A Night with the Groundlings

I’m a huge comedy nerd. From classic comedians like Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello to modern funny men like Paul F. Tompkins and Jim Gaffigan I love it all. That being said I rarely see live comedy. I can’t do stand up (I get too embarrassed when someone bombs) but sketch and improv are right up my alley. Recently, I was invited to the opening night of Groundlings Stakeout and I was excited to see the famed troop in action.

The Groundlings theatre has been around for over 40 years and it’s amazing how many comedy greats started as members of the group. Melissa McCarthy, Phil Hartman, Maya Rudolph, Kathy Griffin, Will Ferrell, Kristin Wiig….I could go on and on. Despite that pedigree this was my very first time catching a show.

Groundlings Stakeout presents the current cast of improv players performing a variety of sketches. Accompanied by a live band these highly original pieces are enough to make even the dourest person laugh.

On opening night we were treated to a variety of pieces by the performers Tim Brennen, Tony Cavalero, Ryan Gaul, Jill Matson-Sachoff, Ariane Price and Lisa Schurga. From the opening bit about a unique “meet cute” at a Marriott to the closing U-Boat sketch the audience was all aboard. Each member of the cast gave their all and we were right there with them. Highlights for me were a sketch called Dangerouz in which a town council meeting gets a visit from a professional wrestler who’s had one too many bouts under his belt and Centered in which an inadvertent Groupon purchase leads one man to a mediation class. They were truly hilarious and kept me in stitches.

As a SoCal native I’m not sure what took me so long to get to a Groundlings show. It makes for a fun night out and I’m sure I’ll be back soon.