The New York Underground Comedy Festival will pick up the pace even more tonight (FRI) through Sunday night, as they head for the weekend. Click on the above to browse through the schedule.
We were at Gotham last night, doing double duty– The Male Half emceed the Funniest Person in Media contest and the Female Half served as a judge (along with NYUCF bigwig George Sarris and Gotham proprietor Chris Mazzilli).
That’s “media,” as in New York Post, NY 1, amNY, MSNBC, the Asbury Park Press, the Journal-News of West Chester, WB-11 and Newsday, all of which were represented quite nicely as eleven of the New York area’s reporters, producers and writers mounted the stage and made like comedians. (Not to be confused with “Media," the small borough of 6,000 people 20 minutes south of downtown Philadelphia. The Funniest Person in Media, PA, will no doubt be suing Underground Festival organizers!)
Winners of the Funniest Person in Media Contest (l to r): Mandy Stadtmiller (1st), Nikki Egan (2nd), Robert George (3rd)
When the dust settled, it was the NYPost’s Mandy Stadtmiller who took home the title, beating out MSNBC Senior Producer Nikki Egan and NYPost Editorial Writer/Columnist Robert George.
Show producer and Fest spokesman Ryan McCormack brought on The Male Half, who introduced WB-11 morning personality Tiffany McElroy to pump the evening’s charity, Operation Uplink, then it was time to bring ’em up!
Mike Trainor (NY1 writer), Robert George, Catie Lazarus (amNY writer), Paul Messina (NY1 reporter), Ojinika Obiekwe (field producer, WB-11), Mandy Stadtmiller, Meredith Daniels (Newsday editor), Roger Clark (NY1 reporter), Nikki Egan, Peter Kramer (Journal-News reporter) and Ed Condran (Asbury Park Press features reporter) kept the level consistently high throughout. And the audience, consisting of media types, relatives and friends, never flagged. There were none of the deadspots that inevitably plague these amateur comedy contests. The judging was difficult and we congratulate all the participants. (Note to Mike Trainor– Nobody has ever won a comedy competition after going on first! Don’t know why, it is just an immutable law of comedy contests! That is why they refer to the position as “taking the bullet!”)
So statuesque is fellow Fashion Policer Dan Allen that he is still a head taller than The Female Half of the Staff– and he’s scrunching down! (At Comix opening gala)
After a photo session in the Gotham basement and some post-show partying, we exited and headed south to the Meat Packing District, where Bobby Collins and Wende Curtis threw a huge, seething bash to celebrate the opening of Comix, a “New York Comedy Club and Corporate Events Venue,” according to the title bar when you bring up their website.
Comix comedy club principal Bobby Collins with The Male Half of the Staff at Comix opening gala
We walked over in a slight drizzle and were guided to the exact location via a cellphone call to SHECKYmagazine columnist Tom Ryan. So large and volatile was the gala that we encountered a handful of comedy luminaries on the street before we even arrived at the venue a half-city-block away– We formed a mini-gala on the sidewalk, catching up with Tony Camin, Todd Jackson of Dead-Frog.com and comedian Eugene Mirman.
Comedian Barry Weintraub and SHECKYmagazine columnist Tom Ryan at Comix opening gala
Once inside the sleek, ultra-modern vestibule of the new club, we staked out a spot amid the sweaty, chaotic bustle and spent some quality time with Ryan, Lynn Shawcroft, Barry Weintraub, Michele Balan, Dan Allen, Karith Foster, Steven Scott, Collins, Betsy Wise and Vinnie Brand. Spotted, but not contacted, were Alex Borstein, Todd Barry, Josh Blue, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, all of whom were on one or both of the evening’s shows, along with Sarah Silverman, David Spade and Kathy Griffin. A video crew roamed the circus, capturing sound/video bites of the guests, quizzing them about their impressions of the new club.
The club brags about having all the latest, bleeding-edge A/V equipment and the menu uses words like “remoulade,” “aioli” and “piccalilli.” And they don’t just offer “slaw,” they offer “mango and basil slaw.”
The premiere was top drawer, and, upon exiting, all guests were handed a groovy, Tyvekkian update on the old canvas bag, stuffed with a set (tops and bottoms!) of scrubs emblazoned (top and bottom!) with the Comix logo!