Stand up Comedy

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Interview: Michael Ian Black's death-defying comedy

Unstoppable
Despite the title of the much lamented comedy series he shared with Michael Showalter, it turns out that Michael Ian Black does not have all that many issues after all. He's just deeply strange.
By ALEXANDRA CAVALLO | October 05, 2011

Interview: Bob Saget

Balls-deep introspection
For those who know Bob Saget, the only thing funnier than the surprise that the star of Full House is a relentlessly filthy stand-up comedian is the perception that he was anything like his squeaky-clean sit-com persona in the first place.
By ROB TURBOVSKY | January 12, 2011

Interview: Tom Green

On the Gathering of the Juggalos and his rules of behavior
For a generation of mischievous thirtysomething nihilists for whom no joke is out of bounds, Tom Green is a cultural influence on the order of MDMA and Eminem.
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 03, 2010

Interview: Paul Provenza

Comedy life saver
In Satiristas! veteran comic Paul Provenza engages in revealing, surprising conversation with a diverse group about comedy’s role in revealing uncomfortable truths about our world and ourselves.
By ROB TURBOVSKY | May 04, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Naked Boston

Spring has finally arrived! So take off all your clothes with these seven ways to celebrate nudity in greater Boston.
Every year, Ol' Man Winter cruelly turns Bostonians' bodies into shriveled, cracked sacks of atrophied muscle and lumpy goo — not exactly fodder for Playmate of the Month.
By ALEXIS HAUK | March 22, 2010

Must Flee TV?

With his new ‘reality sitcom,’ the artist formerly known as Robbie Roadsteamer tries to stop the Allston hipster brain drain
If Jersey Shore and Last Comic Standing had a threesome with Curb Your Enthusiasm in the men’s room of Great Scott, the bastard issue might look a little something like Quiet Desperation .
By CHRIS FARAONE | March 10, 2010

Interview: Damon Wayans

Getting silly again
"Right now, my intent is not to offend. I just want to laugh. I want to suspend reality."
By JIM SULLIVAN | February 16, 2010

Dane Cook does suck

Letters to the Boston editor, January 22, 2010
In "Dane Cook Is Funny," the author says that to say “ 'Dane Cook is not funny' is an extreme oversimplification.” Not really.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | January 20, 2010

Dane Cook is funny

In defense of the local comedian, who plays TD Garden on New Year's Eve
There are two things that non-comedians feel the need to tell me when discussing comedy. One is "Bob Saget is filthy." The other is "Dane Cook is not funny."
By STEVE MACONE | December 30, 2009

Interview: Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can't stop himself
"My dream [today] was bad. It was like a Jewish, Fellini-esque dragons-with-skulls-and-ex-girlfriends."
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 17, 2009

Bottle rocket

Charlyne Yi is a hot date
Who exactly is Charlyne Yi? Two years ago, she appeared — seemingly from out of nowhere — in a brief but memorable turn in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up. A closer look at Apatow's new Funny People , however, might provide a clue as to where he discovered her.
By BRETT MICHEL | August 07, 2009

Review: Funny People

Judd Apatow pulls no punchlines
What if Terms of Endearment had had more dick jokes?
By LANCE GOULD | July 29, 2009

Interview: Judd Apatow

On the making of his Citizen Kane
Behind every successful comedian, there's . . . a personal assistant. Who, given how egomaniacal and utterly misanthropic the funnyman in question is, is probably his best friend, too.
By LANCE GOULD | July 29, 2009

The Wiz is alive in Boston

Ozians Reach Musical Heights
For many years, people have been asking me, 'Quincy, what was your very first big assignment?' My answer now is, "THE WIZ." – Anytime you have 9 singing principals, 120 dancers, 6 sound technicians, 3 conductors, 4 contractors, 300 musicians, 105 singers, 9 orchestrators, 6 copyists, 5 music editors; you are talkin' big numbers.
By PHOENIX STAFF | June 30, 2009

It Does Come Easy

Ringo Starr At Chabot, Quinn Taylor At Stairwell
Ringo Starr was the best artist in the Beatles. And, I believe, the best artist to appear on Shining Time Station too. (Sorry, George Carlin.) It feels really weird to say, but it's the undisputable conclusion I drew from seeing "Ringo Starr — Artist" at Chabot Fine Art Gallery (379 Atwells Avenue, Providence, through June 27).
By GREG COOK | June 16, 2009

Steven Wright | I Have a Pony

Warner Bros. (2009)
"I used to be a parking attendant in Boston at Logan Airport. I parked jets. They let me go, though, 'cause I kept locking the keys in them."
By TED DROZDOWSKI | June 09, 2009

Sox trump comedy

Local Boy Does Better
"Being bitter is poison and bitter will kill you. Bitter is a root that will grow a poopy tree of death."
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | May 22, 2009

World gone Wong

Chinese-born biochemical-engineer-turned-comic Joe Wong has conquered Letterman. You're next.
"I'm an immigrant," says Joe Wong. "And I used to drive this used car with a lot of bumper stickers that are impossible to peel off. One of them said, 'If you don't speak English, go home.' And I didn't notice it for two years."
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | April 29, 2009

Interview: Traci Skene and Brian McKim

Double your pleasure
For the past 10 years, comedians (and married couple) Brian McKim and Traci Skene have cultivated a unique online niche for their comedy website SHECKYmagazine.com - a forum for both sharp, funny content and for erudite dissection of the craft and business of comedy.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | April 19, 2009

Interview: Jonathan Katz

Katz brings his show One Man, Many Games to ImprovBoston
The moment I step into the Newton home / sound studio of comedian Jonathan Katz, he warns me that he's a show-off and invites me to admire his kitchen.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | April 15, 2009

By | January 01, 0001

74. Darryl McCauley

BURGLAR KING
Daryl, we don’t think your younger half-brother, Dane Cook, is funny, either. But hell, we show our displeasure by simply refusing to buy tickets to his Garden frat-fests. You, on the other hand — having also been Dane’s boss at Burger King before he got famous — went a tad further, embezzling millions from your polarizing, overshadowing little brah. As pathetic as this story is, we feel even sadder for Louis C.K., who has now technically been robbed twice.
By Boston Phoenix Staff | March 25, 2009

89. Greg Behrendt

HORSEFACE KILLAH
We’re just not that into you, either. And not just because this unfunny self-help writer belittles desperate women, or because he looks like the offspring of Dane Cook and an old banana. This so-called author/comedian is one of those one-hit wonders who can’t accept his destiny, but who for some reason will have opportunities to produce a new failed talk show on E! every few years.
By Boston Phoenix Staff | March 25, 2009

Interview: Mitch Fatel

Fatel hates the Yankees, loves stand-up
Given that he was once an intern for Howard Stern, it's not too surprising that comedian Mitch Fatel is all about clits and tits, and assorted lady bits – not the stuff that feminists would gleefully shave their legs over.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | March 19, 2009

Interview: Louis CK

Boston's contribution to Conan, Letterman, and Chris Rock returns with a comedy special and a role in This Side of the Truth
"Boston is a great town to grow up in, but I really wanted to get out of there," says comedian Louis CK.
By MIKE MILIARD | March 12, 2009