Lisa Lampanelli Joins THE PEOPLE VERSUS LENNY BRUCE as Associate Producer
Susan Charlotte's play, directed by Antony Marsellis, heads to Theatre Row with Ian Lithgow and Dan Grimaldi
Cause Célèbre Productions will welcome Lisa Lampanelli as Associate Producer for the world premiere of “The People Versus Lenny Bruce” a play by Susan Charlotte, based on the legal case of legendary lawyer Martin Garbus. Directed by Antony Marsellis, performances will begin on Thursday, May 7 at 7:30pm at Theatre Row – Theatre Four (410 West 42nd Street). Opening Night is Thursday, May 14 at 7:30pm. The production is scheduled to run through Sunday, June 28, 2026. For more information, please visit www.causecelebreproductions.org.
“I am greatly honored that a comedian, such as Lisa Lampanelli, has offered her support, energy, talent and intelligence to The People Versus Lenny Bruce, shares Ms. Charlotte." “Lisa, like Lenny Bruce, understands the importance of freedom of speech. And, like Lenny Bruce, she realizes what happens when that freedom is threatened.”
"Lenny Bruce helped pave the way for every controversial, edgy, and important comedian with a message who came after him,” states Ms. Lampanelli. “This play illustrates why Lenny was so pivotal in shaping the comedy landscape, and it shows that this was a battle being fought then, and is still being fought now. The play doesn't just revisit history. It puts us front and center in the courtroom that changed everything. It is a must-see for anyone who cares about free speech."
The story of Lenny Bruce and his New York trial is more relevant now than ever. A heart-breaking and thought provoking story filled with humor, this theatrical adaptation is the story of comic Lenny Bruce and his lawyer Martin Garbus who tried to save his client from the system – and from himself.
The cast for The People Versus Lenny Bruce is Johnny Anthony (The Other Americans, “American Horror Story”) as Lenny Bruce, Timothy Doyle (Fortune's Fool) as Jules Feiffer, Dan Grimaldi (“The Sopranos”) as Herbert Ruhe, Ian Lithgow (Boy Gets Girl, “Third Rock From the Sun”) as Richard H. Kuh, Jonathan Spivey (Smart Blonde) as Forrest Johnson, Stephen Schnetzer (Filumena, “Another World”) as Martin Garbus/Narrator, and Roberta Wallach (The Diary of Anne Frank) as Dorothy Kilgallen. Michael J. Osgood, former Deputy Chief of the NYPD/Special Victim's Unit, is Co-Producer.
At the conclusion of the trial, License Inspector Herbert Ruhe, the Prosecuter's witness, said the following to Attorney Allen Schwartz: “We aimed for Bruce. We picked him out of all the performers. I know he was not obscene, yet in a way I feel he had to be convicted.” These words were spoken in 1964 but they could have easily been said in 2026. Jimmy Kimmel, Rahm Emanuel and The New York Times all referenced Lenny Bruce when speaking of how the first amendment was under attack. When Inspector Ruhe testified against Bruce, he knew Bruce was innocent. He not only rationalized his lies, he bragged about them!
The People Versus Lenny Bruce was most recently presented as a staged reading at the Ethical Culture Society of New York, and has played to standing ovations in Los Angeles and on Cape Cod. The People Versus Lenny Bruce is part of a series called All The Courts A Stage, based on the legal cases of Martin Garbus. The two other plays Unlucky Gal/The Story of Jane Doe which deals with sexual abuse, and Last Chance Café which revolves around voter suppression, will be presented Off-Broadway this fall. The trilogy could not be more timely.
About Lisa Lampanelli
Lisa Lampanelli is a two-time Grammy Award nominee known for more than 30 years as “Comedy's Lovable Queen of Mean.” A constant on the comedy scene, with countless tours, 13 NBC “Tonight Show” appearances, and sold-out performances at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall under her belt, she became well-known for her roasting skills, publicly lambasting everyone from David Hasselhoff to Flavor Flav to Pamela Anderson on Comedy Central. Her five one-hour specials on HBO, Comedy Central, and EPIX won solid ratings, rankings on the Billboard Charts, and earned her those two Grammy nominations for Comedy Album of the Year.
In 2016, Lisa decided to do something a little different. She wrote Stuffed, a four-person play about food and body-image issues, which enjoyed two off-Broadway runs – at the Women's Project Theatre and The Westside Theatre, respectively -- and helped audience members come to terms with their own food and body stigma. Her charitable efforts -- she raised $130,000 for the Gay Men's Health Crisis during season 5 of NBC's “Celebrity Apprentice” and won $50,000 for the same organization on Fox's “Celebrity Weakest Link” – are among her proudest achievements. And she is a fierce supporter of “The North Shore Animal League of America.”
Lisa announced her retirement from stand-up comedy on the Howard Stern radio program in late 2018 and is now dedicating her life to teaching standup and storytelling at the Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts, hosting her podcast, “Shrink This!,” on iHeartMedia, and serving as Associate Producer of The People Versus Lenny Bruce, produced by Cause Célèbre Productions. She is completing a one-year training in Integral Coaching and, through that program, helps creatives and people who feel stuck move forward in their lives and careers.
