Showing results by publisher "L.A. Theatre Works" in Comedy & Humour

Rejection has never been so hilarious! After her role in a Woody Allen play was rethought, actress Annabelle Gurwitch (TBS' Dinner and a Movie) was devastated. Then, she got funny. Gurwitch and a revolving cast of fellow show-biz veterans share their stories when L.A. Theatre Works records Fired: Tales of Jobs Gone Bad.

Since 1959, Chicago's The Second City improvisational comedy troupe has played a critical role in developing some of the most successful comedians in the United States and Canada. Comedians such as Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, James Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, and Richard Kind, to name a few, have all performed with The Second City.

Harry Shearer’s fantasy about a World’s Fair held in Kansas City. Told in quick blackouts, it resembles a profane Simpsons episode. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Fran Adams, David Arnott, Lewis Arquette, James Avery, Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Timothy Fall, David L. Lander, Tom Leopold, Edie McClurg, Julie Payne, Mary Kay Place, John Randolph, Erika Schickel, Harry Shearer, and Fred Willard. Directed by Harry Shearer. Recorded before a live audience in February, 1995.

The acclaimed comedy trio known as Culture Clash spent three months interviewing about 70 Miami residents for this mix of vignettes about urban renewal, crimes, hurricanes, and immigration, as well as where to get a plate of arroz con pollo served by a 6-foot tall drag queen.

Harry Shearer’s parody of a presidential election. In this fantasy, Bob Dole Jr. faces off against a wrestler named Greenberg, as they fight for one family’s votes by camping out in their living room. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Fran Adams, Ed Begley Jr., Judyann Elder, Arye Gross, Daniel Passer, Richard Masur, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, and Kenny Williams. Directed by Harry Shearer. Recorded before a live audience.

After Vladimir Lenin’s death, Stalin orders two Jewish scientists to preserve Lenin’s body for all time. If they succeed, the rewards will be considerable. If not, it’s the gulag - or worse. Based on real events, Vern Theissen’s nimble dark comedy exposes the absurdities of Soviet life under Stalin.

A whirlwind courtship. A storybook wedding. A kiss for the bride. And suddenly everything changes. When Peter and Rita's brand-new marriage is strained by a magical twist of fate, true love will never mean quite the same thing again.

This modern comic take on the American Revolution puts the spotlight on the relationship between the brilliant and domineering Ben Franklin and his son William. As Ben plants the seeds of a new republic, King George III appoints William as Royal Governor of New Jersey—a change in affairs that creates a revolutionary family rift.