Tag: New York Comedy Festival (1-3 of 3)

Nov 9 2012 01:46 PM ET

'Stand Up for Heroes': Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Robin Williams & more honor wounded warriors

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Image Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

“Humor is healing. Music is inspiring.” That’s how Staff Sgt. Robert Henline summed up last night’s Stand Up for Heroes benefit — an annual event for injured service members, veterans, and their families produced by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

In March 2007, Henline’s truck hit a roadside bomb while he was serving his third tour in Iraq. He suffered burns over 38 percent of his body and lost his left ear in the explosion — but Henline held on to his sense of humor. Before the show, the vet worked the red carpet outside of Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre with stars like Ricky Gervais and Roger Waters — and even joked about preparing the Pink Floyd bassist for his Stand Up performance by tossing firecrackers into Waters’ dressing room. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 8 2012 09:44 AM ET

Key & Peele revel in Obama victory at New York Comedy Festival

Image Credit: Matt Hoyle/Comedy Central

Obama may have accepted his reelection with dignity and poise, but Key & Peele know what he was really thinking: “I’m gettin’ some booty tonight!”

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the stars of Comedy Central’s Key & Peele, brought their inventive sketch comedy to NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts last night as part of the New York Comedy Festival, and the first item on their agenda was the President’s victory. Taking the stage to a standing ovation, the comedians opened the night with their popular skit featuring President Obama and his anger translator, Luther. Peele’s Obama impression was flawless, as usual — it’s perhaps the best in the business — and Key spewed righteous bile as Luther, the boorish voice of the commander-in-chief’s id. As the president reflected tactfully on his campaign, Luther’s rhetoric was more to the point: “Thank you, Joe Biden, for not putting your foot in your mouth for two weeks!” and “Black people, we came out to two elections in a row!” And at the first mention of Mitt Romney, Luther literally bounded across the stage, gloating like Terrell Owens in the end zone. Much of the material came from a video released early Wednesday, but hey, it’s still a kick to see a President of the United States doing MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” dance. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 7 2012 06:03 PM ET

New York Comedy Fest kicks off tonight: Patton Oswalt explains how it'll make Sandy funny

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Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

If comedy is tragedy plus time, then New Yorkers might be ready to joke about Hurricane Sandy. Even if they’re not, chances are that the storm will be a hot topic at the New York Comedy Festival — a star-studded event that kicks off tonight with shows featuring Ricky Gervais and Key & Peele — concludes Sunday with a conversation between Robin Williams and David Steinberg. The Oscar winner and the prolific TV director will reportedly discuss “nothing that important.”

The fest’s headliners read like a who’s who of standup — the list includes Artie Lang, Aziz Ansari, Rob Delaney, Bill Maher, Kevin Hart, and Patton Oswalt, who might just be the hardest working man in showbusiness. Perhaps best known for voicing Remy the rat in Pixar’s Ratatouille, the prolific Oswalt has produced three comedy albums, a variety of EPs, a smattering of comic books, and a memoir called Zombie Spaceship Wasteland over the past five years. He’s also appeared onscreen in everything from broad, popular sitcoms like Two and a Half Men to awards bait chamber pieces like 2011′s Young Adult. But the comedian’s true love is standup comedy — Oswalt has said before that his work in TV and movies is just “extra-curricular” stuff done to support his career onstage.

Before the festival’s first show, we spoke with Oswalt about his comedy, Sandy’s aftermath, and the right way to find humor in a natural disaster — but only briefly, since he had at least eight more things to accomplish that day.
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