All stories by Leo Benedictus on BroadwayStars

Friday, April 27, 2018

Comedy gold: Jackie 'Moms' Mabley by Leo Benedictus

Jackie 'Moms' Mabley was gay, black, and political – and her stage act, the focus of a new Whoopi Goldberg documentary, was a cornerstone of all standup comedyReading on mobile? Click to l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:36PM
Friday, November 24, 2017

Comedy gold: Billy Connolly's Billy and Albert by Leo Benedictus

The Big Yin's timeless gig at London's Royal Albert Hall sees him in typically energetic and incorrigibly childish moodTitle: Billy and AlbertDate: 1987 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:36AM
Friday, November 3, 2017

Comedy gold: Sam Kinison's Breaking the Rules by Leo Benedictus

He came from a family of Pentecostal preachers and performed comedy with righteous, thrilling fervourTitle: Breaking the RulesDate: 1987 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:06AM
Monday, September 18, 2017

Comedy gold: Micky Flanagan's The 'Out Out' Tour Live by Leo Benedictus

A cockney lad who now drinks Zinfandel and admires the Montessori way, Flanagan satirises both sides of the class divideTitle: The Out Out Tour LiveDate: 2011 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48PM
Friday, December 30, 2016

Comedy gold – Les Dawson by Leo Benedictus

Behind the gurning game-show host and mother-in-law jokes was a complex comic with an unexpected past, who captured the hearts of the British TV-watching publicTitle: The Best of Les Dawson.…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:32AM
Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Comedy gold: Simon Munnery's Hello by Leo Benedictus

One of the funniest and most original comedians of the past 20 years is an incorrigible dabbler with little interest in fameTitle: HelloYear: 2007 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:57AM
Monday, April 11, 2016

Comedy gold: Hans Teeuwen's Live in London by Leo Benedictus

A man who takes silliness to a new level, Teeuwen makes us look at normality anew. While doing improvised autoerotic yogaTitle: Live in LondonYear: 2008 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:10AM
Sunday, February 21, 2016

Comedy gold: Jimmy Carr's Stand Up by Leo Benedictus

Snide, sarcastic, seemingly eager to offend, Carr's on-stage persona is thoroughly unlikable. But that seems to be the point – and you can't fault his skillTitle: Stand UpDate: 2005 Contin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:37AM
Sunday, January 3, 2016

Comedy gold: Lenny Bruce's Performance by Leo Benedictus

The granddaddy of modern standup comedy is on erratic but brilliant form in his penultimate showTitle: The Lenny Bruce Performance FilmYear: 1967 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:09AM
Thursday, November 26, 2015

Comedy gold: Bill Hicks's Relentless by Leo Benedictus

Early death does wonders for an artist's reputation, it is true, but Hicks was a major talent – raw, angry, sincere, unhappy, weeping and yelling at a complacent worldTitle: RelentlessDate…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:50PM
Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Comedy gold: Margaret Cho: I'm the One That I Want by Leo Benedictus

In this remarkable comeback gig, one of comedy's great survivors demonstrates her superbly polished style – and her fearless honestyTitle: Margaret Cho: I'm the One That I Want Continue re…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:23PM
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

What to say about ... The Shawshank Redemption on stage by Leo Benedictus

Stephen King's novella became a much-loved movie and is now a play. Did the critics give it a hard time?Buy the rights to a popular feelgood movie, put it on in the West End and charge peopl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:51AM
Thursday, June 11, 2015

Comedy gold: Frankie Howerd on Campus by Leo Benedictus

As an exemplar of how to rule an audience with laughter, Howerd remains as good as comedians have ever gotTitle: Frankie Howerd on CampusDate: 1990 Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:55AM
Monday, August 11, 2014

Edinburgh festival 2014: play fringe bingo! by Leo Benedictus

There are some things at the festival you can always rely on. So, markers at the ready Download and print your bingo card here Continue reading...

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:13PM
Friday, December 20, 2013

Comedy gold: Garry Shandling by Leo Benedictus

The innovator behind The Larry Sanders Show is, like Woody Allen, another heir to the great Jewish comedic tradition – but he seems somehow at ease with his uneaseTitle: Garry Shandling: S…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:35AM
Friday, December 6, 2013

Comedy gold: David Cross by Leo Benedictus

In The Pride is Back, the hectoring American standup proves that snideness and sarcasm are often the highest forms of witReading on mobile? Click here to view videoTitle: The Pride is BackYe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:28AM
Monday, November 25, 2013

Comedy gold: Katt Williams's The Pimp Chronicles by Leo Benedictus

Misogynist or feminist, liberal or lewd? That's a matter of opinion when it comes to Katt Williams's full-blooded commentary on black American cultureTitle: The Pimp Chronicles Pt 1Year: 200…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:38AM
Thursday, November 14, 2013

Comedy gold: Jackie 'Moms' Mabley by Leo Benedictus

Jackie 'Moms' Mabley was gay, black, and political – and her stage act, the focus of a new Whoopi Goldberg documentary, was a cornerstone of all standup comedyReading on mobile? Click to l…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:22AM
Friday, November 8, 2013

Comedy gold: The Best of Victor Borge by Leo Benedictus

With punchlines so predictable you can't predict them, the Clown Prince of Denmark belonged more to the tradition of vaudeville and music hall than comedyTitle: The Best of Victor Borge: Act…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:57AM
Friday, November 1, 2013

Comedy gold: Daniel Kitson's Weltanschauung by Leo Benedictus

Daniel Kitson's comedy may come from fear of failure, but his career path offers a success story for nerds everywhereTitle: WeltanschauungYear: 2006The set-up: There are some people – you …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:45AM
Thursday, October 24, 2013

Comedy gold: The Woody Allen Show by Leo Benedictus

Filmed in the UK in 1965, this rare footage captures Allen in his pomp – and telling jokes that feel absolutely freshTitle: The Woody Allen ShowYear: 1965The set-up: If you've seen the or…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:33AM
Friday, October 18, 2013

Comedy gold: David O'Doherty's The Half-Hour by Leo Benedictus

Wilfully low-key, his comedy may not make much noise itself, but deserves a higher volume of praiseTitle: The Half Hour, Comedy CentralYear: 2012The set-up: "I'm going to rock your worlds, i…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00AM
Thursday, October 10, 2013

Comedy gold: Patton Oswalt's Finest Hour by Leo Benedictus

He may be a nerd, but the King of Queens actor ranks among the most polished, literate and erudite standups in the businessReading on a mobile? Click here to viewTitle: Finest HourYear: 2011…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:07AM
Monday, September 30, 2013

Comedy gold: Dame Edna by Leo Benedictus

The secret to Dame Edna's five decades of enduring popularity? Making hard work appear effortlessReading on mobile? Click here to watch videoTitle: One More Audience with Dame EdnaYear: 1988…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:11AM
Friday, September 20, 2013

Comedy gold: Amy Schumer's Mostly Sex Stuff by Leo Benedictus

Schumer's ditsy comic persona allows her to satirise a world in which women think they can control men easily if they wear little and think lessTitle: Mostly Sex StuffYear: 2012The setup: Th…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:18AM
Friday, September 6, 2013

Comedy gold: Norm Macdonald's Me Doing Standup by Leo Benedictus

A little-known Canadian whose instructions on how to stalk, capture and murder a woman do little to dent his charmReading on mobile? Click here to view videoTitle: Me Doing StandupYear: 2011…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:31AM
Monday, August 26, 2013

Comedy gold: Gilbert Gottfried's Dirty Jokes by Leo Benedictus

Comedy about comedy is risky, but Gottfried's barked renditions of playground favourites are a treat for humour nerdsTitle: Dirty JokesYear: 2008The setup: After more than three decades in s…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:55AM
Friday, August 2, 2013

Comedy gold – Tony Law's Go Mr Tony, Go! by Leo Benedictus

This Edinburgh festival and TV favourite takes postmodern standup to a dangerously funny new levelYear: 2012The set-up: It's almost its own genre now, self-referential comedy. In the early 1…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:23AM
Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Comedy gold – Michael McIntyre's Live and Laughing by Leo Benedictus

He may be reviled, but the highest-earning comedian around is this era's Tommy Cooper or Eric Morecambe … and a class actTitle: Live and LaughingYear: 2008The set-up: Is it provocative to …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:28AM
Friday, July 12, 2013

Comedy gold – Jo Brand's Barely Live by Leo Benedictus

Behind the man-baiting facade, you get the feeling that all this brilliantly funny comic wants is for everyone to get alongTitle: Barely LiveYear: 2003The set-up: She called herself "the Sea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:09AM
Thursday, June 27, 2013

Comedy gold: Simon Munnery's Hello by Leo Benedictus

One of the funniest and most original comedians of the past 20 years is an incorrigible dabbler with little interest in fameTitle: HelloYear: 2007The set-up: For a long time now – in Brita…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:05AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards