Author: laughspin

Comedian Jeannette Rizzi will star in a special performance of her solo show Blindsided at 8 pm on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 at Actors Theatre Workshop in Manhattan. Tickets ($25 each) are now available at BrownPaperTickets.com.

As raw as it is funny, Blindsided is a personal journey about an all-American teen growing up in rural Florida who is devastated about her best friend Katie’s suicide. The daughter of a former monk and former nun (yes, really), Jeannette – only 17 at the time, was charged with delivering her best friend’s eulogy in front of hundreds of mourners and, worse, living the rest of her life with her own debilitating suicidal thoughts. Ultimately hopeful and uplifting, Blindsided finds Jeannette fully capable of laughing at herself and constantly finding the hilarious side of her situation.

Though it’s been 14 years since he’s released a proper stand-up comedy special, Martin Lawrence’s presence on persistent influence to younger generations of comedian has never waned. With a national tour — three more dates coming up! — on the heels of his new special Doin’ Time: Uncut, which debuted on Showtime earlier this year and can now be viewed On Demand, Lawrence is poised to enter 2017 stronger than ever. Filmed live at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, Doin’ Time: Uncut finds the ever-physical Lawrence opining on Barack Obama, Bill Cosby, life in Hollywood and more.

We recently caught up with Lawrence to chat about the new comedy special, his past in the world of boxing and more. Check it out below!

Martin we are all so happy to see you have a new comedy special out! How does it feel getting back on stage after fourteen years?
It feels good! The reception I am getting from everyone welcoming me back on stage feels so great.

What was the process like developing it? Did you get back on the grind of testing out all of your new material in the comedy clubs?
Yes, absolutely. I workout the material with my brothers, friends, and then we go to comedy clubs and try it out. We get back in those smoke filled rooms, small rooms, small venues, and then we work our way up to the bigger venues.

This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving, or as some correct history purists might refer to it– the systematic murder of the original American settlers. A lot has been written about the first Thanksgiving. How accurate those accounts in American History books that line the shelves of our Elementary schools are, at best, questionable. Regardless it’s the second Thanksgiving that hasn’t been explored nearly as much. Until now.

Thanks to We Are Thomasse, a married British-American comedy team comprised of Nick Afka Thomas and Sarah Ann Masse, we finally get a peek into what went down on the eve of history’s second ever Thanksgiving celebration.