Moonwork presents An Evening of Original Works Saturday Night

Ok, we admit it. We're really, really into comedy. I know. We've been reticent to be upfront about this. Truth is, we all have our dirty little comedy secrets. When I was a kid I loved — and often emulated — both Gallagher and Howie Mandel. When Gallagher talked about the way women drive or give directions, man...no one could touch him. And I spent hours upon hours perfecting Mandel's Gizmo voice.

Less embarrassing was my earliest comedy love, Bill Cosby. My dad had three of his albums, or "records" as we used to call them, and I remember lying in the floor of our den giggling at the stories about Bill's childhood, his brother Russell and his parents. I fell in love with comedy probably because it was one of those things that both my dad and I really, really enjoyed. I fell in love with the Beatles for the same reason.

As I got a little older I began looking forward to shows like Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime or Comic Relief as THE events of the year. I even began to like some women comics: Elayne Boosler, Rita Rudner, Paula Poundstone and Ellen DeGeneres were heroes. I came across Bill Hicks on HBO one night and thought I would die. Then in high school, Denis Leary's No Cure for Cancer came out and the idea of comedy as art exploded in my head.

When I moved to New York, it didn't occur to me right away that comedy was something I now had the opportunity to go enjoy in person. I never thought of going to comedy clubs and had no idea that there was something called an alternative comedy scene. Then one day, a guy Ces and I worked with invited us to go see a comedy show a friend of his produced called Moonwork. At that show we saw Jim Gaffigan, Tom Shillue and the late Rusty Magee for the first time. It was smart, funny, original and I walked out forever changed. Comedy was a real, living, breathing thing and I've wanted to be a part of it ever since.

So all of that is to say that in many ways, New York comedy begins and ends for me with Moonwork's Evenings of Original Works. They've got another one tomorrow night, Saturday and I highly recommend you check it out.

Moonwork presents
An Evening of Original Works

Saturday, October 21st at 9pm

Andrés du Bouchet
Craig Baldo
Matt Higgins
The Daily Show's John Oliver
and more...

The Phil Coltoff Center at Greenwich Village
(same place...new name)
Children's Aid Society
219 Sullivan Street
between Bleecker & West 3rd