The 2019 edition of the Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Sudbury Comedy Festival, which runs March 28-30, features veterans on the Canadian comedy scene.
That includes Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCulloch, who brings his new one man show “Tales of Bravery and Stupidity” to Fraser Auditorium March 28.
On March 30, comedy super group Women Fully Clothed are back in town with their new show Invisible.
Made up of Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood, Kathryn Greenwood and Teresa Pavlinek, this show digs right in and mines the hilarity of their new stage of life through comedy and song.
Sudbury.com recently chatted over the phone with McCulloch and one of the members of Women Fully Clothed, Kathryn Greenwood, in advance of their Sudbury performances.
McCulloch said he's been doing one-man shows for 25 years, dating back to the days he appeared on “Kids in the Hall” on CBC television.
He said he likes to do one of these shows every couple of years as he gets new ideas and material.
As implied in its title, his latest show focuses on some of the weird and stupid things he sometimes does.
“I sort of collected some of those thoughts and how they relate to all of the heroic and stupid things we do, and I spin out these stories,” McCulloch said.
“Well there's an example of getting in trouble on a WestJet flight because of the weird thing I text to my wife before we take off every flight. I sort of get myself in trouble and I have to get myself out of trouble.”
McCulloch said he tours with his fellow Kids in the Hall every few years, and thinks it's probably time they did again soon.
He'll reunite with the group at the end of the month at the Canadian Screen Awards, where they'll receive the Academy Icon Award.
“It has drained slightly with time, but I still go to a restaurant, and someone wants to tell me a story on how they grew up on me, and how I influenced their weird sense of humour in high school,” McCulloch said.
Kathryn Greenwood, one of the members of Women Fully Clothed, said the group was formed for a charity event from Second City comedy alumnus 16 years ago by Robin Duke.
The group originally featured five women, but is down to four after Debra McGrath left the group a decade ago.
All veterans of Canadian (and sometimes American) television and the country's comedy scene, the ladies of Women Fully Clothed perform sketch comedy and comedic musical numbers.
“Whenever we think about how long we've been together, we can hardly believe it,” said Greenwood — you might recognize her name from TV's “Whose Line is It Anyway?,” “The Rick Mercer Report” and “Wind at My Back.”
“We've been together way longer than the Beatles, which is what our manager keeps telling us. We're still together and still going strong and still the best of pals. It's really nice.”
Currently ranging in age from their 40s to their 70s, Greenwood said the ladies' subject matter has changed over the years as their lives have entered new phases.
She said they called their latest show “Invisible” because that's how women of a certain age sometimes feel.
When asked why the group calls itself Women Fully Clothed, Greenwood said all of the members have a different answer to that, but she looks at it as a statement of empowerment.
“I almost see it like we're ready for anything life can throw at us,” Greenwood said. “We're fully clothed, and bring it on.”
Greenwood said women are also often portrayed with skimpy clothes in the media. “I like the idea of Women Fully Clothed,” she said. “We've got all of our clothes on, and you still want to come see us.”
Visit lolsudbury.com for tickets to both shows.
Other LOL Sudbury events:
The SiriusXM’s Top Comic Showcase runs March 29. The show brings winners and runners up in SiriusXM’s Top Comic annual stand-up competition. Hosted by Ben Miner, the show features Derek Seguin, Sterling Scott, Brian Stollery, Michelle Shaughnessy and Gavin Matts.
From Thursday to Saturday at 5:30 p.m., LOL Sudbury is hosting the Red Fang Happy Hour Cocktails & Comedy. Each day at the Red Fang we will be featuring three comedians in these 45 minute shows.
Northern Life/Sudbury.com reporter Matt Durnan is one of the local celebrities taking part in the Don't Quit Your Day Job! challenge starting at 9 p.m. Thursday, March 28 at Overtime Sports Bar. A select few of Northern Ontario’s bravest celebrities have decided to leave behind their 9-5’s for the LOL Sudbury stage and try their hand at comedy! and compete for a chance to pocket a cool $1,500 for the charity of their choice.
There will be two club shows Friday, March 29. At 8 p.m. we have TGIF at Cousin Vinny’s in Hanmer. Host Dave Atkinson will be joined by Lianne Maudalin, Patrick Haye, Matt Wright, Howie Miller, and Keith Pedro. Then at 9:30 p.m. we have the LOL Late Night show at the Alibi Room which is hosted by Ted Morris and featuring Andrew Barr and Rob Pue.
The festival caps off at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 30 at Little Montreal with Sudbury Saturday Night! Host Rob Pue will be joined by Derek Seguin, Lianne Maudalin, Howie Miller, Gavin Matts, and Matt Wright.
