Monday
Lewis Black
Receiving critical acclaim as a stand-up, actor and author, Lewis Black has performed for audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and The United States. In 2012, he performed eight sell-out shows at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway. In 1996, his friend Lizz Winstead tapped him to create a weekly segment for a show she was producing on Comedy Central called The Daily Show. The segment, a three minute rant about whatever was bothering him at the moment, evolved into Back in Black. It became one of the most popular and longest running segments on the show and also created a long and successful relationship with the network. Since then, Lewis has taped four specials for the Comedy Central Presents series, co-created Last Laugh with Lewis Black, presided over Lewis Black’s The Root of All Evil, and continues to perform Back in Black on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His popular appearances on Comedy Central helped to win him Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards in 2001.
Increased exposure from The Daily Show eventually generated a record deal with Stand Up! Records. His first CD, The White Album, was released in 2000 to much critical acclaim. Lewis followed with eight more, six under the Comedy Central Records label. He has been graced with 5 Grammy nominations and two wins for his work. The first nomination came in 2006 for Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues, the second in 2009 for Anticipation. In 2007 he won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album for The Carnegie Hall Performance and in 2011, his second for Stark Raving Black. His most recent release, In God We Rust (Comedy Central Records) was nominated for a Grammy.
He’s filmed two specials for HBO, Black On Broadway and Red, White and Screwed. The latter was nominated for an Emmy in 2007. He had a regular feature for two seasons on Inside the NFL (for which he earned a Sports Emmy) and in 2006 was honored to be asked to participate in Comic Relief.
In 2009 Lewis filmed his first feature length concert film, Stark Raving Black at the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit. The film had a limited run in theaters across the US and Canada in the summer of 2010. At the end of the theater run, premium movie channel EpixHD picked up the film for its channel along with the accompanying documentary Basic Black. Both are still aired regularly and can be found in the EpixHD on demand queue. 2011 found him producing his second full length concert, In God We Rust, which also still airs on EpixHD.
In the midst of a rigorous touring schedule, regular TV appearances and movie roles, Lewis has written three best selling books, Nothing’s Sacred (Simon and Schuster, 2005), Me of Little Faith(Riverhead Books, 2008) and I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas (Riverhead Books, 2010). All garnered critical praise as well commercial success and spent numerous weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.
As a playwright Lewis has penned over 40 plays, many of which have been produced around the country. The Deal, a dark comedy about business, was made into a short film in 1998 and picked up by the Sundance Channel. In 2011, his play One Slight Hitch was produced at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and then again in 2012 at both the ACT Theatre in Seattle and The George Street Theatre in New Brunswick.
In 2006, Lewis had a break out year as an actor. He co-starred with Robin Williams in Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year (Universal Pictures), appeared as “the fake dean of a fake college” in Steve Pink’s Accepted (Universal Pictures) and as the harried airport manager in Paul Feig’sUnaccompanied Minors (Warner Brothers). He also lent his voice to the role of “Jimmy” in Bob Sagat’s parody, Farce of the Penguins (Thinkfilm).
His new standup special, Lewis Black: Old Yeller – Live at the Borgata, will premiere on the network Friday, May 2, 2014 at 10PM ET on the EPIX network. He will also continue his charity work through ‘Lewis Black Presents Big Stars, Big Cure: An Unforgettable Night of Comedy and Music to Fight Cystic Fibrosis‘ on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Follow him on twitter here. Visit his website here.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Mike Armstrong
He’s sold out comedy clubs all over the country, is a former cop, had hobos that lived in his front yard as a kid and has even jumped over a tiger while in the Bahamas, so it’s safe to say that Mike Armstrong has no shortage in the interesting life experiences department. But that’s what makes his comedy shows so enjoyable and why he’s received countless standing ovations. Armstrong has a story or a prank he’s pulled to go along with just about any topic, and he tells them in a way that makes it nearly impossible not to laugh. Mike is a regular on the BOB & TOM Comedy All-Stars tour and recently released his first comedy album, Comedy Police.
Thursday
James P. Connolly
James P. Connolly is a Harvard graduate and former Marine Corps Infantry Office but somehow ended up as a standup comedian. For some, that might be considered a step down, but you wouldn’t think that after looking at his resume. Connolly has been featured on Comedy Central, HBO, SiTV, UPN and hosts the show Movie Obsessions on VH1. He’s been a finalist in a number of top comedy competitions such as Ed McMahon’s Next Big Star andLaugh Riots, plus he’s got a great voice, which you can hear on his new CD, The Master Plan. Follow James on Facebook and twitter. Visit his website here.
April Macie
Do you remember the girl in your high school who had a horrible rumor spread about her? It might have involved a football team, or a dog and some peanut butter or maybe processed meat. Well, that girl in Easton, Pennsylvania was April Macie. So, where did she turn for comfort? While some might turn to the Lord, April turned to promiscuity. Promiscuity and then comedy. With her irreverent brand of overtly sexual humor she attempts to break down troubling double-standards and lend her voice to women everywhere. April would like to add that she doesn’t really know what irreverent means, but she’s heard a lot of other comics use it and thought it sounded kinda’ cool.
April Macie travels the world collecting stories and experiences, which she then translates into humorous, relatable tales in front of audiences worldwide. April has been to over 23 countries, 12 of those performing stand-up comedy (not fellatio) for the troops, was a finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006, has appeared on E! Entertainment, Fuel TV, HSN, Sirius and XM Radio, Bob & Tom, Access Hollywood, and was labeled an “emerging talent to watch” by the Hollywood Reporter at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2005. April is a regular guest on the Howard Stern show, where in 2008 she was voted the “Funniest and Hottest” comedian in America. She is currently in the documentary, “I Am Comic” which premiered at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival and is currently airing on Showtime and will also be appearing on Showtime in the stand-up special “Vegas Is My Oyster” premiering August 5th. Currently, she spends most of her time traveling the United States as a headlining stand-up comedian.
April has slapped a boyfriend on the toilet for renting out their home for porn shoots, stood on the North Korean border, entertained troops next to the detainee camp in Guantanamo Bay, imported a young Englishman for the summer, only to see him turned away at the border months later for overstaying his visa. She has had numerous crappy jobs-including: a nanny, Hooter’s waitress, clowns assistant, telemarketer – fired from all of them, occasionally smokes weed out of an apple and goes to Chucky Cheese with her friends, thinks double standards are ridiculous and hopes to change the world by empowering women, “One dick joke at a time.” Follow her on twitter. Visit her website here.
Friday
Paul Varghese
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Paul Varghese has been climbing the comedy ladder, earning “Best Stand-up Comic in Dallas” in 2007, “Funniest Comic in Dallas” in 2009 and he earned a spot on the second season of Last Comic Standing.
This Indian American comic has toured with fellow Indian comic and Canadian superstar, Russell Peters, and has been seen on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham.
He describes his own act as “observations about being Indian, providing outsider-looking-in and insider-looking-out commentary, while also exploring an array of topics and issues outside that realm.” Follow Paul on Twitter and Facebook. Visit his website here. Check out his new album out on iTunes called “Paul and Oates.”
Rory Albanese
Rory Albanese is the former Executive Producer and Writer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Having been a key part of The Daily Show for over a decade, Rory has won nine Primetime Emmy Awards and is currently creating an original sitcom for CBS. Rory is also an accomplished stand-up comedian; in addition to touring the country as a headliner, he has been a featured performer on “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show” on Comedy Central and starred in his own episode of “Comedy Central Presents” in 2010. He spends his free time keeping the streets of New York City safe by employing the lost art of vigilante justice.
