NEED TO LAUGH: A COMEDY SPOTLIGHT COMING ATTRACTION: CATCH A RISING STAR PRINCETON; HEIRESSES OF COMEDY, JILL KIMMEL BRYAN, MINDY RICKLES and SHEBA MASON, FEBRUARY 5^TH and 6^TH   and MORE  bY Calvin Schwartz   January 28, 2016  

Comedy and I go back a long way to the days of Milton Berle, Jack Carter and The Honeymooners. Of course, the aforementioned becomes a parsimonious helping of “dating myself’ but who cares?  I was a little kid learning to laugh at silly people on a black and white television with rascally rabbit ears. Late one summer, I went to college, grew up and liked comedy even more. I exited the sixties with a couple of Rutgers college degrees and a growing fascination with comedian Lenny Bruce. I bought all his vinyl albums, saw a Broadway play about his life and came to terms, with some personal pain, with his death and my missing the essence of his career because I wasn’t aware of the world around me. I also missed Dr. King and the March on Washington in 1963. Along came a vow to absorb, grow, learn, partake of the world and keep my rear off the sedentary sofa. It’s my way of life these days of climate change.

All these formative years, I marveled at the minds and talents of comedians; rare, precious and beautiful people. Yes, beginning with Lenny Bruce, wondrously funny and hip with social causes, I immersed myself with as much comedy as I could ingest.  There are many people who talk about Lenny as a champion of free speech. Funny, I’m going to a lecture at Rutgers tonight about free speech. Then Richard Pryor arrived and how I just simply laughed hysterically at his bits,  facial expressions and what he had to say in a serious way. What a gift he was. And I missed him too; never saw him live.

Do you see where I’m going? I don’t want to miss comedians any more that arrived or are on the way up. No more. I want to be there, laughing, learning and wishing I could be on stage.  A few years ago, I became friends with Mike Marino, New Jersey Bad Boy of Comedy. Now I see him perform often and laugh for a couple of hour’s straight non-stop; incisive contemporary brilliant humor. A week after Christmas, Mike called and invited me to come to ‘Catch a Rising Star’ Comedy Club in Princeton to see headliner Kevin Downey Jr and comedienne Pam DeButts. It was a magical night; a lot of laughing and a discovery; How close geographically and structurally (the stage is so close to all the seats) ‘Catch a Rising Star’ in Princeton is to my world which simply is New Jersey.

‘Catch a Rising Star’ was the place that launched the careers of Jerry Seinfeld, Dane Cook, Chris Rock and many others and it has been providing Comedy of Legendary Proportions since 1972. Now I’m a huge fan, groupie, supporter and attendee. There’s plenty of great shows coming; the one that caught my eye right away is February 5^th and 6^th; Heiresses of Comedy, Jimmy Kimmel’s sister, Don Rickles’ daughter and Jackie Mason’s daughter.  Check it all out. See you all around.    Calvin Schwartz

Catch a Rising Star website: http://www.catcharisingstar.com/index.php

Reservations can be made:

Catch A Rising Star box office at 609 987 -8018 or by visiting catcharisingstar.com

​For Press Passes and further information, please call us at 201-433-6705 or mike@catcharisingstar.com

Catch a Rising Star @ Hyatt Princeton is located at 102 Carnegie Center, Princeton, NJ 08540. Free parking is available.

Tickets Hyatt Regency:  Generally, Tickets are $19.50 Fridays and 22.00 Saturdays.  There is a Two Drink Minimum for All Shows. All ages are welcome (16 and under with Adult).

COMING ATTRACTIONS:  THE HILARIOUS “HEIRESSES OF COMEDY”, BUDDY FITZPATRICK AND MARLA SCHULTZ FOR A VERY SPECIAL VALENTINE’S WEEKEND

“Heiresses of Comedy” Jill Kimmel Bryan, Mindy Rickes and Sheba Mason

February 5 – 6

Jill Kimmel Bryan was the only female in The Comedy Squadron, a group of five very funny comedians who were selected by Armed Forces Entertainment to perform for the U.S. military. In the spring of 2013, the group traveled to Germany, Belgium and England to provide some much-needed comedic relief and help boost morale at 8 different military bases. It was the experience of a lifetime that Jill cherishes as one of her greatest comedic accomplishments to date. The summer of 2014 brought Jill and her own group, The Comedy Battalion, to Italy and Turkey for yet another military tour, which was just as rewarding as the first. October 2015 was time for a third tour which included England, Belgium, Germany, Kosovo and the Netherlands with another group, World Class Comedy. She will be embarking on her fourth tour in April 2016.

Stand-up comedian and actress, Mindy Rickles was recently featured in Jeff Garlin’s theatrical release, Dealin’ With Idiots, and has been performing stand-up at clubs around Los Angeles, including as an emcee at the Laugh Factory. She was featured on episodes of In the Heat of the Night with Carroll O’Conner and grew up as the daughter of one of the all-time greats of comedy, Don Rickles. Her act reflects her unique and unusual life growing up, her husband and family which includes two boys and her own particular obsessions. Mindy’s notably adept at working the room and applying her improvisational experience into her comedy.

Born into a theatrical family – with parents, Jackie Mason (comedian) and Ginger Reiter (playwright) – Sheba Mason has been performing since the age of two as a stage prop in her mother’s play where she sat in her high chair and drank from her bottle. Eventually the bottle turned into a microphone, and Sheba  has not left the stage since.  She has appeared in comedy clubs and for events throughout the country. Currently Sheba performs nightly in comedy clubs in Manhattan spouting her unique witticisms, on everything from politics to Grandmas to being single in New York. She stars as her mother in 702 Punchlines & Pregnant: The Jackie Mason Musical a full cast, musical-comedy depicting the tumultuous love affair of her off-beat parents.

SPECIAL EVENT
Valentine’s weekend Buddy Fitzpatrick and Marla Schultz

February 12 – 13

Philadelphia may have been where  was born, but it was in a Philadelphia Comedy Club where he came to life. And as any true Philiadelphian, he now lives in New Jersey.

​Buddy’s stand-up made him a regular on Comedy Central with appearances on ABC and A&E.

Buddy can be seen in the Damon Wayans’ film, Harlem Aria, and in The Business of Strangers, starring Julia Stiles and Stockard Channing.

​His television credits include HBO’s “Sopranos.” Buddy has written, produced and performed his biographical play “Sides” at various NYC theatres.

Originally from Long Island Marla Schultz is a headlining stand-up-comic, actress and public speaker. She toured the country opening for comedian Chelsea Hander, Jim Breuer and other top comics, entertained the troops overseas and guest starred on several television shows. Schultz is also an inventor of The Racktrap (www.theracktrap.com) a one-size-fits all bra pocket. Marla began her standup career in New York City where Alan King hand-picked her for the inaugural Toyota Comedy Festival. She was recently inducted into The New York Friars Club, and the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs nominated her for a MAC Award for ‘Outstanding Female Comedian.’ LA beckoned and Marla spent the past decade in Los Angeles performing regularly at The Hollywood Improv, Comedy Union, Comedy Store and The Ice House. Marla is a regular on the festival circuit- you can catch her this summer the Nantucket Comedy Festival, a semi- finalist in Ladies of Laughter, featured in the LA Comedy Festival and New York’s She Devil Festival. Since moving back east, When not performing in theaters, casinos, festivals or private appearances, you can catch Marla at New York’s top comedy clubs. Television credits include a second appearance on Comics Unleased, Who Wants to Date a Comedian, Girls Behaving Badly, E! Entertainment Television’s The Entertainer with Wayne Newton. Offering commentary on E! Entertainment Television, Jim Breuer’s Sirius Radio Raw Dog Comedy, TV Guide’s Hollywood 411, Fox News Channel’s Redeye, MSNBC’S Your Money and WPIX Morning News as a lifestyle expert.

Reservations can be made:

Catch A Rising Star box office at 609 987 -8018 or by visiting catcharisingstar.com

​For Press Passes and further information, please call us at 201-433-6705 or mike@catcharisingstar.com

Catch a Rising Star @ Hyatt Princeton is located at 102 Carnegie Center, Princeton, NJ 08540. Free parking is available.

Tickets Hyatt Regency:  Generally, Tickets are $19.50 Fridays and 22.00 Saturdays.  There is a Two Drink Minimum for All Shows. All ages are welcome (16 and under with Adult).