Showing results by publisher "L.A. Theatre Works" in Comedy & Humor

How much would you pay for a painting with nothing on it? Would it be art? Marc's best friend Serge has just bought a very expensive - and very white - painting. To Marc, the painting is a joke, and as battle lines are drawn, old friends use it to settle scores.

With friendships hanging in the balance, the question becomes: how much is a painting worth?

Since 1959, Chicago's Second City improvisational comedy troupe has played a critical role in developing some of the most successful comedians in the United States and Canada. Comedians such as Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, James Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, and Richard Kind, to name a few, have all performed with The Second City.

Kelsey Grammer portrays J. Edgar Hoover in this irreverent and hilarious musical spoof about one of the most powerful men in 20th century America. As head of the FBI, Hoover was privy to the secrets in the lives of many men. Now you learn about his secret love live, his need for personal privacy, and his obsession with knowing the private affairs of others.

The Best of Second City is an unforgettable ride through decades of hilarity, packed with classic sketches that helped make this America's foremost comedy troupe. Dubbed "a temple of satire" by Time magazine, The Second City has been convulsing audiences since its founding in Chicago in 1959, lampooning every aspect of modern American life with brilliant, improvisatory sketches.

Neil Simon's darkly funny memoir of his family in 1930s Brooklyn is presented here by a full cast featuring Valerie Harper, Jonathan Silverman, and Max Casella.

After Vladimir Lenin’s death, Stalin orders two Jewish scientists to preserve Lenin’s body for all time. If they succeed, the rewards will be considerable. If not, it’s the gulag - or worse. Based on real events, Vern Theissen’s nimble dark comedy exposes the absurdities of Soviet life under Stalin.

It’s 1929 as The Jazz Singer hits the silver screen and the talkies promise to change movies forever. Enter three down-and-out vaudevillians who hatch a hare-brained scheme to “make it big” in Tinsel Town. Their plan? To open a voice academy for the witless stars of silent movies. The only things standing in their way are ditzy starlets and power-hungry movie moguls.

A country house weekend goes haywire when the guests and their hosts play a game of romantic musical chairs. A most delightful madcap comedy.

Julia and Fred and Willy and Jane are happily married and the best of friends, until a postcard arrives with news of the imminent arrival of a certain handsome Frenchman. Gay, debonair, and utterly sophisticated.

This classic comedy is set in the charming country home of Charles Condomine, a remarried widower. A witty and convivial evening party among friends is transformed when a seance conjures the ghost of Elvira, Charles' first wife, who delights in wreaking havoc among the living. An enchanting Coward comedy!

The third “battle” of Ayckbourn’s celebrated trilogy The Norman Conquests, returns us to the same weekend in the country, but this time to the setting of Mother’s overgrown English country garden. Something more troublesome than brambles is lurking among the roses. Havoc ensues among the flora and fauna, as this cynical masterpiece makes its way to a hilarious conclusion.

The Code of the Woosters is one of the best known of Wodehouse's Bertie and Jeeves series. Bertie's beloved Aunt Dahlia pressures him into stealing a cow-shaped silver creamer much coveted by his uncle from his arch rival in silver collecting, Sir Watkyn Bassett. At the same time, Bertie attempts to patch up the shaky romance between Guisse Fink-Nottle, the newt expert, and Madeline Bassett, a four star drip. The results of Bertie's efforts are, as always, a financial disaster.

Harry Shearer’s fantasy about a World’s Fair held in Kansas City. Told in quick blackouts, it resembles a profane Simpsons episode. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Fran Adams, David Arnott, Lewis Arquette, James Avery, Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Timothy Fall, David L. Lander, Tom Leopold, Edie McClurg, Julie Payne, Mary Kay Place, John Randolph, Erika Schickel, Harry Shearer, and Fred Willard. Directed by Harry Shearer. Recorded before a live audience in February, 1995.

Sidney Blumenthal, White House presidential adviser, renowned journalist and author of numerous books on American politics, takes us inside the well-groomed Washington Press Corps, who yawn when they hear about peace treaties - but snap to attention at the chance to uncover a little dirt on the First Dog.

A delightful British comedy from the wonderful world of P.G. Wodehouse! The perpetually misguided Bertie finds himself embroiled in a madcap adventure sparked by the abrupt departure of his beloved Jeeves.

Having returned from World War II, Eugene Jerome and his brother Stanley pair up to break into the world of professional comedy writing. Inspiration strikes when they aim their sights on their dysfunctional family - and the network broadcasts it nationwide!

A whirlwind courtship. A storybook wedding. A kiss for the bride. And suddenly everything changes. When Peter and Rita's brand-new marriage is strained by a magical twist of fate, true love will never mean quite the same thing again.

Harry Shearer’s parody of a presidential election. In this fantasy, Bob Dole Jr. faces off against a wrestler named Greenberg, as they fight for one family’s votes by camping out in their living room. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Fran Adams, Ed Begley Jr., Judyann Elder, Arye Gross, Daniel Passer, Richard Masur, Harry Shearer, Fred Willard, and Kenny Williams. Directed by Harry Shearer. Recorded before a live audience.

From hot marital sex to Julia Child’s own recipe for the perfect French kiss, Wild Amerika takes us on a hilarious romp through mating, marriage, and monogamy. Using the tropes of documentary and her own life story, Schickel stitches together a crazy quilt of dreams and experience, taking us from the dawn of humanity to the birth of her own daughter.

Saigon has fallen, and two Vietnamese refugees meet in an Arkansas relocation camp before setting out on a rip-roaring road trip across America. Qui Nguyen tells the hilarious and only slightly not-true version of how his parents met and built a life for themselves in a new land. Recorded before a live audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in February 2020.