPN while making love, to a ménage a trois, to the gift women want most! She's been called the "Goddess of Puberty" and the "Campy Queen of the Night"; find out why in her hilarious, sexy audio debut.

"The Hot and Spicy Mamitas" are Marilyn Martinez, "a cross between Brett Butler and Rosanne Barr ¿ but funnier"; Sully Diaz, a "comedy goddess"; Dyana Ortelli, "an enchilada plate con chilito picoso"; Lydia Nicole, "a wolf in sheep's clothing"; and Ludo Vika, "a comedy femme fatale". Considered to be some of L.A.'s hottest Latina comics, these outrageously funny comediennes offer fresh points of view with a punch. They are joined by special guest Willie Barcena.