Author Archives: howardjohnson1985

JC conquers Boston…

A hugely successful show for @johncleese, made even better with Megan and Nick.

Cleese in Boston

Lucky audience watching @johncleese on stage tonight in Boston!

My dear friend and living legend is getting older but no less silly. Happiest of birthdays, John!

@johncleese #montypython

Cleese on Sunday…

Here is a link to another great @johncleese interview from CBS’s Sunday Morning. Well worth watching. #johncleese #montypython

Last Chance!

…If you’re in Chicago right now, tonight is your last chance to see @TraceBeaulieu and @FrankConniff of MST3K, riffing on movies @North Bar! Last show tonight at 10 pm Sat Oct 24! What are you waiting for? The info’s right here!

Cleese on the Air…

For those of you who want to know more about John’s solo tour next month, here he talks about his Chicago appearances with Roe Conn on WGN…

O Canada

About a year ago, when I was traveling with John Cleese, we were at a TV station in Toronto for a morning program. Our publicist brought a young man over and introduced us, and he told John a story about meeting him when he was younger. He was called away, and the publicist told us “He has a good chance of being the next prime minister.”

And last night, that’s exactly what happened. Justin Trudeau, soon to be Prime Minister Trudeau, couldn’t have been nicer. He slipped out of campaign mode, long enough to chat, although it was Canadian campaign mode, which meant he was very decent and polite.

Later that day, we had moved on to another TV station, and while John was being interviewed, I noticed Justin (I’m having a hard time calling him Prime Minister Trudeau) was in the green room, this time with more of an entourage. He noticed me about the same time, and spring from the couch to shake my hand again. “We’re not following you,” I assured him. “But, maybe we should think about car pooling.”

Mads About Town

Listen up, Chicago: you will have a rare chance to see Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff–Mystery Science Theatre 3000’s lovable mad scientists–performing live this weekend @North Bar at 1637 W. North Avenue on October 23 and 24. Yes, I’ve seen them riff many times, and yes, they get funnier every time. They’ll be dismantling two movies–one for the early shows and one for the late shows–and there’s more info here. I’d be recommending them even if they weren’t friends of mine. And if you stick around for the meet and greet, Q&A, and free autographs, maybe they’ll be your friends too! Tickets are on sale now right here. #mst3k

Auld Acquaintance

…Been too long since I hung out with Joel Murray, but every time I do, it’s like we’re right back at the Improv Olympic, waiting to jump on stage for Del at Crosscurrents.

Whose Live?

And I would be remiss if I didn’t strongly urge you to seek out and attend Whose Live Is It Anyway?, the live show based on the long-running improv TV show. The current cast includes Ryan Styles, Joel Murray, Jeff Davis, and Greg Proops, each one brilliant, but put ’em all together and you’ll be blown away. And, I don’t just say that because of the incredible surprise they pulled off for some of my own improv students which is posted elsewhere.

Because my improv interests are primarily longform, for a long time I made the mistake of thinking that an evening of games wouldn’t appeal to me as much. Boy, was I wrong! This group does improv games as well as I’ve ever seen them done. It’s an evening filled with music, audience participation, and plenty of classic games.

But afterward, I started thinking about what I had just seen. While I’m used to scene-based longform, I realized that what they present is actually game-based longform! There are callbacks galore, as they weave material, suggestions, and characters throughout the evening in a way that really isn’t possible in a half-hour TV show. Here’s the info. You do not want to miss this.