Wednesday Night at the Duplex

Last night I was supposed to get together with Kambri Crews in Astoria to take some PR photos as well as a few of her in her wedding dress (she and fiance Christian Finnegan tie the knot this weekend). Due to last minute wedding madness, Kambri had to cancel, which worked out because I haven't been to the Duplex in ages. With The Drink at Work Show going weekly in September, shows like Poppi Kramer's Suddenly Stand-Up are going to be invaluable when it comes to finding new faces...plus, it's always such a fun time there.

First thing I realized when I got there; Poppi looks AMAZING! I felt like such a shlub ordering my red wine (cause it's healthier than beer, right)...fortunately the free cheese curls and chips were out of arm's reach. I vowed to start getting in shape...right after the wine and slice of pizza when I get home. (I did get up and jog this morning, so that's something.)

While ordering my drink and chatting with Poppi, Becky Donohue came up; I was blocking her seat and she was annoyed until she realized it was me...of course, I still got the hell out of the way. One doesn't fuck with Becky Donohue. We chatted about her upcoming movie screening, I told her about my documentary idea, then we talked about comedy clubs and how to get through to bookers. I'm trying to figure out what a real manager does and Becky had a lot of insight on how comics can develop a career that has real momentum to it without constantly beating your head against the wall with the clubs. Note to young comics...if Becky's around, buy her a drink and get some advice. That girl knows her shit.

Other friendly faces began to stream in; Sean Crespo, John F. O'Donnell, Gilad Foss. The show was a lot fun and I definitely found a couple of people I want to book for DAW. I'd seen Jackie Monahan before but she really stood out this time. O'Donnell is coming into his own in a BIG way (no pun intended) and the find of the night was Maggie Lauren. She's from Georgia and it was her first at the Duplex (a cursory google search reveals that she is also an actress who had a one-woman show at the Abingdon Theatre and was in the film Palindromes). She immediately reminded me of the stand-up version of my dear friend Mindy, all bubbly, saucy, southern and sexy with a dash of valley girl mixed in. And then she tackled these racially-themed jokes with such abandon and bravado she had me in tears. It was one of those sets where you wonder if it will be as funny in another context or a second time, but it was exciting nonetheless. I didn't get to chat with her after but I'll definitely be looking her up.

There was also one of those classic Duplex moments where a comic does the show for the first time, shits all over the place, and then goes over their time to boot. Poppi fucking nailed him for it but he didn't notice; he was too busy talking very loudly with his friend (including during the next comic's set). Fortunately, they left quickly. I cannot wrap my head around the mentality that can sit 6 feet away from a comic, with their back to them, talking at a normal volume as though there isn't a show happening. Entitled fucks.

So, all in all, it was a productive night and I even made it home at a reasonable hour. Pics of a few of the performers are here.