The Gong Show Live

Producer Leslie Gold, the New York City-based radio and TV host whose Radiochick Corporation holds the rights to stage Gong Show Live events in the US, said, “The original Gong Show’s variety, humor, and surprise elements made it not just memorable, but set precedents. There’d be no General Larry Platt, no America’s Got Talent, Big Brother, or the others without The Gong Show. Our show brings all of the fun and lunacy of the TV show to a theatrical stage production, and there’s truly nothing like it.”

In addition to the talent acts, Gong Show Live’s entertainment quotient is augmented by its host, comedian Ray Ellin; three judges – Chuck Nice, Leslie Gold (“The Radiochick”), and Ken Dashow – known from their work in standup comedy, TV, and radio; and the four-piece Gong Show Ten Orchestra, led by veteran drummer Sandy Gennaro (Cyndi Lauper, Bo Diddley, Joan Jett). Gong Show Live even has its own updated versions of two of the original TV show’s most popular performers, “Gene Gene the Dancing Machine” and “The Unknown Comic.”

More than 350 talent auditions were screened for the premier of Gong Show Live, staged at B.B. King’s last August. Press response includes: “Packed with shock value” (Good Day New York, WNYW-TV Fox 5); “Chuck Barris would be proud” (NBC NY.com); “Jaw-droppingly hilarious” (Valerie Smaldone, WOR-AM); “Truly frightening” (Verizon FiOS1 News); “A huge success” (Nora Nolan, WomanAroundTown.com); and “The Gong Show is back and better than ever” (Josh Estrin, Pop Culture Examiner).