The excitement
leading to the 34th 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.
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| 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)
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