Catalog Search Results
Author
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
A history of the uniquely American art form of improv, from its beginnings during the McCarthy Era through the rise of such institutions as Second City, the Groundlings, and the Upright Citizens Brigade and such performers as Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Bill Murray.
"From the best-selling author of Fosse, a sweeping yet intimate--and often hilarious--history of a uniquely American art form that has never been more popular. At the height of the McCarthy...
Author
Publisher
Chicago Review Press Incorporated
Pub. Date
[2018]
Language
English
Description
"This entertaining and sharply written guide--for both beginners breaking into comedy and professionals seeking to improve their sets and advance their careers--examines the work of great comedians such as Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Izzard, Moms Mabley, Hannibal Buress, Sarah Silverman, Richard Pryor, and more as a means of illustrating the most important techniques of performing and writing stand-up. Here, Stephen Rosenfield lays out a clear...
Author
Publisher
Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Pub. Date
2018.
Language
English
Description
Presents a history of humor, from fart jokes on clay Sumerian tablets all the way up to the latest Twitter memes, that tells the story of how comedy came to rule the modern world.
"For millennia of human history, the future belonged to the strong. To the parent who could kill the most animals with sticks and to the child who could survive the winter or the epidemic. When the Industrial Revolution came, masters of business efficiency prospered instead,...
Author
Language
English
Description
"Measure for Measure," while listed among William Shakespeare's comedies, is doubtless among the darkest of his lighter works and remains one of the Bard's most popular plays.
When the Duke of Vienna decides to go undercover in his own city, he leaves Angelo, his deputy, in charge and disguises himself as a monk to see how things progress in his absence. Angelo, who purports to be a man of honor and a stickler for the rules, arrests young Claudio...
Author
Publisher
Chronicle Books LLC
Pub. Date
[2023]
Language
English
Description
"The History of Sketch Comedy will appeal to all kinds of comedy fans as well as fans of Keegan-Michael Key. With epic personal tangents and hilarious asides, their story takes you on an illuminating look at all facets of comedy from the stock characters of commedia del arte in the 16th century, to the rise of vaudeville and burlesque, the golden age of television comedy, the influence of the most well-known comedy schools, and ascension of comedy...
Author
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pub. Date
2023.
Language
English
Description
"Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture--as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities--yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force. In Comedy Book, Jesse David Fox--the country's...
Author
Publisher
S. French
Pub. Date
©1969
Language
English
Description
A portrait of three couples successively occupying a suite at the Plaza. A suburban couple take the suite while their house is being painted and it turns out to be the one in which they honeymooned 23 (or was it 24?) years before and was yesterday the anniversary, or is it today? This tale of marriage in tatters is followed by the exploits of a Hollywood producer who, after three marriages, is looking for fresh fields. He calls a childhood sweetheart,...
Author
Language
English
Description
Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors-and born vaudevillians-Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR's Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar..... is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in...
Author
Publisher
Abrams Press
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
An Emmy Award-winning original Saturday Night Live writer draws on personal memories and interviews with such contemporaries as Eric Idle and Dave Barry in a cultural memoir that includes discussions of the creative process behind classic skits.
15) Nothing's sacred
Author
Publisher
Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Language
English
Description
For the first time in book form, angry observational humorist Black rants on everything from politics to pop culture. He examines the events of his life that shaped his antiauthoritarian point of view and developed his comedic perspective, but puts common sense above ideology and distills biting commentary on all things politically and culturally relevant.--From publisher description
Author
Publisher
Andrews and McMeel
Pub. Date
1997
Language
English
Description
The humorist asked his readers to share their least favorite tunes and chronicles the hilarious responses.
When funnyman Dave Barry asked readers about their least favorite tunes, he thought he was penning just another installment of his weekly syndicated humor column. But the witty writer was flabbergasted by the response when over 10,000 readers voted. "I have never written a column that got a bigger response than the one announcing the Bad Song...
18) The real thing
Author
Publisher
Faber & Faber
Pub. Date
1984
Language
English
Description
The Real Thing is one of Tom Stoppard's most enduring and highly acclaimed dramatic works, first performed in 1982 at The Strand Theatre in London, starring Felicity Kendal and Roger Rees. The Real Thing begins with Max and Charlotte, a couple whose marriage is on the verge of collapse. Charlotte is an actress who has been appearing in a play about marriage written by her husband, Henry. Max, her leading man, is also married to an actress, Annie....
Author
Language
English
Description
He's the inventor of Past-Tense TV (featuring 'Got Smart,' 'Father Knew Best,' and 'It Was Left to Beaver'); the tireless crusader for such charities as the Center for Research into the Heebie Jeebies, Children of Parents with Bad Teeth, and the State Hospital for Those Who Felt All Right About a Year Ago; founder of the George Carlin Book Club (top titles: 'How to Act Laid-Back During a Grease Fire,' 'Fill Your Life with Croutons,' and 'The Meaning...
Author
Publisher
Grove Press
Pub. Date
[2015]
Language
English
Description
"Jokes change from generation to generation, but the experience of the stand-up comedian transcends the ages: the striving and struggles, the tragedy and triumph. From the Marx Brothers to Milton Berle, George Carlin to Eddie Murphy, Conan O'Brien to Louis C. K.--comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff presents a century of fascinating rebels, forgotten stars, and characters on the precipice of fame in this essential history of American comedy."--Book jacket....
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