JAMES TOWN
Janelle James Comedy Fest returns
Behind the curtain: Comedian Janelle James will host the Janelle James Comedy
Festival at the Bell House. Photo by Mindy Tucker
By Bill Roundy Thanksgiving is happening next week, and we
are always thankful to be living in Brooklyn,
the greatest city in the world. And even during
a holiday week, there is plenty to do, so let’s get to it!
On Friday night, clear your head of
Thanksgiving tales of happy Pilgrims
and Indians settling down together
at “Thanks but no Thanksgiving,”
a show hosted by three Native
American comedians: Brian Bahe
(of Tohono O’odham, Hopi, and
Navajo heritage), Tai Leclaire
(Mohawk and Mi’kmaq), and
Dash Turner (Yurok). The show,
at Union Hall (702 Union St.
at Fifth Avenue in Park Slope,
unionhallny.com) will feature the
three taking on Thanksgiving myths
through sketches, stand-up, and audience
games. The show starts at 10 pm, and tickets
are $10.
On Saturday night, be thankful that you live in
an era when Gladys Knight is alive, because the the
Empress of Soul is playing the Kings Theatre (1027
Flatbush Ave. between Tilden Avenue and Duryea
COURIER L 50 IFE, NOV. 22-28, 2019
Place in Flatbush, www.kingstheatre.com) at 8 pm.
The 75-year-old diva may have left the Pips behind,
but your ticket (which runs $60–$100) will let you
catch her singing solo, and dueting with guest Will
Downing — because that’s what friends are for!
And on Sunday afternoon, you can get a little
more Knight music! The medieval band
Alkemie will use antique instruments
to play “Beautee & Bountee: An
Arthurian Refraction,” about King
Arthur and the knights of the
Round Table, today at 4 pm at
Areté Venue and Gallery (67
West Street #103, between Noble
and Milton Streets in Greenpoint,
aretevenue.com). Tickets are $25
($15 seniors and students).
After the tunes, drop by the
nano-brewery Randolph Beer
Williamsburg (104 S. Fourth St.
between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street
in Williamsburg, www.randolphbeer.com) for its
Friendsgiving Happy Hour. From 5 pm to 7 pm, all of
its house-made brews will be just $5, buffalo wings
are $1 each, and all proceeds from those sales will go
to Food Bank For New York City.
By Jessica Parks That name rings a bell!
A three-day comedy
festival celebrating
Brooklyn comedian Janelle James
will return to the Bell House next
month for its second glorious year.
The Janelle James Comedy Festival
on Dec. 5–7, named for Janelle
James, hosted by Janelle James,
and featuring a lineup of standup
comedians hand-selected by
Janelle James, will offer audiences
90 minutes of belly laughter on
each of its three nights, said Janelle
James.
“This lineup is excellent,” she
said. “I chose people that I know
will crush. It’s 12-minute sets and
I want people to laugh for an hour
and a half straight. Then go home.”
In addition to James,
the festival will feature 13
comedians from across the
country, performing at shows
titled “Comedians Who Don’t
Owe Me Money,” “A Black Ass
Show with Open Mike Eagle
and Baron Vaughn” — featuring
comedian and “art rap” artist
Open Mike Eagle, along with
Comedy Central’s “The New
Negroes” host Baron Vaughn —
and “Comedians Who Flewed
Out,” in that order.
The second iteration of the
show continues a decade-long
tradition set by comedian Eugene
Mirman, who launched the Eugene
Mirman Comedy Festival as a joke
in 2007, but which grew to draw
the nation’s top comedians to the
Gowanus venue.
James said her comedy festival
still captures the zany spirit of her
predecessor, but she has added her
own flavor to the proceedings.
Her inaugural show last year
earned a thumbs up from Mirman
— the voice of Gene in the Fox
animated cartoon “Bob’s Burgers”
— who told this paper he was
happy to pass the torch over to
James.
“She’s so funny and it’s a joy to
see the joke of a self-titled comedy
festival live on and be reborn,”
he said.
In last year’s lineup of
comedians, James also mixed
in a burlesque show, a modern
dance piece set to a spoken word
performance, and a ventriloquist
act. She said she has some tricks
up her sleeve this year as well, but
she declined to spoil the surprise
of whatever off-genre acts might
appear.
“There will be things like that
this year,” James said. “But I am
not going to say what it is.”
James said the audience can
expect a friendly show, but she
warned not to expect it to be too
warm and fuzzy.
“This isn’t Sesame Street,” the
comedian joked.
Janelle James Comedy Festival
at the Bell House (149 Seventh
St. between Second and Third
avenues in Gowanus, www.
janellejamescomedyfestival.com).
Dec. 5–7 at 7:30 pm. $25 ($20 in
advance).
Brooklyn enjoys a little Knight music!
Hot nuts: The extravagant burlesque adaptation of The Nutcracker returns to
Bushwick’s Théâtre XIV this holiday season. Photos by Mark Shelby Perry
Fresh nuts
‘Nutcracker’ burlesque
returns to Bushwick
TBy Kevin Duggan he holiday classic has
gone rouge!
A Bushwick burlesque
company has bounced into the
holiday season early, opening
its annual titillating holiday
extravaganza last weekend.
Company XIV’s eighth iteration
of “Nutcracker Rouge,” which
will run through Jan. 26, features
a baroque array of often scantilyclad
performers enacting an
adult-only version of the beloved
19th-century ballet about a
girl, her toy nutcracker, and an
indulgent land of sweets. This
time around, the show’s creator
has added a new character: a
magician called “Al Cadabra,”
who emcees the action in the role
of Uncle Drosselmeyer and adds
an extra dose of pizzazz.
“It’s a new, very magical
element in the show,” said
Austin McCormick. “There are
illusions, and close up magic.”
The three-act, sensual
spectacle will also feature
a brand new trapeze artist,
along with returning audience
favorites, such as a spinning Cyr
wheel acrobat, an opera singer
who performs while suspended
upside-down from the ceiling,
and a drag performer playing
the large-skirted Mother Ginger
character in the Land of Sweets.
It all adds up to a extravagant
spectacle that is more than a
simple strip-tease.
“Burlesque is an element
of what we do, but it’s not a
traditional show, it’s a fusion
of ballet, opera, and an overthe
top design,” McCormick
said. “It’s a mashup of a lot of
elements.”
While the audience feasts
its eyes on the dazzling display,
they can indulge their palate
with a menu of holiday cocktails,
including a peppermint twist
cognac, hot apple cider spiked
with absinthe, and champagne
with brandy and a bourbonsoaked
cherry.
The show loosely follows
the famous Russian ballet’s
structure and features music
from its traditional score by
Tchaikovsky, but with jazzy
and contemporary remixes,
according to McCormick.
The dance aficionado said
that he returns to the piece every
year to help fulfill a childhood
dream.
“Every dancer grows up
doing the Nutcracker, it always
sparked my interest and I
always wanted to make my own
version,” he said.
“Nutcracker Rouge” at
Théâtre XIV 383 Troutman St.
between Irving and Wyckoff
avenues in Bushwick,(866)
811–4111, www.companyxiv.
com. Running through Jan. 26
at various times. $50–$195.
Sweet outfit: The costumes in “Nutcracker Rouge” feature candy canes,
gingerbread men, and other holiday treats.
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