Catskills moves south

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 1st, 2007

Read the New York Times article by Jane Wollman Rusoff on the “Condo Circuit”:

Here, at the height of the winter season in retiree complexes, it’s showtime for year-round residents and snowbirds alike nearly every night of the week. From December to April, there are singers, musical revues, and Elvis and Liberace impersonators. But by far the most popular entertainers are the stand-up comedians who have or would have once worked the Catskill Mountains resorts known as the borscht belt. When it comes to shows at the condos, South Florida might just as well be called the Catskills redux.

Pay no attention to the erroneous caption under the small photo to the left. That’s Shecky Greene on the left, not Lonnie Shorr— Either the pic was flopped for layout purposes, or someone at the NYT doesn’t know his/her legendary comedians.

We’ve heard stories of the Condo Circuit. The NYT piece is three pages long and gives one a good idea of what goes on in “Heaven’s Waiting Room.” It’s not all ancient Catskillians onstage.

Younger comedians whose material resonates with the aging residents are hard to find. But Century Village, a large complex with nearly 30,000 units in four communities– Red Buttons was its spokesman in commercials– has found one in Wendy Liebman, 46. The condo bills her as “A Nice Jewish Girl.”

There are many ways to make a living as a standup comic and multiple venues to do it in. Read the whole thing for quotes from Jack Carter and Freddie Roman.

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