Auberge St. Gabriel gears up for the Grand Prix

The excitement and frenzy that is the annual F1 Canadian Grand Prix is less than two weeks away. And Montreal, especially the downtown core, is ready to welcome F1 enthusiasts from around the world in what will be one continuous party between June 9 and 12.

One place that will certainly become the place to be when it comes to Grand Prix party central is the historic Auberge St. Gabriel in the heart of Old Montreal.

Last Tuesday (May 24), the media were invited to the Auberge for a special preview of what it will have in store for its sixth annual line-up of exclusive Grand Prix celebrations. What makes this year’s edition so significant is that for the first time, Auberge St. Gabriel has been recognized by Octane, the race’s official promoter, as an official Canadian Grand Prix festivities site.

Auberge hosts Francisco Ramirez, Felipe St. Laurent, Nicolas Rubbo, Vincent White, Philippe Rainville, Moe Tawil and Cindy Simard unveiled the six main events that the Auberge will hold from June 9 to 12 that will certainly guarantee that this nightclub/restaurant with its combination of modern elegance and old world charm will be a magnet for those who enjoy a good party throughout Grand Prix festivities (especially owing to the fact to its location, which is just a short distance from the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve).

Chef Cindy Wollenschlaeger

It all begins with the red carpet F1 BBQ launch party on June 9 from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. While the BBQ launch will attract its fair share of F1 and local celebrities, the main attraction will be the eight dishes prepared for the evening by guest chef Cindy Wollenschlaeger. A native of South Africa who has been residing in Montreal since 2010, Ms. Wollenschlaeger will prepare authentic South African BBQ cuisine that will be cooked on an open fire type of BBQ grill that’s commonly used in South Africa. During last Tuesday’s preview event, we got the chance to sample three of the eight savoury BBQ dishes that will be served during the June 9 launch: “sosasties” (a marinated lamb and apricot kebab), “boerewors” (a sausage made of beef, pork and bacon, served on a roll with caramelized onions and peach chutney, pictured on the right), and mini angel cakes topped with berries and a special cream sauce (pictured below).

“I work in the luxury food spectrum, in which I prepare exquisite foods in an unusual location, and I am indeed looking forward to the experience of preparing these South African BBQ dishes during the Grand Prix at Auberge St. Gabriel,” said Ms. Wollenschlaeger, who is a Cordon Bleu chef and has been an executive chef for several luxury cruise lines, as well as the chef for the annual “Burning Man” event, and even went as far as preparing private dinners for two on an exotic island location.

Ms. Wollenschlaeger will also be the main chef for the Bagatelle F1 Brunch Party on June 11 starting at 12 noon. This seven-hour brunch will offer a selection of dishes from the South of France, with bottle service at 3 p.m. in an afternoon and early evening of good food, dancing and celebrating that only a Grand Prix weekend can offer. At $60 a person, it’s an event that organizers are confident will sell out quickly.

Auberge St. Gabriel will cap off its F1 Grand Prix festivities with a post-race closing soiree on June 12 starting at 10 p.m. This ultra VIP event will be another not-to-be-missed event, as many of the participating F1 drivers are expected to attend, along with local and international celebrities, plus top fashion model Devon Windsor, and several of the famous Victoria’s Secret Angels. Tickets cost $60 each.

Also included on the Auberge St. Gabriel’s Grand Prix festivities line-up are special Grand Prix banquets on June 10, 11 and 12; and nightly Grand Prix parties that will take place from June 9 to 11 in the basement club of the Auberge starting at 10 p.m., which will offer plenty of dance music and cocktails, especially an official Grand Prix cocktail that has been created by the Auberge’s bartenders, which is a mixture of vodka, Jus Pur fruit juice and a touch of mint leaves (pictured on the right).

So give your F1 Grand Prix weekend an octane boost at the Auberge St. Gabriel and get ready for a festive experience that will put you in the winner’s circle. For more information, or to reserve your spot for any of the events (in which VIP packages are also available), call 514-278-1548 or go to www.abge.ca.

(This article originally appeared in the May 28, 2016 edition of the Montreal Times).

375 years of Montreal history comes alive with "Cite Memoire"

On May 18, as the city of Montreal officially marked one year before its 375^th birthday, an ambitious project was officially launched at the Montreal Science Centre that will bring a new meaning to the expression “living history”.

“Cite Memoire”, which was developed by Michel Lemieux, Victor Pilon and Michel Marc Bouchard (pictured above), makes 375 years of Montreal history come to life through 19 separate larger-than-life tableaus that are projected alongside the walls, floors and alleys of different buildings and structures throughout the Old Montreal district. An additional four tableaux will be unveiled next year during the 375^th anniversary celebrations.

Through archival images, music, dialogue and historical recreations by a cast of local actors, the Cite Memoire tableaus briefly tell the story of Montreal’s 375 years that represent 30 different historical eras, from the industrialization of the city during the 1890s, to Jackie Robinson, to Expo 67, to Leonard Cohen, to the funeral of flamboyant tavern owner Joe Beef, to Botanical Gardens founder Fr. Marie-Victorin, to Rocket Richard. And as you wander along the designated Cite Memoire sites, which run every night from now through March 2017, you can follow the stories behind each tableau (along with the accompanying audio commentary that’s available in French, English, Spanish and Mandarin) on a free mobile app called Montreal en Histoires.

During a special guided tour/preview of four selected Cite Memoire tableaus last week, I was amazed at the grand scale of how these mini history lessons were done, with a terrific blend of actual photos and recreations, as well as the high quality production values (my favorites during this brief tour included the story of pioneering 1910s Montreal feminist Eva Circe-Cote and the unusual circumstances that brought about the appointment of Montreal’s first executioner in 1648). Cite Memoire will certainly add a new lustre to our city’s rich history not only for tourists this summer and during next year’s 375^th anniversary festivities, but also for Montrealers of all ages who want to have a new twist in learning about their hometown’s colourful past.

For more information about the Cite Memoire project, go to www.montrealenhistoires.com/citememoire.

Toni Tennille: A Memoir by Toni Tennille (Taylor Trade, $25)

Throughout the mid and late 1970s, the pop music duo The Captain & Tennille had several chart topping hits with such upbeat songs and love ballads like “Do That To Me One More Time”, “Muskrat Love” and their Grammy Award winning “Love Will Keep Us Together”.

However, as Toni Tennille has written in her recently-released memoir, the story of her life behind the music, especially with her husband and musical partner Daryl “The Captain” Dragon, certainly belied those romantic lyrics that she sang which brought her so much success and fame.

Tennille had a southern belle-type upbringing in Montgomery, Alabama during the pre-Civil Rights 1950s, in a family where music played quite a major role; her father was a popular bandleader during the 1930s (but gave it up to run the family’s furniture store business) and her mother hosted a popular TV talk show in Montgomery during the 50s. Although her father struggled through a bout of alcoholism, he always encouraged Toni and her sisters Jane, Melissa and Louisa to experience the joys of music (even when Toni struggled with a serious injury to her finger at the age of six). With a developed talent for the piano and as a singer, Tennille started singing professionally during the late 50s, when she was a student at Auburn University, with the Auburn Knights Orchestra.

A decade later, when she settled in California and created a musical production called “Mother Earth” that was a major success (but made very little money thanks to a bad deal with its producer), she made a connection with a keyboardist she was about to hire for the show who was to change her life (personally and professionally), for better and for worse.

Enter Daryl Dragon, the son of Carmen Dragon, who was an Oscar-winning Hollywood composer and arranger. They started working together on the “Mother Earth” production, and then joined the Beach Boys’ tour (where Dragon was known as “the Captain of the Keyboards” for his vast musical knowledge and mastery of the keyboards); from there, the duo started doing club gigs across the U.S., and gained a cult following at a club called The Smokehouse. When they privately recorded one of their songs that was popular in their club gigs – “The Way I Want To Touch You” – became a hit on California radio stations, it brought them to the attention of A&M Records, where they signed a recording contract and put together their first album “Love Will Keep Us Together”, where the title track hit the #1 spot on the Billboard charts in the summer of 1975.

This success led to a hit variety TV series on ABC during the 1976-77 season and more hit singles throughout the balance of the decade. However, as Tennille effectively states throughout most of the book, her real life did not mirror the image the public had of her and Dragon as a happily married couple who found happiness through their music and their pet dogs.

Tennille writes quite thoroughly that her life and career with Dragon was one long – yet fruitless – quest to reach out to him and find that emotional core that could have made him a loving husband, yet he never outwardly exhibited (which she also expressed through many of their songs). She attributed Dragon’s distant, yet sometimes bizarre, behaviour to the cavalier way his father treated him, and was highly critical of everything that he ever did, which was never good enough for Carmen Dragon.

“There was no denying that together we had great chemistry; it ignited our musical collaboration into hits and our television show into primetime gold,” she writes. “But, despite all that we had accomplished together, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was somehow still ‘auditioning’ for Daryl’s love.”

As well, she chronicles how living with Dragon’s eccentricities for such a long time – whether it was enduring his bizarre dietary habits that included cooking organic brown rice and steamed vegetables on a hot plate in their hotel room during touring and forsaking eating out at restaurants, or spending countless hours surfacing the internet in his bedroom, searching for the latest conspiracy theories – had quite an almost tragic emotional effect on her. This was climaxed with the emotional meltdown she experienced while performing with the national touring company of “Victor/Victoria”, thanks to the pressures of the constant travelling and performing that went with being part of a touring theatrical company, along with Dragon’s monthly visits, which was more like an exercise in codependency on his part.

Toni Tennille has managed to write a fascinating, brutally honest show business memoir that takes the sheen off one of the most successful recording acts of the late 1970s, and serves as a breath-of-fresh-air in book form, as she comes to terms with the ups and downs of a career as a professional singer/songwriter/musician, and the partner who was supposed to provide that ideal professional and emotional balance, but just came up empty, no matter how much she valiantly tried to bring that out from him.

Love may have kept the Captain & Tennille together musically, but after reading Toni Tennille’s memoir, you painfully discover that love did not keep them together in reality.

* * *

Stuart Nulman’s “Book Banter” segment is a twice-a-month feature on “The Stuph File Program” with Peter Anthony Holder, which now has almost 150,000 listeners per week.  You can either listen or download it at www.peteranthonyholder.com, Stitcher.com or subscribe to it on iTunes.  Plus you can find it at www.CyberStationUSA.com, www.KDXradio.com, True Talk Radio, streaming on www.PCJMedia.com, and over the air at World FM 88.2fm in New Zealand, Media Corp in Singapore and WSTJ, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Stuart can be reached at bookbanter@hotmail.com.

P.K. Subban, Russell Peters, Scott Thompson and plenty of local comics added to Just For Laughs line-up

The line-up for this year’s Just For Laughs festival – like the excitement and anticipation that goes with it – is growing steadily, as earlier this week, organizers announced an additional 35 shows, which further enhances Just For Laughs not only as one of the largest comedy festivals in the world, but also a festival that promotes and nurtures local comedy talent.

To start off, all-star Habs defenceman P.K. Subban, on the heels of his surprise appearance (with the Stanley Cup) two years ago at the Seth Rogan gala, will now go to the next level, as he hosts his very own gala called “P.K. Subban’s All-Star Comedy Gala” on August 1 at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier of Place des Arts. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

And on the local comedy front, Just For Laughs will feature the following shows: NDG-born actor/writer/director Jay Baruchel, along with director Jeremy Garelick (“The Breakup”) will helm a series of live readings of some of the best unproduced and unencumbered TV scripts from the U.S. and Canada with the JFL/Thruline Television Staged Readings on July 28 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel; Derek Seguin, who won last year’s Sirius/XM Top Comic Competition, returns to Just For Laughs with a new solo show called “Derek Seguin 43.0”; the OFF-JFL series will showcase a selection of shows featuring Montreal comedic talent, such as Ali Hassan’s solo show “Muslim Interrupted”, the “Best of Fringe”, “Life Lessons with Keith Waterfield and Leighland Beckman”, Montreal Sketchfest Just For Laughs Award winner “Ladies and Gentlemen”, “50/50”, a partially scripted, partially improvised comedy show with members of the Montreal Improv troupe, a shoscase of the city’s best storytellers with “Confabulation”, “The Stand Up Guide to Montreal”, and the return of a long time Just For Laughs stalwart “The Montreal Show”.

Two Just For Laughs favorites will be making their return to the gala stage this year. Sebastian Maniscalco, who fronted a solo show that played 11 sold out performances last year, makes his gala host debut on July 29 with the “Sebastian Maniscalco Are You Serious?!? Gala”, and superstar comic Russell Peters returns after a two-year absence to appear as a special guest at Howie Mandel’s gala, which also takes place on July 29.

“Kids in the Hall” member Scott Thompson makes two appearances at this year’s festival: first with his OFF-JFL solo show “Scott Thompson: That Trigger’s Crazy”, and as the host of the Homegrown Comics show on July 29 at Cinquieme Salle of Place des Arts. And for fans of SNL, cast member Jay Pharoah, best known for his impressions of President Obama, Will Smith and Denzel Washington, will host “JFL All Access Live” for two shows on July 27 at Club Soda.

Finally, for those devotees of comedy podcasts, Just For Laughs’ ComedyPRO series at the Hyatt Regency Hotel’s Grand Salon will offer a series of popular comedy podcasts that are going to be aired live and recorded live for future broadcast. The include “Comedy Bang! Bang!” with Scott Aukerman and special guest Paul F. Tompkins (July 29), “The Todd Barry Podcast” (July 28), “The Dork Forest” with Jackie Kashian (July 29), “The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast with Stuart Goldsmith” (July 30), “Truth and Iliza!” with Iliza Shlesinger (July 30), and “Guys We F****d: The Anti Slut-Shaming Podcast” (July 30).

Tickets for these and previously mentioned Just For Laughs shows are now on sale. For more information or to purchase your tickets, go to www.hahaha.com. The festival runs from July 13 to August 1

Fringe Festival unveils line-up for its 26th edition

The upcoming 26^th edition of the St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival – which runs from May 30 to June 19 – unveiled its line-up of more than 800 shows by more than 500 artists from around the world … complete with all the necessary bells, whistles, lights, flippers and bumpers.

Which is why it was only fitting that the Fringe Festival chose the North Star Pinball club on St. Laurent Boulevard near Bagg Avenue to hold its annual press conference to unveil that line-up last Tuesday night.

“In a way, the Fringe Festival is like a pinball machine,” said festival director Amy Blackmore, who addressed the gathering media surrounded by some classic pinball machines from the 60s and 70s. “It’s fun, easy, cheap, and when the game is over, you want to play it again.”

Montreal Fringe Festival Artistic & Executive Director Amy Blackmore

Throughout its three weeks, the Montreal Fringe Festival will offer Fringe-goers of all ages and backgrounds a wide selection of performance, music, dance, comedy and specialty shows that range from the conventional to the unusual to the quite offbeat. And through its selected venues across the Plateau, Mile End and downtown districts, the Fringe shows – as always – are not just people friendly, but also have ticket prices that are relatively inexpensive (averaging about $10), and offer audiences a very open and welcoming atmosphere that encourages them to see more shows thanks to plenty of free form word-of-mouth publicity.

And this year’s festival spokespeople are the members of Theatre Kata, who made their Fringe debut three years ago and have consistently presented shows at the festival that are filled with originality, creativity and boldness.

Here are some early highlights to look out for at this year’s Montreal Fringe Festival:

-The much-anticipated, highly energetic Fringe-For-All officially launches the festival at Café Campus, with practically every participating theatre company giving their own two-minute teaser about what their respective shows are all about, in what is truly the ultimate sneak preview (May 30).

-The Petit Campus on Prince Arthur will be the site of The 13^th Hour, the Fringe’s popular, unpredictable late night showcase complete with its not-to-be-missed features as the Money Wheel, 11 Second Dance Parties and Slow Motion Bar Fights. This year’s 13^th Hour shows will be hosted by Fringe regular Al LaFrance, who will also be presenting a new solo show at the Montreal Improv Theatre called “I Think I’m Dead” (June 9-16, 18).

-Sarah Segal-Lazar, another popular Fringe regular who is currently garnering rave reviews for her performance in “Bad Jews” at the Segal Centre, returns to her musical roots with a special solo music show at the Fringe Park hub, which is located on the corner of St. Laurent and Rachel (June 12).

-British performer Alastair Knowles (best known to Fringe goers as one half of the comedy duo James & Jamesy) and Montreal choreographer Stephanie Morin-Robert (who performed her latest solo show “Blindside” in Montreal earlier this spring), return with a new comedy show called “Bushel and Peck”, which explores the subject of love, but when it’s on the edge of humanity (June 11-14, 16,17).

-Fans of the classic TV cartoon series “The Flintstones” will be in for quite a surprise, as Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty – and all the good people of Bedrock – will get a new twist to their prehistoric misadventures with “Bedrock Burlesque – A Flintstones Burlesque Parody” (June 3, 9, 10, 12, 16-19).

-One of the most anticipated shows at this early stage is “Captain Aurora II: A Superhero Musical Sequel”. A hit at last year’s Fringe Festival – as well as this year’s Wildside Festival – Captain Aurora returns with a vengeance, as he tries to stop a dangerous alliance between the President of the planet and a quite evil extraterrestrial empire. (June 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19).

-Longtime Fringe veteran Jem Rolls (who knows how to weave historical knowledge with entertaining storytelling), returns with a new solo show called “Get Lost Jem Rolls”, which is a sort-of travelogue of his collection of comic blunders as he hits the road to an assortment of destinations (June 10-12, 15, 17, 18).

-Montreal’s Chocolate Moose Company offers a unique piece of theatrical performance called “Plays by Kids”. The concept is simple; the adult members of the Chocolate Moose Company will perform a series of original plays … which were written by children! (June 9, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19).

For more information about these and other St. Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival shows, or how to purchase tickets or passes, go to www.montrealfringe.ca. #fringebuzz.

(This article originally appeared in the May 14, 2016 edition of the Montreal Times)

"Bad Jews" a blistering dramedy of how family and cultural values clash

Jake Goldsbie (left) and Sarah Segal-Lazar

It is not an uncommon thing that following the death of a loved one, the rest of the family spend more time squabbling than mourning. So instead of remembering and cherishing the recently departed's memory, those family members will fight a pitched battle to see who will inherit what from the estate, or rather, who is more deserved of those heirlooms in question. That is one of the main focusses of Joshua Harmon's play "Bad Jews", which is now playing at the Segal Centre until May 29.  

(left to right): Sarah Segal-Lazar, Victoria Diamond and Jamie Elman

It takes place in a New York City apartment, where two brothers and their cousin temporarily co-habitate (with the older brother's girlfriend), immediately following the funeral of their beloved grandfather. The sticking point between cousin Daphna and older brother Liam is their grandfather's golden "Chai" necklace that he wore through the Holocaust (not to mention used as an engagement ring when he proposed to his wife after the war), and both of them want to inherit quite badly. 

Daphna believes that because she is a "good Jew" (due mainly to the fact that she is somewhat observant, not to mention her plans to make aliyah to Israel in the summer, where she intends to marry her boyfriend who is a soldier in the Israeli Army), she is the only grandchild who should be entitled to inherit the chai necklace. Not only does she energetically makes her case to why she must have grandfather's cherished necklace, she also makes the case why Liam should not. Basically, he is a "bad Jew" (and proud of it), and he should not be entitled to inherit the necklace because not only does he flout Jewish traditions and Jewish culture (he likes to eat non-kosher cookies during Passover), he also shows up to New York from a ski trip out west hours after the funeral. Liam believes that because he is the first born of the three grandchild, he has the divine right to inherit the necklace, which, like his grandfather, he plans to use to propose marriage to his Gentile girlfriend. The battle lines are now drawn: who is the better Jew over the other, and if such a thing is possible, who will win the coveted family heirloom as the prize?

Jamie Elman (left) and Jake Goldsbie

"Bad Jews" a blistering, raw dramedy of how family dynamics clashes with trying to preserve a cultural and religious legacy.The foursome that make up this cast is wonderful, especially Sarah Segal-Lazar (a Montreal singer/actress and Fringe Festival favorite) as Daphna, who gives a whirling dervish of a performance as she angrily, sarcastically and energetically spews her point-of-view on what it takes to be a good Jew. Jamie Elman (best known for his popular internet TV series "Yidlife Crisis") as Liam is her perfect foil, who equals Daphna when it comes to spewing out endless reams of angry rants on how wrong she is, in his rather vitriolic opinion. And Jake Goldsbie and Victoria Diamond are perfect as the somewhat "don't-get-me-involved" buffers between the battling Daphna and Liam. 

So whether you're Jewish or not, or experienced such ugly inheritance disputes following a death in the family, "Bad Jews" makes for a really good night at the theatre. Don't miss it! #‎badjewsmtl.

Segal Centre officially launches its 49th season

On April 27, after a busy two-week period that saw the Segal Centre experience a flurry of activity that included a Passover camp for kids, a gala fundraiser, the staging of the Les Belles Soeurs musical in Ottawa, a Shakespeare film festival and the popular Broadway café, its tired but very fulfilled Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin stepped up to the podium and happily announced the repertoire of shows that will comprise its 2016-2017 theatre season.

Season 49 at the Segal Centre will offer theatergoers a diverse line-up that will include a popular Broadway comedy, a torn-from-the-headlines brand new Canadian musical, a musical tribute to rock’n’roll’s rockabilly roots, and a play based on a popular 1970s bestselling novel by Chaim Potok.

Segal Centre Artistic & Executive Director Lisa Rubin

Marc Hall 

The season begins with “My Name is Asher Lev” (September 11 – October 2), which is based on Chaim Potok’s best selling 1972 novel, which explores the conflicted career of Asher Lev, a Jewish painter with a mystifying talent, who is torn between his painting and the values of his religious family. “Prom Queen: The Musical” (October 27 – November 20) is an original Canadian musical based on the story of Marc Hall, a teen from a small Ontario town, who takes the Catholic School Board to court in order to get the right to take his boyfriend to his school’s prom. “Noises Off” (January 29 – February 19, 2017) is the rollicking Broadway comedy that takes a farcical look at the world of show business both onstage and offstage. “Million Dollar Quartet” (April 23 – May 14) is based on the true story of one of rock music’s greatest jam sessions, which actually took place in December of 1956 at the landmark Sun Studios in Memphis and involved music legends Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Combining original stage lighting and powerful storytelling, “How To Disappear Completely” (April 30 – May 14) is lighting designer Itai Erdal’s powerful story of how he comes to terms with the impending death of his mother, and how she wants to die on her own terms. The Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre walks down the aisle with the Yiddish language version of the musical wedding farce “It Shoulda Been You” (June 4 – June 25). And in time for Montreal’s 375^th anniversary celebrations, the Segal Centre, Just For Laughs and Alive 375 present the English language debut of the hit comedy “What’s in a Name?” (July 9 – 30), in which a dinner party dissolves into a verbal free-for-all over what an expecting couple plans to name their unborn son.

 

As well, the Segal Centre will present in 2016-2017 a Spring Break special presentation of “Fancy Nancy: The Musical” for kids between the ages of 3 and 9 (March 5 – 12, 2017), another edition of the Broadway Café, the Power Jazz Series, Sunday @ the Segal, Monday Night Talkbacks and the Segal Centre Academy.

For more information – or to purchase tickets – call 514-739-7944, or go to www.segalcentre.org.

(This item originally appeared in the May 6, 2016 edition of the Montreal Times)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lewis Black, Howie Mandel, David Cross and so many more to headline this year’s Just For Laughs festival

The excitement leading to the 34^th edition of the Just For Laughs comedy festival, which runs from July 13-31, is building even more and more with this past week’s announcement of some of comedy’s biggest names who are slated to perform in an impressive series of live comedy shows this summer.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the multi-Emmy Award winning actress, will be making her Just For Laughs debut in a show that is quite timely with the much-heated U.S. presidential election campaign that is now underway, and with her current TV series that is gaining so much critical acclaim (not to mention its share of Emmy Awards). “An Evening with the Cast of Veep” (July 27) will give fans of this terrific satirical political sitcom (which is now in its fifth season on HBO) an inside look into the anatomy of “Veep” and the world of U.S. Vice-President-turned-President Selina Meyer (who is currently trying to break a political deadlock brought about by the nasty presidential election campaign she waged in season 4). Joining Ms. Louis-Dreyfus at the Maison Symphonique will be fellow cast members Tony Hale (who plays President Meyer’s bootlicking assistant Gary Walsh) and Timothy Simons (known for his portrayal of the obnoxious White House aide Jonah Ryan), along with “Veep” showrunner David Mandel.

And another tie-in to the presidential election at this year’s Just For Laughs is two appearances by everyone’s favorite angry, ranting comedy voice Lewis Black. On July 27, Black will vent his comedy spleen at the Theatre Maisonneuve to his legion of devoted fans with “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Naked Truth Tour”. And on the following day, July 28, while the Democratic National Convention is taking place in Philadelphia, Black will give his unique, scathing take on the U.S. cultural and political scene with “Living in Fictional Times: A Political Conversation with Lewis Black”, as part of the JFL ComedyPRO conference.

Howie Mandel returns to Just For Laughs for the sixth time, to host a Videotron gala at Place des Arts on July 29, which will later air on the CW Network (the special that arose from the gala Mandel hosted last year was also broadcast on the CW to strong ratings). Controversial comic David Cross (“Mr. Show”, “Arrested Development”), in wake of his return to stand-up comedy after a six-year break, will host his very first Videotron gala on July 27.

Me and Jeff Ross at the 2010 Just For Laughs Festival

Jeff Ross, comedy’s “Roastmaster General”, will front a series of shows at the L’Astral that will be telecast across the U.S. and Canada. “Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle” will have pairs of comics pit against each other in a ferocious battle of comedy thrust-and-parry, with the winners of each round decided by a celebrity panel of judges. The first three nights of this rowdy comedy showdown (July 27, 28, 29) will be taped live, with the finals to air live on Comedy Central and the Comedy Network on July 31.

From July 21-30, the OFF-JFL Series will continue to offer the best value for your comedy dollar with a massive collection of solo shows that are going to be staged in some of Montreal’s best intimate comedy venues. Slated to perform as part of this series include Tom Green, Janeane Garafalo, Nick Thune, Kurt Metzger, Big Jay Oakerson, Louie Anderson, legendary political comic Barry Crimmins, Emo Phillips, Piff the Magic Dragon, Alan Carr, as well as the return of such popular shows as Midnight Surprise, Best of the Fest, This is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir and longtime favorite The Alternative Show with Andy Kindler.

And don’t miss these solo shows and concerts at Just For Laughs that will feature these longtime festival favorites: Brian Regan, Jeremy Hotz, Maria Bamford, Kathleen Madigan, Hannibal Burress, Russell Howard, Iliza Shlesinger and Nikki Glaser.

Tickets for these Just For Laughs shows (and there will be more JFL shows to be unveiled at a later date), are now on sale; as well, the festival’s popular Show Passes (good for two, three or five shows each) are also available for those who love to get their comedy fix every summer. To get your tickets or passes, call 514-845-2322, or go to www.hahaha.com.

(This article originally appeared in the May 6, 2016 edition of the Montreal Times)