Posts Tagged “Stone and Stone”

Cult Comedy Pictures Holiday Show and Manhole Cover Presentation!

CCP xmas_stage72 flyer

I feel very fortunate to be considered part of Cult Comedy Pictures, a group of very talented, very funny, and very creative performers.  Their forte are comedy videos which is what drew me to them in the first place!

The core group is made up of George Gaffney, Brent Katz, Lance Rizzo, Jake Hart, Mark Becker, Justin Williams, Jose Vega, Jaclyn Brown, Akash Bhasin, and Candice Guardino, and they bring in regulars like comic/producer Alyse Kenny and myself.

The holiday show was an extravaganza of comedy, videos and musical parodies that took place at Rick Newman’s gorgeous new theatre Stage 72, which used to be known as The Triad Theatre on West 72nd Street, and the place was jam packed.  They had to insert two people next to me with a shoehorn!

Jeffrey Gurian with comedy icon Rick Newman the founder of Catch A Rising Star, and current owner of Stage 72!

Jeffrey Gurian with comedy icon Rick Newman the founder of Catch A Rising Star, and current owner of Stage 72!

The show opened with Jake Hart, the consummate host due to his commanding presence, (in a bright red suit no less!), and a booming voice which translates to a beautiful singing voice, and he brought up the hilarious Stone Brothers, Adam and Todd Stone who I see often performing at Friars events and clubs all over town.

I love when they speak at the same time.  It’s silly and always makes me laugh.  They are very likable and funny, and I understand they decided to be twins at a very early age!

The Stone Brothers otherwise known as Adam and Todd Stone doing their twin thing at Stage 72!

The Stone Brothers otherwise known as Adam and Todd Stone doing their twin thing at Stage 72!

The show was a succession of funny sketches and videos.  One of my favorites is the Black Israelites with George Gaffney, Justin Williams (with the really big hat), and Jose Vega who plays a character called Sup Son!  They are HYSTERICAL!  George works very hard both behind the camera and in front of the camera, and does really great character work, as well as a lot of the editing of the video pieces.

The Black israelites,(L-R) Jose Vega, Justin Williams and George Gaffney engaging with host Jake Hart!

The hysterically funny Black Israelites,(L-R) Jose Vega, Justin Williams and George Gaffney engaging with host Jake Hart!

Brent Katz spends most of his time behind the camera but also appears in some of the sketches as well!

I brought the troupe in to film a sketch I wrote with Lance Rizzo for Countess LuAnn DeLesseps and Princess Carole Radziwill of Bravo TV’s Real Housewives of New York, which will run in the new season, starting in March, and they came through with a very funny video in a very short amount of time.

Carole Radziwill, Jeffrey Gurian, and LuAnn DeLesseps in character for the Real Housewives of New York at The PIT!

Carole Radziwill, Jeffrey Gurian, and LuAnn DeLesseps in character for the Real Housewives of New York at The PIT!

Truth be told they worked feverishly until the very last minute and actually got it finished literally 20 minutes before I left for the theatre where it was to be shown!  Luckily for me, I had a very strong heart, and very strong faith in them that they’d get it done, and they came through with flying colors!  Real Housewives of New York means NATIONAL exposure!

Alyse Kenny came up and she and Jake did a sketch which involved a “naughty or nice” contest, and a holiday give-away of prizes to the audience.

Alyse Kenny and Jake Hart on stage doing their thing!

Alyse Kenny and Jake Hart on stage doing their thing!

And Jaclyn Brown and Mark Becker did a hysterical musical sketch with Jaclyn’s Dad a famous musician who accompanied them on the guitar.   Mark wound up shirtless exposing a sculptured body that put everyone else to shame!  Great abs!

Jaclyn Brown, and Mark Becker in a musical parody with Mr. Brown on guitar!

Jaclyn Brown, and Mark Becker in a musical parody with Mr. Brown on guitar!

And Candace Guardino and Jake Hart teamed up to do a little musical number which parodied Dean Martin’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside” under the title “Baby, It’s Cult Outside!”.  Can’t wait for Candace to restart her hit off-Broadway show Italian Bred which Lance Rizzo is helping to produce, and I am participating in as well!

The show closed with the very sharp comedy of the always funny Leighann Lord, who’s an old friend and who I enjoy every time I see her perform!

Leighann Lord making them laugh at Stage 72!

Leighann Lord making them laugh at Stage 72!

But the high point of the evening for me was the group’s presentation to me of a very special award, which turned out to be a manhole cover with my face on it!  It was hysterical and I have it now in my apartment as a great piece of memorabilia!

Brent Katz filmed Lance Rizzo and I in the theatre district on 42nd Street one night in the frigid cold, and Lance presented me with the award on behalf of the rest of the group.  You can see my reaction in the video below:

Jeffrey Gurian holding his manhole cover award with his face imprinted on it!  PRICELESS!!!

Jeffrey Gurian holding his manhole cover award with his face imprinted on it! PRICELESS!!!

 

Lance Rizzo presenting Jeffrey Gurian with the Manhole Cover of the Year Award for the Comedy Walk of Fame!

Lance Rizzo presenting Jeffrey Gurian with the Manhole Cover of the Year Award for the Comedy Walk of Fame!

 

The manhole cover in it's proper place in Times Square!

The manhole cover in it’s proper place in Times Square!

 

 

I said to him at the time while we were shivering in the cold, people have no idea what some people go through just to make other people laugh.  The audience was all warm and snuggly in their homes while we were out in the arctic cold, freezing our butts off, busy presenting me with a manhole cover!

And the truth is I can’t wait to do it again! (LOLOL)  We’re supposed to do a series of funny, sexy videos, with big name comics and gorgeous girls, so stay tuned for that!

Cult Comedy Pictures rules!!!  Check out Mike Sgroi’s article on Cult Comedy Pictures as well!

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Posted in: Cabaret, Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Jeffrey Gurian News, Nightlife Events, Off-Broadway Show, Stand-Up Comedy

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Comedy Fundraiser at The Actor’s Temple

When Bob Greenberg puts a show together, he puts a show together! I flew back from LA just to be in it! (Well actually, I was due to come back that day, but one of the reasons I decided to return that day was to be in Bob’s show and to host the late show at The Comic Strip, which I do every Sunday and Monday!)

Bob Greenberg, Jeffrey Gurian, Sandy Ehlers, and Mike Fine at The Actor’s Temple!

There is a fabulous Temple on West 47th Street that each year is the beneficiary of a comedy event produced and MC’ed by Bob Greenberg, whose impressions of Jackie Gleason, Ed Norton, Oliver Hardy, and Stan Laurel just to name a few are killer! I’ve had the pleasure of performing with Bob several times and he’s always so funny!

The Actor’s Temple is actually Congregation Ezrath Israel, which was founded in 1917. The building we were in dates from 1923. Some of their former members were show business greats like Al Jolson, Joe E. Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Jack Benny, Red Buttons, Edward G. Robinson, and even my original sponsor in The Friars Club, Milton Berle. And to show you how powerful this Temple is, none of them were even Jewish! (LOL) Of course they were! In those days, EVERYONE was Jewish! (LOLOL)

Rabbi/Cantor Jill Hausman officiates at The Temple and she is the sweetest, kindest person you could ever want to meet. She thanked each of the performers personally with a big hug, which most comedy club owners don’t do! (Fortunately! LOL)

See if you can guess which ones are Stone and Stone, plus Mike Toro, and how did Mike Fine get in there again??? I guess he thought it was an open “Mike”! (LOL)

The place was packed so tight, you couldn’t even squeeze a Torah in there. We were packing them in by the “minyans!” And there were still almost as many comics as there were audience members! (LOL) This was Bob’s line-up in alphabetical order: Debbie Bazza, Ross Bennett, Sandy Ehlers, Mike Fine, Robin Fox, Joe Franklin, me – Jeffrey Gurian, Harriet Holloway, Rhonda Handome, Doug Kleiman, Dave Konig, Nancy Lombardo, Steven Scott, Stone and Stone, Mike Toro, and Doug Nervik. There were enough jokes to feed a village! And every single one of them did great!

Robin Fox, Ross Bennett and Dave Konig waiting patiently to go on at Bob Greenberg’s Comedy Mishagas at The Actor’s Temple!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with old pal Rhonda ( Passion) Hansome! I got her just before she left, … hence the coat!

(L-R) Debbie Bazza, Rhonda Handsome, and Nancy Lombardo at The Actor’s Temple!

It was especially great for me, cause I got to do a lot of my “Jewish” material, and I got to do it for Joe Franklin, who I don’t think had ever seen me perform, except as a guest on his show several times. Joe and I actually inaugurated a new radio show together last year!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the legendary Joe Franklin. we were the first two guests on a new radio show from Alycia Kaback called “The It Factor”!

Joe Franklin performing at The Actor’s Temple, and to show you his dedication, he did all of his jokes in the original Aramaic!

I wanted to try and get a photo of ALL of the comics who performed but I didn’t have a wide enough lens! Actually they all scattered like a herd of wildebeestes, when a lion showed up at the watering hole, so I wasn’t able to get one! Hopefully next year, … in Jerusalem!

Thanks Bob for all you do!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, General Information, Nightlife Events, Red Carpet Events

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