Joy Behar to Present BONKERS IN THE BOROUGHS at NY Comedy Festival

Bonkers in the Boroughs, five short plays by Joy Behar about New Yorkers in all five boroughs will be presented on November 3rd, 4th and 5th as part of the New York Comedy Festival at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center (248 West 60th Street).  Abigail Zealey Bess directs. Ms. Behar will perform in one of the plays.

In addition to Joy Behar, the actors are Bob Ari, Susie Essman, Dan Grimaldi, Danny Hoch, Jackie Hoffman, Lou Liberatore, Irene Sofia Lucio, Annie O'Sullivan, Josh Henry Sussman, and Renée Taylor.

Joy Behar grew up in Brooklyn, attended college in Queens and works and lives in Manhattan, so she knows a few things about life in the five boroughs (and she's been to the Bronx Zoo and dated a guy from Staten Island). And now Joy brings her savage wit and armchair psychologist's view of dysfunctional families (are there any other kind?) to the New York Comedy Festival, with Bonkers in the Boroughs, a chaotic collection of one-acts for comedy fans, theater lovers, and people with limited attention spans. Bonkers in the Boroughs captures all the love, the passion, the seething resentments and the unbridled hostility of New York family life in one totally disrespectful evening of theater. 

The five plays and casts are:

Get Me Teresa Caputo with Joy Behar, Dan Grimaldi, Irene Sofia Lucio and Lou Liberatore.
Greasing the Squeak with Renée Taylor, Lou Liberatore, Danny Hoch, and Jackie Hoffman.
Born Identity with Jackie Hoffman, Bob Ari, and Annie O'Sullivan.
Let Them Eat Cheesecake with Annie O'Sullivan, Dan Grimaldi, and Irene Sofia Lucio.
Pearl has a Visitor with Susie Essman, Bob Ari, Danny Hoch, and Josh Henry Sussman.

Joy Behar is among today's leading comic talents. Whether performing standup comedy or interviewing politicians and artists, she is an original voice and leading woman on both stage and screen. She was a member of the original cast of ABC's “The View” for 16 years, returning as co-host in September 2015 for the show's three most recent seasons. Along with winning the 2009 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, Behar is also the recipient of three MAC awards, a CableACE Award and a 2000 GLAAD Award for her enduring friendship with the LGBTQ+ community. On television, she starred in two HBO specials and was a regular on the series “Baby Boom.” She recently appeared in Woody Allen's Amazon series “Crisis in Six Scenes.” In June 2016, Behar was inducted into the Brooklyn Walk of Fame at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, joining an impressive list of Brooklynites honored for their distinguished work in entertainment, sports, media and the arts. Behar has hosted her own shows, including a call-in radio show on WABC, “The Joy Behar Show” on HLN, and “Say Anything” on Current TV. Her film appearances include This Is My Life directed by Nora Ephron, and Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery. In theater, Behar starred in Nicky Silver's play The Food Chain, for which she earned rave reviews, and in the critically acclaimed play The Vagina Monologues. She also wrote and performed in her own solo show, Me, My Mouth and I at the Cherry Lane Theatre. As a playwright, Behar has written Crisis in Queens along with Bonkers in the Boroughs. Behar has written five books, including two children's books. Her most recent book, “The Great Gasbag: An A-to-Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World,” was released in 2017.

Abigail Zealey Bess (Director) is an award-winning filmmaker, theatre director and educator. She has been directing theatre and film, specializing in new work since she arrived on these shores from the UK and established her film company, Weird Sisters, which began as a theatrical entity over 25 years ago. She continues to head Weird Sisters developing feature film projects and theatrical ventures in NY, regionally and in Europe devoted to the promotion of prolific women artists and writers giving voice to new thought-provoking work. She is delighted to be collaborating with this amazing team of artists on Bonkers in the Boroughs.

Rose Caiola (Executive Producer) has won eight Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards – her award-winning productions include Company, The Inheritance, Once on this Island, Dear Evan Hansen, The Color Purple, All the Way, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Parade. Recent productions include Prima Facie, The Piano Lesson, and A Beautiful Noise. She most recently produced and cowrote the book of off-Broadway's Rock & Roll Man.  Caiola Productions received the 2023 Arts Ally Award from the Drama League.  

Cyrena Esposito (Co-producer) is a long-time talent manager and partner/owner at Red Letter Entertainment representing some of the industry's award-winning talent.  She is presently producing a film with Sobini Films as well as a non-scripted series. She was a producer on the Tony award winning musical, Memphis as well as Spiderman on Broadway. She has worked in the theatre, her first love, before moving into the representation side and served as co-president of Olympia Theatre Productions that began in Buffalo NY.  She is thrilled to be working alongside her former client, Joy Behar, and producer Rose Caiola.

Tickets are available here and the playing schedule is: 

Fri Nov 3 at 7 PM

Sat Nov 4 at 2 & 7 PM

Sun Nov 5 at 3 PM

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