Denver Fringe Festival Comedy Hour good for a few laughs
Who couldn’t use some respite from the seemingly endless grind of quarantine interspersed with screaming bad-news headlines? A good dose of laughter is the therapy we all need. And the remedy offered by the creators of Denver’s inaugural Fringe Festival is an easy pill to take – although you might find yourself groaning and rolling your eyes a bit as it goes down.
The Denver Fringe Festival is offering a livestream ZOOM Comedy Hour hosted by a different person with a group of (mostly) different artists each night of the Festival. Each show features 8-10 local and/or national comedians who have five minutes to present live or in video.
All shows are billed for adults only, and judging by Thursday’s performance, it’s a serious warning. I kept getting flashbacks to playing Cards Against Humanity with my 26-year-old nephew and having him have to explain every 10th card. (Is there a Millennial handbook out there with these definitions???).
For example, while watching Everything is Fine Jokes hosted by Allison Rose on Thursday night, I learned from local comedian Anthony Crawford that there is a whole Internet collection of censored Japanese porn, which has spun off a hybrid of unpixelated porn. (Yes, Karen, it’s a real thing.)
Given that all of the Comedy Hours share some common comedians, I’m going to guess that a lot of the humor is targeted to Millennials and will focus on staying sane and dealing with either being single during the pandemic or balancing a relationship with no personal space. So be prepared for a lot of relatable, but dark humor.
While the opening night’s routines were a bit rough with a few technical challenges and several comedians who openly admitted to being unprepared and biffing some of their routines, the comedians should swiftly develop their online rhythm and develop more of a rapport with each other and the audience as the weekend progresses. Or at least become as comfortable as ZOOM room virtual walls allow.
But even if it’s a bit uneven, an hour of timely, local and sometimes inappropriate monologues is great therapy – even in the best of times.
Upcoming Comedy Hours include:
The Basement
Sammy Anzer hosts a lineup of comics from Denver’s thriving comedy scene in an informal format like they’re chilling in a basement together. Skipping all the “put your hands together” and “give it up for,” the basement creates a show vibe that feels like friends just talking on Friday, June 26th 8:00 p.m.
Featuring: BK Sharad, (Stage Manager), Hannah Jones, Jonny Bratsveen, Anthony Armstrong, Mo Vida, Austen Brinker, De Kelly, Noah Reynolds, Danny Ramos, John Novosad and Edward Bell
Apologies in Advance
Stand-up comics from across the country tell stories and share their lives to make you laugh on Saturday, June 27th 8 p.m.
Featuring: Eeland Stribling (Host), BK Sharad (Stage Manager), Alli Coleman, Andy Farnsworth, Austin Black, Brian Sullivan, Harper-Rose Drummond, Noah Reynolds, Salma Zaky, Shanel Hughes, BK Sharad and T.J. Webb.
Westish
Presented by Denver Satire publication Westish: regular contributors doing their best jokes on Sunday, June 28th 8 p.m.
Featuring: Hannah Jones (host), BK Sharad (stage manager), Kira Magcalen, Steve Vanderploeg, Jeremy Pysher, Meghan Deponceau, Hannah Jones, Cody Ullrich, Kate Strobel and Brad Galli.
A brief stint participating in community theater hooked Lane for life, although she quickly discovered that her talents were better spent on appreciating it rather than participating in it. She’s always up for catching the latest production, no matter the genre or locale.
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