Lenny Bruce is Back at United Solo Festival

The Major Market Tour: Having played to full comedy house crowds in Dallas and even in a burlesque house to kick off a major market tour as well as stopping for 3 nights at the historic Second City in Chicago, producers Bren Rapp and Joey Folsom have taken a scripted theatrical piece into nontraditional venues, taking advantage of the show's crossover appeal, a solo piece about the father of counterculture comedy, to go out and find new audiences for live theatre, where they are, in venues where they are already engaged in viewing live entertainment, and as an homage to the life and work of the subject, Lenny Bruce. Rapp and Folsom's novel approach to site-specific theatre has allowed the production to play nationally at well known comedy venues while the direction of the piece by Nathan Autrey and Folsom's performance has it standing solid as a one man theatrical piece, fit for inclusion at the world's largest solo theatre festival, United Solo Fest.

The Show: Today's political climate in America has again brought the issues surrounding free speech, comedy as civil disobedience and satire as a vehicle for social change to the forefront of our cultural conversation. This makes the story of controversial comic and satirist Lenny Bruce not only remarkably relevant but one of timely historical precedent to be noted. Joey Folsom stars in this one man piece, directed by Nathan Autrey, that, while primarily comedic in design, profiles stand-up comedy's most infamous figure who challenged the perceptions of the purpose of comedy and is thought of by many as the satirical equivalent of a martyr, vilified in life and sainted in death for the path he paved for comedians and individuals alike regarding the freedom of speech. Written in the bluntly honest voice and provocatively notorious style of Lenny Bruce, Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein's Lenny Bruce is Back is based on the premise of Bruce coming back from the dead to deliver the stand-up set he never had the opportunity to give in life. Staged to capture the format and feel of stand-up comedy, the show is biographical as well as culturally insightful, mixing the funny, with the poignant and the obscenely relevant in an entertaining hybrid uniquely suited for both comedy and theatrical audiences.

United Solo: United Solo is the world's largest solo theatre festival, presenting its 8th season at Theatre Row in the heart of New York City's theatre district. As in previous years, the festival will present between two and five shows each night for the next ten weeks, adding up to 120 unique productions coming from six continents, and performing their solo pieces between September 14 and November 19, 2017.

Read an in depth piece about the production and Lenny Bruce's place in performance from guest columnist Kris Noteboom for Broadwayworld.com: /dallas/article/Outside-the-Box-Dallas-Solo-Show-Captures-Lenny-Bruces-Life-20170810

Production Information:

Lenny Bruce is Back produced in conjunction with Chameleon Fools Theatre Troupe for the United Solofest

Written by Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein

Produced by Bren Rapp and Joey Folsom

Directed by Nathan Autrey

Show Dates and Times:

4:00pm Sunday, October 29

All shows are staged at Theatre Row: 410 West 42nd Street, New York City. TICKETS, with a price of $35 (plus a $2.25 Theatre Restoration Charge) are available at the Theatre Row Box Office and online through Telecharge at www.telecharge.com. You may also call Telecharge at 212-239-6200. When placing your reservation, please provide: the FESTIVAL name (United Solo Theatre Festival), the name of THEATRE (Theatre Row - The Studio Theatre), and the specific DAY and TIME of SHOW you would like to see.

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