3 Things: Hamilton, Man Seeking Woman, and Alan and Arlene Alda
Hi friends,
If you're new to these emails, welcome! Every Saturday, I send out a short email with three great things. I've also got some of my upcoming shows featured below. If you know anyone who you think would enjoy this, feel free to spread the word! They can sign up here or to see the archive of past emails, click here.
SHOW UPDATE: Tomorrow afternoon, I'm doing a You're the Expert taping in NYC. There are only 6 tickets left and no standing room, so if you want to come, get those tickets now.
Then on Tuesday, March 10, I'm doing another "3 Great Things" live at Le Poisson Rouge. It's an Oprah-style audience giveaway with performances and prizes galore. Tickets and more info here. I also just added a bunch more show dates to my calendar (including shows in Boston, Philly, and North Carolina, so check there for details)
Ok, on to this week's list!
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Last night at The Public Theater, I saw HAMILTON by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It's the most astonishing, brilliant, amazing piece of live theater I've ever seen. To take an 800 page biography of a founding father and turn it into a musical filled with tension, drama, comedy, and excitement is no small task. To also combine it with densely layered, inventive hip hop references and make it work seamlessly? I would have thought it was impossible. The show is officially coming to Broadway, so more people will get to see Lin-Manuel's work soon. I honestly cannot recommend it enough. Read Rebecca Mead's article on the back story of the show or watch the performance at the White House that got everything started.
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Simon Rich can do no wrong. I've recommended his books and stories many times. He's a comedic genius. Well, his TV show, Man Seeking Woman, is finally out on FXX. (Or you can download it on iTunes, which is what I did). It's just as clever and hilarious as I hoped. Watch Simon's brilliantly surreal takes on the awkwardness of going out dancing with a couple or what it's like when two people start dating and spend all their time together. Or, of course, there's the time when a character on his show went on a blind date with anactual troll named Gorbachok.
1 Interesting Thing:
Alan Alda is a real role model of mine. Here's a guy who had an amazing and varied career in entertainment and now uses his celebrity to try and make knowledge more accessible to the general public. He seems genuinely interested in all the different things that he does. And, after reading this article, it sounds like his relationship with his wife is also something to strive for. After all, the secret to their nearly 60-year marriage is eating cake off the floor.There's Always Room For Rum Cake (h/t to the lovely Mollie West)
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: Oliver Sacks, Kay Jewelers, and Bac Guai
Hi friends,
If you're new to these emails, welcome! Every Saturday, I send out a short email with three great things. I've also got some of my upcoming shows featured below. If you know anyone who you think would enjoy this, feel free to spread the word! They can sign up here or to see the archive of past emails, click here.
SHOW UPDATE: I'm in Boston this weekend, exploring a world made of ice and snow. Today's taping of You're the Expert is sold out but there are a few tickets left for tomorrow'sTaste Test Comedy show (which includes free treats from Union Square Donuts and A4). All shows include free heat.
Ok, on to this week's list!
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Oliver Sacks is one of the greatest writers about science of all time. I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat early in high school and immediately felt my world expand. I'm not sure that Sacks has always gotten enough credit for his wit and playfulness though. His footnotes, in particular, are amazing. I remember one footnote where Sacks described the first time he "smoked grass" and he kept bringing his hand back and forth to his face, amazed by how perspective changes size. That was just a random personal aside in one of his case studies. I wonder if he and David Foster Wallace ever met and talked about their mutual love for the footnote?
At 81, Sacks recently discovered that he has terminal cancer. This incredible piece is his reflection on that knowledge: My Own Life
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Am I allowed to put one of my own things in here? I think so. For Valentine's Day, I teamed up with filmmakers Nick Kraus and Daniel Goodman to make this very short and very silly fake commercial for Kay Jewelers. It stars Jo Firestone, who let me fake propose to her over and over again. The whole video is 40 seconds long and really only has one joke in it, but the way Jo takes it all so seriously makes me laugh every time. Hopefully you enjoy it too! Every Kiss Begins With Cake
Here's a real Kay Jewelers commercial that is even more bizarre and hilarious than our fake one. Probably the most ominous and terrifying way to give someone a diamond ever. Kay Jewelers- Storm
1 Interesting Thing:
John Willis was a tough white kid from Dorchester, MA. In another life, he could have ended up like the Wahlbergs. Instead, he became a kingpin in the Chinese criminal underworld. So how did a homeless white kid become known as "Bac Guai" the "White Devil" leader of one of Boston's most notorious Chinatown gangs? That's the story behind this incredible piece of reporting from Rolling Stone. The White Devil Kingpin
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris
