This year's gala stand-up comedy shows will be hosted by Tim Allen, King Of Queens sitcom star Kevin James, Louie Anderson, and Eric Idle (who'll bring his Monty Python's Greatest Hits tour across the border if he's allowed into the country). William "Priceline" Shatner will also beam down to his old hometown to play host.
This year's solo venture showcases Christopher Titus, who secured his Fox TV sitcom deal based on his theater piece Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding. According to Titus, "The show is based on my dysfunctional family and my upbringing. I've incorporated it into a performance that is very real, and from that reality comes the humor." Titus first perofmred the show in Los Angeles, where it was well received by critics and audiences. "I used to try to be the quintessential stand up comic," he says, "but people didn't respond very well when I'd say something like 'So, who else has a mother who was in a mental institution?' I've discovered who I am on stage, and people really like that. This show is the result of that discovery."
Another highlight of the festival is sure to be Late Night Catechism. Still enjoying successful runs of four years in New York City and eight years in Chicago, this interactive, Catholic classroom comedy features Maripat Donovan, the show's star and creator, as the irrepressible Sister. She'll be imparting her own version of theology to an unsuspecting crowd at Montreal's Centaur Theater.
Improvisation will once again leave its mark on the festival as Just For Laughs hosts the second annual World Improv Championships, with teams from New York City, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Halifax competing. These no-holds-barred wrestling matches for intellectuals are performed Canadian-style in a modified hockey rink, complete with rules, referees and penalties. It's probably the only "sporting event" wherein someone can be penalized for unnecessary use of cliches.
"The presentation owes itself more to sports than to theater arts," says Claude Ranger, programmer of this year's Improv Championship. "But the goal is still to be funny." Scheduled daily match-ups throughout the festival lead to a championship final...and, yes, they take improvisation very seriously in Montreal. Those masters of improv, Second City, will also participate.
The wide array of entertainment offered under the Just For Laughs umbrella requires some tough decisions by festivalgoers (of whom there were over one million last year), since many performances are scheduled at similar times in venues throughout the city. The programmers do, however, make a conscious effort to tickle the funny bones of every demographic group by putting together theme shows at local comedy clubs, including The Nasty Show (a font of political incorrectness), Queer Comics, Laughrodisiacs: The Relationship Show, The Uptown Show, The Bar Mitzvah Show, An Evening At Eve's Tavern (featuring comedy divas), The Montreal Show (presenting homegrown talent), Britcom (showcasing Britain's up-and-comers), and Globecom (the best of the rest of the world). Industry bigwigs attend The New Faces Show in hopes of finding the next big sitcom star, while the Alternative Comedy Show has a self-explanatory title.
Just for Laughs is the largest and most prestigious festival of its kind, offering a broad spectrum of comedy designed to appeal to the public and intrigue the industry. There's something here to suit almost every sense of humor. Heck, even Pauley Shore will be on hand!
