ONE-MAN SHOWS
7
(Often focused on family and all of its dysfunction.) Basic Training Oct. 12-24 • Stage Door Theater Kahlil Ashanti returns with his show about life in an Air Force entertainment troupe, his search for his biological father and his childhood. In a little more than an hour, Ashanti portrays 23 characters with no props – just a man and the stage.
thank the audience (a hold-over from Tops In Blue). One night in Scotland, a beefy fisherman “straight off the ‘Deadliest Catch’” and with “hands of asbestos” approached him, looked the actor in the eye and vowed never to beat his wife again. That moment reaffirmed Tambor’s wisdom: When you get real with the audience, they get real with you.
As a kid, laughter was an escape. While he did sneak downstairs to listen to a Richard Pryor album, Ashanti was really a huge fan of Don Knotts (“Barney” on the Andy Griffith shows). “And I watched a little too much of the Looney Toons cartoons,” he confesses, citing his love of Mel Blanc and the Warner Bros. franchise. “Basic Training” began as a stand-up routine about Tops In Blue, a special unit of amateur performers. Ashanti says its evolution began to a theatrical show when actor/comedian Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development,” “The Hangover”) challenged him in a workshop to stop going for the obvious and to get real. Tambor was right. “People laughed harder when I added in my story,” Ashanti says. Now, Ashanti shares the not-so-“Cosby” story of his childhood. It’s comedy born of the pain of an abusive childhood. One minute, you’re laughing, and the next you’re fighting a tear. Ashanti stands by the door after each show to My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m Home For The Holidays Nov. 30 - Dec. 5 • Booth Playhouse Oy! He’s back. Steve Solomon follows up last year’s Charlotte debut with tales of what happens when 35 relatives come together for a meal at grandmother’s house. And there’s one toilet. Capisce?
STAND-UP (A comedian, a mic and you. And a bunch of other people.) Ben Bailey Sept. 26 • McGlohon Theatre You know him best as the Emmy-winning host of “Cash Cab” and “Cash Cab: After Dark,” but he also does stand-up and he’s an actor (Spiderman 2,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Hope & Faith,” “One Live to Live”).
Mike Birbiglia Nov. 5 • Knight Theater A brand new show for a brand new tour that coincides with his brand new book, “Sleepwalk With Me And Other Painfully True Stories.” Fans, critics, late night show hosts and Ira Glass love him.
TICKETS: 704.372.1000 • BlumenthalCenter.org