Gilda Radner News

HISTORY(R) will premiere the documentary feature film, DRUNK, STONED, BRILLIANT, DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON, tonight, January 22 at 9pm ET/PT. Directed by Douglas Tirola (Hey Bartender), the film gives a unique inside look at the magazine, its key players and what made it so outrageously successful.

HISTORY(R) will premiere the documentary feature film, DRUNK, STONED, BRILLIANT, DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON, on Friday, January 22

On Saturday, January 23, 2016, the legendary sketch and improv comedy theater returns to the Times-Union Center's Terry Theater with Hooking Up with The Second City, a must-see new show all about relationships featuring hilarious sketches, songs and world-famous improvisation from Chicago's best and brightest.

She's famous for being one of Broadway's funniest supporting players, but now she takes on a classic leading role.

STORY THEATER by Paul Sills is one odd little theatrical experience. It features music by the estimable duo of Atwater and Donnelly and a half-dozen or so actors performing the fables of Aesop and the Brothers Grimm. This piece originally opened on Broadway in 1970 and closed after 243 performances with three Tony nominations, including one for best play. Paul Sills has an outstanding pedigree in improvisation: in the fifties he opened the Compass Players, which was an early platform for the esteemed Mike Nichols and Elaine May; in the sixties, he was a co-founder of Second City improvisational comedy troupe (Gilda Radner, Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi and Stephen Colbert are among the alums). After leaving Second City, Sills ran several schools teaching improvisational techniques around the country.

A multi-alarm fire in August did not reach the theatres, but ripped through the troupe's offices.

The Falcon Theatre welcomes Kevin Blake now performing the role of 'F. Scott Fitzgerald' alongside Ty Mayberry as 'Ernest Hemingway' and Jackie Seiden as 'Eve Montaigne' in SCOTT AND HEM, written by Mark St. Germain and directed by Dimitri Toscas now through November 15.

Although she's been away from the New York cabaret scene for several years, Francesca Amari is no stranger to it (having debuted at The Metropolitan Room in 2007 and appeared there again in 2008 and 2009). She returns to The Metropolitan Room in October with two performances of her critically-acclaimed tribute show to the late comedian/entertainer, Gilda Radner.

Although she's been away from the New York cabaret scene for several years, Francesca Amari is no stranger to it (having debuted at The Metropolitan Room in 2007 and appearing there again in 2008 and 2009). She returns to The Metropolitan Room in October with 2 performances of her critically-acclaimed tribute show to the late comedian/entertainer, Gilda Radner. In fact, Amari will perform "You Make Me Laugh: A Love Song to Gilda Radner" exactly 40 years to the day that Gilda Radner Made her debut on Saturday Night Live (October 11, 1975). She performs at 7 pm on Sunday, October 11th and Saturday, October 17th.  Music director for Amari is popular Broadway/cabaret music director Alex Rybeck.

 Merged Work Productions (Lead Producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer) announced today that music-world icons and television stars Steven Van Zandt and Paul Shaffer, along with Maureen Van Zandt and Joe Grano (Jersey Boys), have joined the Broadway-bound musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story as lead producers.  It was also announced that Mr. Van Zandt will serve as the show's musical director.  Piece of My Heart will open on Broadway in 2016. 

A familiar face on TV comedies, Myrin is now getting laughs on stage at the Public.

Although she's been away from the New York cabaret scene for several years, Francesca Amari is no stranger to it (having debuted at The Metropolitan Room in 2007 and appearing there again in 2008 and 2009). She returns to The Metropolitan Room in October with 2 performances of her critically-acclaimed tribute show to the late comedian/entertainer, Gilda Radner. In fact, Amari will perform "You Make Me Laugh: A Love Song to Gilda Radner" exactly 40 years to the day that Gilda Radner Made her debut on Saturday Night Live (October 11, 1975). She performs at 7 pm on Sunday, October 11th and Saturday, October 17th

Although she's been away from the New York cabaret scene for several years, Francesca Amari is no stranger to it (having debuted at The Metropolitan Room in 2007 and appeared there again in 2008 and 2009). She returns to The Metropolitan Room in October with two performances of her critically-acclaimed tribute show to the late comedian/entertainer, Gilda Radner.

With a new, ongoing exhibition series called The Television Project, the Jewish Museum will introduce visitors to a dynamic part of its collection: the National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting (NJAB), the largest and most comprehensive body of broadcast materials on 20th century Jewish culture in the United States. The inaugural exhibition, The Television Project: Picturing a People, on view at the Jewish Museum from September 25, 2015 through February 14, 2016, will feature artistically significant program excerpts celebrating the brilliance of writing, directing, performance, and production in American television, as well as related works of art, artifacts, and ephemera. Picturing a People will include clips from the following programs: The Ed Sullivan Show, Northern Exposure, The Twilight Zone, The Goldbergs, The Simpsons, My Name is Barbra, and Eichmann Trial Coverage (ABC News).

Tonight, June 27, Chicago's legendary sketch and improv comedy theater returns to Jim Rouse Theatre, 5460 Trumpeter Road in Columbia, Maryland at 8:00 pm with 'The Best of The Second City.'

The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents I Found This Funny: The Comedy World of Judd Apatow, July 10-14.

The Second City Hollywood is having an open house on June 20th!

The Columbia Festival of the Arts is pleased to announce its 2015 Summer Festival, featuring diverse free and ticketed events including film, dance, comedy, theatre, art exhibitions, a concert performance by GRAMMY-winning music legends, Blind Boys of Alabama, and a free weekend of outdoor entertainment for the whole family.

The Second City Hollywood is having an open house on June 20th!

Today, in a special edition of The Friday Five (on Wednesday), we introduce two actors from The Gaslight Dinner Theatre's upcoming production of A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline: Linda Sue Simmons (my favorite Miss Chattanooga of all time) and Curtis LeMoine-Reed. Directed by Greg Frey, the musical - filled with some of Patsy Cline's best-loved hits that will transport you back to her starry heyday in the 1960s - opens Thursday afternoon at The Renaissance Center in Dickson.