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Renowned for her sparkly, good-natured ad-lib ability, entertainer Carol Burnett graciously carved out a new role for women in film and television — one in which they could be funny and smart. Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kirsten Wiig and many others stand on Burnett’s shoulders. Now you can see this laugh-riot giant in real life, as the kids say these days, at the Hult May 7. Continue reading
If you don’t know who Doug Benson is by now, you very well may not be smoking enough weed. The standup comedian (Gateway Doug), actor (The Greatest Movie Ever Rolled) and podcast veteran (Doug Loves Movies, Getting Doug with High) has made Eugene a regular stop four years running for his 4/21 show at WOW Hall. EW caught up with the green funnyman to talk shop, pot, podcasts and more. Continue reading
You know him from the internet, his standup comedy and his character “Pig Bottom” on Tubbin’ with Tash on YouTube. He doesn’t shy away from mainstream screens either; Moshe Kasher has also been featured on Chelsea Lately, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and Conan. He is also a writer for the sitcom The New Normal and author of memoir Kasher in the Rye (which is reviewed by William Kennedy in EW’s April 17 issue). Continue reading
You know him as the government employee with the most swagger (Tom Haverford, Parks and Recreation), the rambunctious, Oligocene-era rabbit pirate Squint (Ice Age: Continental Drift), the guy at James Franco’s party who gets kicked into hell’s sinkhole by Kevin Hart (This is the End) and the tagline-spewing hack comedian Raaaaaaaandy (Funny People). And, of course, just as standup comedian Aziz Ansari. Continue reading
Aziz Ansari is a comedian with the zeitgeist nipping at his heels. Having found fame and a devoted following first with MTV’s comedy sketch show Human Giant, and then playing the loveable trend-chaser Tom Haverford on Parks and Recreation, followed by rapid-fire releases of his comedy specials, Ansari is now tackling contemporary courtship, literally — like in a book. Romance and relationships in a tech-drunk world are at the heart of his upcoming book, Modern Romance, and tour of the same name, which comes to Eugene this Thursday, March 27. Continue reading
Tiny Tavern is putting its funny where its mouth is. The revamped Whiteaker bar hosts frequent comedy open mics with Mac Chase at the helm, and now local comedian Isaac Paris has booked “Comics in Glasses: Entertaining the Masses,” featuring the comic prowess of Torontonian David Heti, an “offbeat genius” a la Woody Allen (with the mug of a blond Adrian Brody), and “nerdcore folk duo” The Doubleclicks, a Portland sister act that sings about Pride and Prejudice heartthrob Mr. Continue reading
Birbiglia became the poster boy for REM (rapid eye movement) behavior disorder and self-deprecating laughs after cataloging his slumbering escapades (like jumping through a second-story window) in Sleepwalk With Me. Now, Birbiglia is on a 100-city tour — his biggest yet — for the new comedy special Thank God for Jokes; he’s still making the everyday hilarious, e.g., kissing is weird when you really think about it. EW caught up with the comedian on the road. What’s on your mind today? Continue reading
Want to add a little more chaos to your holiday season? Director and founder of Camerosity Improv Theater Tim O’Donnell and friends have A Camerosity Christmas in the works. I checked in with O’Donnell and actor Joseph Tanner Paul to get the latest on their raucous, unscripted holiday show. Continue reading
“The four of us are kind of like sisters,” Vicki Silvers tells me over coffee pre-snowstorm at Noisette Pastry Kitchen, with her other “sister” Debbie Martin in tow. She’s speaking of the four women who make up WYMPROV!, a pioneering comedy improv group whose legacy in Eugene dates back more than two decades to its “Debut and Farewell” show at Agate Hall. Martin nods, adding that the foursome is supportive of each other on stage and off, getting together for frequent dinners and continuing “to get together and play.” Continue reading
There’s nothing more attractive than a funny woman (or rather, a funny person). Forget what the world of advertising tries to tell us; true beauty doesn’t rest with spherical breasts south of a perfectly placed Monroe mole (or washboard abs south of a cleft chin). It lies with a person who can master perfect timing or who can observe the subtle hilarity in everyday life and discuss it on stage with only a microphone. Continue reading