4 Goldstar Member Reviews

kk

1.0

Hated this. Not funny. Lots of bad language and skits that went on way too long and didn't make me (or pretty much anyone else in the audience) laugh. We actually left early, which I've never done before. Oh, and he didn't do any of the skits that the write-up had described (unless he did them after we left about 1.5 hrs into it).

Written on Dec 30 2010

dennis fischette

4.0

First, let's make one thing clear. The show had almost nothing to do with Christmas. It was stand-up comedy peddled as an XMAS show to put some extra fannies in the seats. As another reviewer wrote, it was disjointed and offensive at times. That said, I liked it. Will Franken is a very creative, talented and, yes at times, twisted performer. Not for everyone but impressive nonetheless.

Written on Dec 25 2010

Jay & Judy

1.0

One star is really too much for this "show." It was offensive, disjointed and just plain not funny. When the show ended, Will Franken invited the audience to stick around for additional "laughs." Of the 15 people who showed up, half the audience got up and promptly left the theater. We really think Will is pulling the wool over someone's eyes...not unlike the King with no clothes.

Written on Dec 23 2010

zann

5.0

Will Franken is not to be missed. He is original, brilliant and loads of fun. We laughed so hard and so long our sides were hurting when we left. To call him a stand up comic is too limiting. His theatrical performances in brilliant skit after skit are spot on. His intelligence and depth of reference and take-no-prisoners humor weave an absolutely top shelf entertainment experience. Grab your tickets and GO. You will be delighted you did.

Written on Dec 22 2010

More Information About Texas Chainsaw Yuletide

Description

Will Franken's strange life story is the kind that standup comedians dream of having and independent filmmakers dream of concocting--if only for the wealth of bizarre and darkly funny material there is to draw upon. Born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri, Will Franken worked as an actor, middle-school and college-level English teacher, typist, convenience store clerk, and corporate mascot for an online library before heading to California in 2002 to try his hand at comedy. Seven years later, he is celebrated as one of the most innovative performers to come out of the Bay Area in recent years. Armed with what The New York Times describes as a "highly developed sense of the absurd," and what Franken himself refers to as a "one-man American version of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'" he brings life’s inherent weirdness to the stage, poking fun at a broad range of cultural strongholds. "Madonna reinvents herself every year. I reinvent myself every two minutes," says Franken. Rather than using his own real-life experiences as fodder for hacky one-liners, Franken brings the underlying absurdity of the subconscious to the fore, taking advantage of his uncanny acting ability to create a bizarre panoply of characters and one-man sketches that satirize and skewer postmodern society's most sacred cows. Whether it's John Milton losing to urban hipster CK-1 at the Berkeley Poetry Slam or the vicar of Westminster Abbey delivering the liturgy of "The Final Broadcast of Christianity" (along with a pre-recorded Noam Chomsky-spewing choir), Franken douses his audiences in a surreal tidal wave of psychedelic humor--so funny that audiences stop laughing only long enough to drop their jaws.

During his time in San Francisco, Franken was awarded "Best Comedian" of 2005 by the SF Weekly and "Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs" by the SF Bay Guardian. He recently made his television debut on BBC America's “The World Stands Up,” a showcase of UK, American and Australian comedians. Franken has also appeared on Air America’s “Marc Maron Show”, was a finalist in the San Francisco International Comedy Competition as well as the Las Vegas Andy Kaufman Award competition, and most recently enjoyed a successful series of performances at San Francisco's renowned SF Sketchfest and Portland, Oregon's "Bridgetown Comedy Festival." Franken has written and performed numerous theatrical solo shows, including Good Luck With It and Grandpa! It's Not Fitting!, to capacity crowds in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Since 2007, Franken has resided in New York, wowing audiences on stages at the Upright Citizens' Brigade Theatre, Ars Nova, and the Collective Unconscious. During his off-hours, he produces a highly successful and critically acclaimed audio podcast,Things We Did Before Reality, which has elicited favorable comparisons to the legendary 60s and 70s sketch albums of The Firesign Theatre. He always enjoys returning home to Northern California to bring his patently absurdist brand of humor to venues such as the Eureka Theatre, the Purple Onion and the Marsh in San Francisco or the Throckmorton in Marin.

About the Ticket Supplier: Combined Artform/Theatre Asylum

Founded in 1998, C.A.F.E. (Combined Artform Entertainment) is on a mission to develop and combine all art forms to pioneer the "arts of the future," as well as be an active and supporting member of the San Francisco--and now Los Angeles--performance production scene. Created by Producing Artistic Director Matthew Quinn, and joined by Steve Kahn in 1999, C.A.F.E. has collaborated with actors, singers, filmmakers, sketch comedy groups, musicians, improvisers and fine artists in more than 100 shows, including Santaland Diaries, Eavesdropper (SF), Monday Night Improv Jam (SF), Thursday Night Improv Jam (LA), PAPA (at the Eureka with Open Fist), Tilted Frame Improv and the SF Solo Festival.