Night of 100 Nellies

An evening of perverse pageantry and hillarious parody from America’s premier sketch comedy group. The Nellie Olesons were named after Laura Ingall’s rich-bitch rival on Little House On The Prairie and have been hailed as “one of America’s most innovative sketch comedy groups” (Bay Area Reporter). The Nellie Olesons are “twisted enough to keep the audience happily offended” (Entertainment Weekly) with comedy that is “fast, smart, ribald to say the least and inarguably hilarious” (The New York Times). The trio has created several critically acclaimed shows including Nellier Than Thou (1994), Nellie-A-Go-Go (1995), Fistful of Nellies (1996), Pulp Nellie (1997), Full Frontal Nellie (1998), a critically acclaimed best of show, And Now… The Nellie Olesons (1998), the David Schweizer directed You Are Now Entering Nellie Oleson (1999), Nellie Is The Cruelest Bitch (2000), Older! Uglier! Meaner! (2005) and Night Of 100 Nellies (2006).

Founded by Nora Burns and Terrence Michael in New York in 1993 (John Cantwell joined in 1996), the Nellies have toured all over the U.S. and Canada playing “everything from reputable theaters to leaky dives,” Burns notes, including Montreal’s Just For Laugh’s Comedy Festival, Toronto’s We’re Funny That Way Festival and NYC’s P.S. 122, Mo Pitkins, LaMama, Ace of Clubs and Town Hall. Based in LA since 1998, they’ve regularly performed at the Cavern Club, the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre, Luna Park, Highways and The Laugh Factory to name a few. In 1997, a short film featuring sketches from Pulp Nellie, titled The Nellie Olesons, won the Audience Award for Best Short Video at Outfest. In 2006 they appeared at L.A.’s first ever gay and lesbian comedy festival, Outlaugh!, and in the subsequent documentary, Outlaugh! The Movie which is currently available on DVD from Wolfe Video. They’ve also appeared on QTV’s Jack E. Jett Show and Logo’s Wisecrack series. Their newest short film, The Veeg Sisters, made its debut at Outfest 2007.

The Nellie Olesons have participated in many charity and fund-raising events including APLA, Tuesday’s Child and the Trevor Project’s Cracked Christmas.