Comedy fans lucky enough to catch Greg Fitzsimmons at the Carpinteria Plaza Playhouse on May 25 were treated to a no-holds-barred, sidesplitting stand-up comedy show.
The feisty comic, most recently well-known from his podcasts on satellite radio or his Comedy Central specials, pulled out all the stops in a raunchy laugh attack on a receptive crowd. The witty and sarcastic comic has achieved success as a stand-up performer, Emmy Award-winning writer and host on both radio and TV.
A regular on the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fitzsimmons has also made more than 50 visits to The Howard Stern Show.
While the Irish-American comic began with well-prepared, self-effacing material, the show quickly devolved into an improvisational sparring match with many members of the audience. One member of the audience in particular caught the brunt of his comedic arsenal of amusing anecdotes. A shadowy female figure in the crowd began heckling the comic, explaining that they were friends from college. This led to a whole series of stories about his hilariously awkward amorous adventures as a youth. As the mysterious lady in the audience continued to shout out vague details. shrouded in mystery, about their past relationship, the comedian came down into the audience and sat next to her. He then engaged her in a long soliloquy of humorous reminiscences, all the while bantering with other hecklers in the audience.
By the time the expert comic returned to his regular material, most everyone in the audience was engaged in uncontrollable laughter. After nearly two hours of nonstop comedy, the personable Fitzsimmons wandered into the lobby to meet and greet every fan who stayed behind to meet him.
Among his latest projects, Fitzsimmons will host a new series on the Speed Channel called Pumped! and is a frequent panelist on Chelsea Lately. His 2011 book, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons, climbed the best-seller charts and received outstanding reviews from National Public Radio and Vanity Fair. The audio version of the book will be released this fall.
The Carpinteria Plaza Playhouse is planning to bring a nationally known comic at least once a month to the venue. When the comedy fans who attended the Fitzsimmons show start spreading the word about the incredible performance, tickets to the next event may be harder to come by.
The next show scheduled is Don McMillan on Thursday, June 14. He will be joined by comedians Paul Clay and Randy Lubas.
McMillan left an illustrious career in the 1980s as a pioneering computer chip design engineer and began a successful career as a comedian in 1991. He won the San Francisco International Stand Up Comedy Competition and went on to become the 1993 grand champion on the television show Star Search. Since then, he has gone on to appear in numerous television, movie roles and stand-up performances.
Currently, McMillan has two big YouTube hits: “Life After Death by PowerPoint” and “Live from My Cubicle.”
Tickets to his show cost $10, and donated beer from Island Brewing Co. will be available for $5 for a large glass. This show is sure to pack the house.
Click here for tickets and more information.
— L. Paul Mann is a Noozhawk contributing writer. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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