Comics Barry Crimmins and Rick Overton Kick-off New Political Comedy Show Off-Broadway November 30

Laughing Liberally is a new progressive comedy show that sets out to save democracy one laugh at a time through live performances, spoken word and thought-provoking editorial.

New York, New York (PRWEB) November 26, 2005 -- The LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB, a political comedy incubator for both established and emerging comics to develop and tryout new work, debuts November 30th at 8 p.m. with a show featuring Air America’s Barry Crimmins, and actor/comedian Rick Overton at The 45th Street Theater (354 West 45th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues). The LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB is another step in the process of creating LAUGHING LIBERALLY, a new Off-Broadway comedy show and national tour that “sets out to save democracy one laugh at a time.” Veteran Broadway and Off-Broadway Producer Eric Krebs is collaborating with writer and political comic Barry Crimmins on the LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB. Tickets to the debut performance featuring Crmmins and Rick Overton are $10 and may be reserved by calling (212) 967-7079 ext 210.

The brainchild of David Alpert, Katie Halper and Justin Krebs, LAUGHING LIBERALLY began as a set of auditions for local political comics to appear in four showcases at Stand-Up NY. Two hundred comics were seen and 40 were selected to appear in the showcases. For the LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB, Barry Crimmins is serving as artistic director and will work with a dozen of the comics from the showcases along with more established names to present comedic spin and up-to-the-minute commentary on the week’s headlines and the current state of the union. The LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB will also feature music, spoken word, and works by short-subject filmmakers and video artists.

The weekly schedule of performances of the LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB at The 45th Street Theater is Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and Fridays at 11 p.m. Tickets are $10 and may be reserved by calling (212) 967-7079 ext 210.

Among the comics slated to appear at the LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB are Baratunde, Scott Blakeman (“Tough Crowd”), A. Whitney Brown (Air America Radio), Jim David (“Tough Crowd”), Julie Goldman (“Sopranos,” VH-1), Marga Gomez, Katie Halper, Dean Obeidallah (Comedy Central), Ari Voukydis (VH-1), and Roger Weaver. For more information on LAUGHING LIBERALLY and the LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB go to www.laughingliberally.com.

What:        The LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB, a new progressive political comedy show

Where:        The 45th Street Theater, 354 West 45th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues

When:        Wednesdays at 8 p.m. & Saturdays at 11 p.m. starting November 30

How:        $10

Reserve:    (212) 967-7079 ext 210

MORE ABOUT LAUGHING LIBERALLY

LAUGHING LIBERALLY Mission Statement:

Laughing Liberally is a comedy show which uses humor and laughter to spread understanding of liberal ideas and advance progressive values. Showcasing the brightest progressive comedians from all across the nation in an off-Broadway show in New York City and on a national tour, Laughing Liberally will save democracy one laugh at a time.

Statement from Writer/Comic BARRY CRIMMINS, LAUGHING LIBERALLY Artistic Director:

“One of the reasons that there aren't a lot of political and social satirists in the overcrowded world of comedy is because there aren't a hell of a lot of places to perform such humor. You can sneak a little satirical commentary into a performance in a comedy club but the typical club audience tires and angers at pertinence rather quickly. This is not to say that there aren't a lot of political statements made in the comedy rooms, it's just that most of them are obvious, bigoted and/or wrong. Misogyny, racial stereotyping and homophobia are all just ‘part of the fun.’ But belittling such intolerance is considered overtly political and club management often informs progressive humorists that it's ‘not what our audience is looking for.’

The reactions of dumbed-down club audience will corroborate this point. It's OK to make some sport of George W. Bush's mental limitations but if you actually get down to satirizing actual policy, the crowd will either have no context for it (thanks FOX and CNN!) or they’ll become upset that you’ve chosen to encroach on their "fun" by smuggling information to them. As a result if you want to survive in the mainstream comedy rooms, it’s pander or perish.

The other choice is to try to patch together enough stage time to stay sharp and enough work to survive. Without a lot of connections and a serious reputation, it isn't very easy.

Sadly, the great performing art of stand-up is considered more lowbrow than ever and slowly but surely the comedy scene has deteriorated to the point where the very word "comedy" has become a pejorative term.

Well we at Laughing Liberally believe a lot of people would love a chance to support progressive humor. Although erudite audiences were smart enough to stop looking for quality laughs in comedy clubs a long time ago, they still seek them wherever they can be found. This is why huge audiences watch the “Daily Show,” read “Tom Tomorrow” and listen to Air America Radio.

Of all the performing arts, none requires a live audience more than comedy. You really don't know how and where material will or will not work until you take it out in front of the crowd and see what happens. Stage time is the comic's lifeblood. And no humorist needs regular stage time more than the topical humorist because no other performer has to create and sequence more material. This is why we have decided to open the Laughing Liberally Lab (that and because we really like overdoing alliteration.) Every Wednesday and Friday night we will host an array of political and social humorists at our new location at the 45th Street Theater.

By supporting these shows, you'll be providing the most essential thing these progressive artists need, feedback that will allow them to develop the kind of shows that will make you unashamed to say you went out to see comedy. So we hope to see you soon and often.

And oh yeah, expect to see music, sketches and of course stand-up at these shows. Expect to see the unexpected as well. We believe in the reintegration of show business and look forward to working with a broad base of talent.

Laughing Liberally-- it's not just a work in progress; it's a work in progressiveness.”

Who is LAUGHING LIBERALLY:

David Alpert is an innovator in the field of community building through technology and progressive politics. He is a founder, with Justin Krebs, of Cosmopolity, a grassroots political organization that promotes progressive action through social interaction, and is the Webmaster for Drinking Liberally, a national network of over 100 progressive social clubs. (See www.drinkingliberally.org.) In 2004, Alpert founded IPac, a political action committee promoting the public interest through balanced intellectual property policy, and CopyNight, a national network of social gatherings around copyright policy issues. He works as a Product Manager at Google, Inc. He is a graduate of Harvard University and currently resides in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Katie Halper is a comedian, documentary filmmaker, and activist from New York City's Upper West Side, who has worked as development director for DCTV, a non-profit media education center and documentary production house, and coordinated living wage and labor campaigns in NYC and Florida. She was associate producer of Estela Bravo's documentary film, “Free to Fly,” about restrictions on travel between Cuba and the U.S. She co-produced Tim Robbins' film “Embedded,” based on his play of the same name, about media coverage of the war in Iraq, and served as outreach director for the documentary “The Take, “ a film by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis about the workers' movement in Argentina. Katie's documentary “La Memoria es Vaga” (Memory is Lazy), about historical memory in post-Franco Spain, has been screened in film festivals throughout Spain and the U.S. and will premier on Spanish television this November. Katie is an Artistic Director of The Tank, a space for performing and visual arts and public affairs programming in midtown Manhattan. Katie performs comedy throughout the city, and hosts the monthly Tank presentations of Laughing Liberally and her own show “Red Diaper Baby Presents.” Katie is a graduate of Wesleyan University.

Justin Krebs is a political entrepreneur, organizer and advocate based in New York City. He is a founder of Drinking Liberally, a national network of Democratic social clubs, and Cosmopolity. Additionally, he is a founder and artistic director of The Tank, a space for performing and visual arts and public affairs programming in midtown Manhattan. In politics and advocacy, Justin has managed a citywide parks campaign; worked as a producer on "Speak Up New York," a youth civic engagement initiative and Emmy-nominated PBS program; authored "Grounds for Play," a history of NYC's playgrounds; and served in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Justin is a New Jersey native, graduate of Harvard University, and resident of Hell's Kitchen. Justin is also the son of veteran producer Eric Krebs.

Eric Krebs, producer of LAUGHING LIBERALLY is the founder of Off-Broadway’s John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks theatres. On Broadway he produced Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home, Neil Simon's The Dinner Party, It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues (nominated for 1999 Tony Award for Best Musical), and Electra starring Zoe Wanamaker. Off-Broadway he produced Langston Hughes's Little Ham, The Capitol Steps, the world premiere of Bash by Neil LaBute, and This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. In the not-for-profit theatre, he founded and for 14 years was the Producing Director of the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Currently, he is the chairman of AMAS Musical Theatre, a not-for-profit dedicated to the training of "city kids" in the performing arts and the creation of new musical for multi-ethnic casts. Mr. Krebs is Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and currently professor of theatre at Baruch College of CUNY.

In addition to the four inaugural performances of LAUGHING LIBERALLY at Stand-Up New York, Krebs et al are planning a national tour that will feature a mix of headliners and up-and-comers spreading the word of liberalism through laughter. Tour dates and venues are being discussed. And for the cyber bookworms, there’s the “Liberal Library.” “Our vision of the ‘Liberal Library’ is that it will become an online touchstone for liberalism in the best sense,” said Eric Krebs. “The site will not only be a means of getting information about LAUGHING LIBERALLY performances and activities, but will also be a forum, resource and repository of commissioned think pieces and features from political pundits, satirists and political theorists. It may have reprints of important speeches – and rebuttals to those speeches – along with commentary and humor that reveal the multitude of voices and opinions that shape today’s political discourse.” For more information on LAUGHING LIBERALLY, visit the website at www.laughtingliberally.org.

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