(1888PressRelease)
July 11, 2006 - One of the best things about reaching middle-age is knowing that the challenges you face on a daily basis are shared by lots of other people. When those other people are stand-up comedians, suddenly the things that frustrate become a laughing matter.
That’s the inspiration for the Midlife Crisis Comedy Tour, a cross-country tour featuring Tri-Cities’ native and resident Brad Upton, along with three nationally known stand-up comedians.
The tour will have the honor of staging a benefit performance for Gilda’s Club Seattle at the Moore Theatre on Thursday, June 29. Tickets are now available via Ticketmaster at 206-682-0123, or by contacting Gilda’s Club Seattle.
Conceived by co-headliner Buzz Nutley and launched just over a year ago, the Midlife Crisis Comedy Tour has proven wildly successful in clubs and theaters across the United States. The Moore Theatre show is being produced by Upton.
The show is a full production featuring nationally known comics whose combined experience totals more than 90 years. Each brings a distinct perspective to the stage. The comics are:
Brad Upton, a married father from Seattle. Winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, he has appeared on A&E, MTV and National Public Radio. He has also headlined at all the major comedy clubs, including Catch a Rising Star, The Improv, The Comedy Works, Hilarities, Knuckleheads, The Funny Bone, The Comedy Castle, Giggles, and many others. He’s also opened concerts for Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, the Smothers Brothers, Tim Allen, Rita Rudner, the late Rodney Dangerfield, and others. He’s also a featured performer on Royal Caribbean and Holland-America cruises, and at a long list of corporate events.
Buzz Nutley, a single father of four from Pittsburgh, who, in his words, "would get married, but is afraid of the words Œtill death do us part." Nutley has appeared across the U.S. at such comedy clubs at the Improv, Funny Bone, Punchline, The Comedy Store, and The Laugh Factory. He has toured nationally with Yakov Smirnoff and performed with numerous comics, including Louis Anderson, Chris Rock, John Stewart, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bob Saget, George Wallace, and others.
As a writer, his work has been featured on The Tonight Show; in Reader’s Digest, the LA Times, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and on morning radio. His material was also selected to appear in Jokes To Go and The Funny Pages, two popular compilations of jokes and bits from many of today¹s most prominent comedians, available nationally in major bookstores. In addition, he¹s written several screenplays, one of which, Raw Talent, won five acres of land in the prestigious Taos Land and Film Festival.
In addition to writing and performing his own material, Nutley has worked extensively with Smirnoff, including serving as creative consultant (with Brogan) on "As Long As We Both Shall Laugh," Smirnoff¹s one-man Broadway show at the American Airlines Theater. The show was also taped and aired as a PBS-TV special.
Jim Brogan, a single resident of Los Angeles, is a comedian, writer and actor. Brogan has worked as writer and audience warm-up comic on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His stand-up credits include major comedy clubs, colleges, and corporate events across the U.S., as well as appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, Merv Griffin Show, and Evening at the Improv. He has also hosted several television shows including The Late Show, You Asked For It Again, and Comic Strip Live, and has appeared as an actor on Jerry Seinfeld and Billy Crystal specials. He also starred in a sitcom entitled Out of the Blue and was seen in the movies King Kong, Punchline and Comedian, and joined Nutley as creative consultant on Yakov Smirnoff’s one-man Broadway show As Long As We Both Shall Laugh. He has also served as audience warm-up comic for several sitcoms, including Seinfeld, Taxi, Cheers, Newhart, Golden Girls, Coach, and others.
Cathy Ladman, a married mom from Los Angeles. In addition to headlining her own One Night Stand on HBO, Ladman has performed stand-up comedy on a number of television shows, including The Tonight Show, Penn & Teller’s Sin City, Comic Strip Live, The Caroline Rhea Show, and others. She has also appeared in such sitcoms as Everybody Loves Raymond, Just Shoot Me, Mad About You, Caroline in the City, and Roseanne, and in several films and stage plays. Last year, she appeared in the theatrical film The Aristocrats, which is now available on DVD.
Over the past several months, Nutley has learned that the Midlife Crisis Comedy Tour has great appeal to his fellow mid-lifers, as well as those who are approaching that point in their lives." People in my age group are experiencing the challenges of work, love, parenthood, and more, and trying to balance it all on a day-to-day basis. We live in the richest nation on earth, yet we probably worry about more things than anyone else."
The Midlife Crisis Comedy Tour web site is at www.midlifecrisiscomedy.com.
About Gilda¹s Club Seattle
Gilda¹s Club Seattle is a non-profit cancer support community serving the Puget Sound area. The mission of Gilda¹s Club Seattle is to provide a meeting place where people with cancer, their families and friends join with others to build social, emotional and educational support as a supplement to medical care. Gilda¹s Club Seattle offers support and networking groups, educational lectures, workshops and social events free of charge. The Clubhouse is located in a Jeffersonian brick building on First Hill within walking distance to several major medical centers. More information is available at www.gildasclubseattle.org.
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