Robin Williams News

The hilarious musical La Cage aux Folles, featuring the bawdy humor of Harvey Fierstein and the melodic genius of Jerry Herman, is the final show in the 2014 Music Circus season at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, the 64th season for the venerable Sacramento institution. Performances are August 19 - 24.

Noted physician, Dr. Doherty Hunter “Patch” Adams, whose life story was told in the film comedy “Patch Adams,” has joined an Indiegogo campaign aimed at bringing comedy channels directly into hospital rooms and patient waiting rooms to help patients heal.

It's the dog days of summer but in Ivoryton, August is kicking its way on to the scene in feathers, glitter and six inch heels! LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, the smash hit Broadway musical opened in Ivoryton on August 6th and runs through August 31st. Written by Harvey Fierstein, Jean Poiret and Jerry Herman, the original 1983 Broadway production received nine nominations for Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. LA CAGE was later turned into a popular movie, The Birdcage, starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams.

Presented by lolflix.com, the Santa Barbara LOL Comedy Festival announces the addition of three new headline comedians; actor, comedian and radio host Jay Mohr (8pm on 9/5), actor and comedian Brad Williams (10pm on 9/5) and television host and comedian Kirk Fox (6pm on 9/5).

Side Splitters Comedy Club in Tampa (12938 North Dale Mabry Highway) has announced its upcoming headliners - Chris Franjola and Quinn Dahle. For more information, call 813.960.1197 or visit www.SideSplittersComedy.com, and scroll down for details!

Marking its 11th year, the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), in association with Comedy Central, announced its 2014 line-up today.

Marking its 11th year, the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), in association with Comedy Central, announced its 2014 line-up today. The festival, spanning from November 5 – 9, will feature comedy's biggest stars performing in New York City's most prestigious venues, including the Beacon Theatre, Carnegie Hall, The Theater at Madison Square Garden and Town Hall.

Premium entertainment network EPIX announced today that Altman, a 90-minute EPIX Original Documentary on legendary filmmaker Robert Altman produced and directed by Ron Mann, makes its WORLD Television Premiere on EPIX today, August 6, at 8PM ET. Featuring rare interviews, clips from his groundbreaking films, and insightful musings from key collaborators and family members, Altman offers a unique portrait of the maverick filmmaker often called the father of independent cinema.

'So here I am, a preacher's son, playing the preacher!' smiles David Ruprecht. The renowned star of television, film, and stage muses about his latest gig playing the Reverend Shaw Moore in Maine State Music Theatre's production of Footloose, which runs from August 6-23. Ruprecht's affinities for the part and this production are numerous. It is, first of all, directed and choreographed by his wife, Patti Colombo, an experience he says he finds 'very interesting because I never have worked with her as a director before, only once long ago as a choreographer.' Then there is the role of the charismatic and troubled Texas preacher who forbids dancing to the townsfolk of Bomont. 'My dad was a preacher [a Lutheran minister] in Florida, where I grew up, and he was very, very charismatic. Naturally, he wanted his son to become a preacher, too. I had all the talents, but not the calling, so I did the next best thing and became an actor. After all, both actors and preachers put on costumes and speak to large groups or people, and both have a little wine after the show,' he jokes mischievously.

Side Splitters Comedy Club in Tampa (12938 North Dale Mabry Highway) has announced its upcoming headliners - Chris Franjola and Quinn Dahle. For more information, call 813.960.1197 or visit www.SideSplittersComedy.com, and scroll down for details!

After a year of performances in the newly renovated Ruth Finley Person Theater, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts kicks-off the fall season with a rich array of performers, speakers and family programming. The line-up features music legends like Steve Winwood, Heart, The Temptations and The Four Tops as well as unforgettable comedians Cheech and Chong and Nick Offerman.

'If Danny Kaye had not been born,' a Hollywood writer once observed, 'no one could possibly have invented him. It would have been stretching credibility far past the breaking point'. Those words begin almost every biography of the legendary Danny Kaye and it is fitting words. Kaye may not have been as popular as Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, or may have been the person to get when Donald O'Connor wasn't available, but Kaye left a legacy on entertainment. You can narrow down to a handful of influential artists whose legacy is still being found in modern day entertainers. You can see pieces of Kaye in early Robin Williams, or Will Ferrell in his Saturday Night Live days. Kaye took the 'song and dance' man routine and went one step further - the patter song and the foppish mannerisms that made his style unique.

It's the dog days of summer but in Ivoryton, August is kicking its way through the heat in feathers, glitter and six inch heels! LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, the smash hit Broadway musical opens in Ivoryton on August 6th and runs through August 31st. Written by Harvey Fierstein, Jean Poiret and Jerry Herman, the original 1983 Broadway production received nine nominations for Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. LA CAGE was later turned into a popular movie, The Birdcage, starring Nathan Lane and Robin Williams.

Cape Comedy, a novel by Marc Weingarten available at all online retailers worldwide including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Google. The American comedy club scene is the birthplace of fame and occupies a significantly elevated status when it comes to defining American pop culture. It is the only place where you can witness an unknown Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld and Robin Williams carve genius from hunger for the price of two iced teas. After what seems a lifetime of living it, Marc Weingarten's debut novel, Cape Comedy, is ready to explode the world of stand-up comedy and its underbelly into the souls of its fans and inhabitants ... just not from the POV you might expect. The long awaited debut is finally here. Cape Comedy is not just a cover charge and two-drink minimum in exchange for an evening of laughter. As comedian Bruce Baum said in a published testimonial: 'Marc has written a novel that's Gatsby-like in the way it unveils layers of the comedy world most people don't know exist.' This quirky, pop culture thriller represents a deep reveal into the anger and pain from which our laughter is gifted to us. Pam Stone, the co-star of the ABC TV show Coach, said this: 'If the general public had any idea of the behind-the-scenes stories that have gone on in comedy clubs across the nation ... oh, Lordy. Most comics have kept our mouths shut, only because someone else has equal dirt on us to spill. Marc Weingarten, in his debut novel, unabashedly shares some of the raw truths and appallingly funny accounts in this fictional (or, is it?), comedic setting ... pulled, I'm sure, from years in the biz.' A comedy pioneer, Weingarten's resume includes owning a comedy landmark, writing and talent coordinating a late night network television show, producing some of the biggest live comedy events in the country, headlining major venues as a comic, writing material for other comics, and co-founding what is arguably the most prominent comedy recording label in the country. At 26, Marc became the youngest comedy club owner in America when he and his partners bought the historic Ice House in Pasadena, California. During that time, Marc developed working relationships with some of America's most prominent comedy stars, agents and network executives. From there, he joined legendary L.A. radio personality Rick Dees, who asked Marc to help develop and produce The Rick Dees Comedy Concerts. That association led to seven sold-out shows at such venues as the Universal Amphitheater, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, and Long Beach Terrace Theater. Stars including Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, Brad Garrett, Ellen Degeneres, Bill Maher and Kevin Nealon were featured in Marc's productions. Marc's credits include being hired as a staff writer and talent coordinator for ABC's Into the Night starring Brad Garrett. He's performed in Las Vegas and major theaters and comedy clubs nationwide and has been a voting member of the GRAMMY's since 1997 for producing the albums of George Lopez, Richard Jeni, Bobby Collins and Jeff Wayne. For interviews and print reviews Marc is available by phone at 818-571-6996 and by email at marcfunny@msn.com. Marc Weingarten PO Box 1497 Deerfield Beach, Fl 33443 Email: marcfunny@msn.com Web site: www.marcweingarten.com Cell: 818-571-6996

For over twenty years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio and television. A legend in the stand-up community, he has appeared on HBO, Conan, Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Real Time, The Green Room and has two Comedy Central Presents specials. Marc's first book based on his solo show - The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah - is available on amazon.com. Marc's first three CDs - Not Sold Out, Tickets Still Available and Final Engagement - are comedy cult classics, while his newest album, This Has To Be Funny, was named #1 Comedy Album of 2011 by LaughSpin.com.

Syfy and Alcon TV today announced that three-time Golden Globe nominee Thomas Jane (Hung, The Punisher) will star as the world-weary Detective Miller

As embodied by the engaging Robert Michael Oliver-heavily bearded for the occasion-Sanctuary Theatre revives Whitman in all his messy glory, bringing us his passion, sensuality, sensitivity and eroticism. It's hard to imagine a guy who looks like Santa Clause relishing the kinds of behavior that (until recently) could get you arrested in most states. But he was dangerous in his own day, and as Oliver reminds us so richly here, he will remain a scandalous figure on the American scene for as long as there is an America.

Brad toured with Carlos Mencia for five years as his opening act.

Bienvenidos a Agrabah, City of Enchantment! Disney's ALADDIN Dual Language Edition features the Academy-Award winning score from Disney's Aladdin movie, with lyrics in both Spanish and English. This bilingual adaptation has been a smash hit in schools and regional productions, including Houston's Theatre Under the Stars.

After a year of performances in the newly renovated Ruth Finley Person Theater, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts kicks-off the fall season with a rich array of performers, speakers and family programming. The line-up features music legends like Steve Winwood, Heart, The Temptations and The Four Tops as well as unforgettable comedians Cheech and Chong and Nick Offerman.