‘Banner Year’: Comedy Center reports venues largely full, archives experiences well received
Trending
[gallery1403154,1403155,1403156] Seeing Jerry Seinfeld reunited with the famous "Puffy Shirt" from Seinfeld says a lot about what can happen during the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.
This year's festival went off with one small hitch, the combination of shows by Saturday headliner Bert Kreischer into one performance, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm Journey Gunderson had for the festival once she had taken a couple of days to recover from a busy four days. Thousands of visitors came to Jamestown from at least 42 states for a festival that included performances by Seinfeld, Kreischer, Seth Meyers and several notable standups performing at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts and the Tropicana Club above the Lucy-Desi Museum on Third Street.
All in all, the 35th anniversary of the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival was, for Gunderson, a banner year.
"With three arena performances - Jerry Seinfeld, Bert Kreischer and Seth Meyers - along with more than 50 events over four days, it was an incredibly active festival. Most of our events were sold out or near capacity, and we heard so many positive comments from visitors, not just about the performances, but about their experience in Jamestown and at the Comedy Center," Gunderson said.
One of this year's special moments was an on-stage reunion of New York City comedians during Seinfeld's performance. Seinfeld's puffy shirt wasn't the weekend's only Seinfeld-related reunion to take place during the festival.
"Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Schiff and Carol Leifer, who all came up through the New York comedy club scene together nearly 50 years ago, reunited here in Jamestown," Gunderson said. "To have these fellow comedians both open for Jerry - with Carol making a surprise appearance - and to see the three of them together backstage all these years later was a wonderful full-circle moment - and one that felt especially fitting here at a museum dedicated to preserving comedy history and celebrating comedy legacies."
ARCHIVES ON DISPLAY
Gunderson said the center itself became a bigger part of the festival this year.
While not all comedians and fans had a connection quite as personal as the one Seinfeld had with the low-talker's puffy shirt, those who attended one of several archives experiences at this year's festival took part in something Gunderson termed as "magical."
"We did more in-museum events than ever before, more archive encounters," Gunderson said. "It’s again a magical thing watching an artist of one generation peer through a display case or into the archives of an artist of another generation. There is nothing like it happening anywhere."
– Kelly Carlin-McCall author, Emmy Award winning producer, founder of Humans on the Verge and daughter of legendary comedian George Carlin, who hosted a behind-the-scenes look at the George Carlin exhibit and shared some of her favorite moments of what it was like growing up with a comedic icon.
– Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, whose recently donated archive spans their decades-long comedic and personal partnership with scripts, notes and other rarely seen materials recently acquired by the National Comedy Center;
– Don Rickles at 100, which included a peek into the archive of Rickles' personal and professional materials. From creative papers to photographs, these materials illuminate Rickles' comedic style, quick wit and enduring influence.
"The Archive Encounters at the museums were incredibly well received," Gunderson said. "We had visitors lining up for our Don Rickles, I Love Lucy at 75 and Stiller & Meara encounters, and extended some of the sessions because of the level of interest. These programs give visitors a rare opportunity to see materials up close and hear the stories behind them from our archives team. With the depth and continued growth of the collections at both the National Comedy Center and Lucy Desi Museum, we could offer entirely different Archive Encounters for years to come - giving visitors something new to discover each time they return."
Mel Brooks recently placed his career archives into the care of the National Comedy Center, while other archival materials the center houses include such notable names as Alan Zweibel, the Marx Brothers, Betty White, Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Carl Reiner, Carol Burnett, Dan Aykroyd, Gilbert Gottfried, George Lopez, Joan Rivers, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Judd Apatow, Keenen Wayans, Lewis Black, Maria Bamford, Rodney Dangerfield and Richard Prior.
LUCY FELT THE LOVE, TOO
Given that it is the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, events entered around I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball were well attended as well.
The schedule included I Love Lucy at 75: A Special Pilot Episode Screening of the show's original pilot episode in an intimate theater setting. Guests were able to take photos with artifacts like Lucille Ball's iconic Professor costume and an original pilot script. Archives encounters included a focus on I Love Lucy 75th Anniversary, which included an exclusive view of rare production documents and behind-the-scenes photographs pulled from the archives, a chance to engage with members of the archives team and materials highlighting the work of both cast and crew, including Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and another focused on the 70th anniversary of Forever Darling and its worldwide premiere in Jamestown. The archives experience included a special guest involved in the 1956 premiere festivities firsthand and access to rarely seen archival objects, photographs and items connected to the moment thousands of city residents lined the streets to welcome Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz back home to Jamestown.
"It was a very special year for Lucy fans as we mark the milestone 75th anniversary year of I Love Lucy, and the response to our Lucy and Desi programming was incredibly enthusiastic," Gunderson said. "We kicked off the festival by showing the original I Love Lucy pilot at the National Comedy Center to a full house on what would have been Lucille Ball's 115th birthday. When her birthday was mentioned, the entire audience spontaneously broke into applause - a really touching moment that showed the affection fans still have for Lucy."
Themed meals took place in the Tropicana Room during the festivals, this year with a new twist.
"This year, we tried something new, weaving our themed meals in the Tropicana Room together with live vignettes performed by our Lucy and Ricky tribute artists. Fans loved the experience, and many came back multiple times. Our LucyTown Tours continued to be very popular as well," Gunderson said. "The weekend also marked the 70th anniversary of the Jamestown premiere of Forever, Darling, which we commemorated with a special event featuring Jamestown native Alan Peck, who was involved in the original 1956 premiere events. It was another great way to bring Lucy and Desi's history here in Jamestown to life for fans.
CROWD-PLEASERS
The festival included performances by Ian Lara, a breakout talent seen on The Tonight Show and HBO; Gina Brillon, a standout comedian, actor, and writer seen on Amazon Prime, HBO, and America's Got Talent; Peter Revello, a New York City comic who recently made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; and Nick Thune who has racked up 10 performances on The Tonight Show and more.
The show, sandwiched as a headline event between Seinfeld and Kreischer, was a hit, according to Gunderson.
"One of the things that really stood out this year was how strongly audiences responded to the performers and events beyond our headline shows," she said. "We heard from so many people that this year's Stand-Up Showcase lineup - Gina Brillon, Ian Lara, Peter Revello, Nick Thune and Emmy Blotnick - was our best yet. Peter Revello, who also took the stage at Comedy Late Night, and Drew Dunn, who opened for Bert Kreischer and performed in multiple Comedy Late Night shows, are two names I think we're going to be hearing a lot more about. Nate Bargatze performed in this same showcase in 2011 and, just a few years later, was filling our arena. It's especially rewarding to see audiences discover these talented comedians at different points in their careers."
Late night comedy shows were well attended in the Tropicana Room above the Lucy-Desi Museum, with Kreischer making a surprise appearance Saturday night. And, events offered in the Comedy Center attracted crowds.
"We also saw people really embrace the National Comedy Center as part of their festival experience. The festival gives us an opportunity to offer things visitors simply can't experience anywhere else. Throughout the weekend, we had special presentations, archive talks and programs exploring everything from Saturday Night Live to comedy and puppetry to our Kids Comedy Workshop. We also presented a special program with legendary comedian and writer Carol Leifer, in conversation with Emmy Blotnick, an accomplished comedy writer in her own right. Kelly Carlin gave special presentations about her father's work and archives. Bert Kreischer cut the ribbon on a new display featuring an iconic outfit from one of his Netflix specials, and visitors were able to get a first look at rare material from the newly announced Mel Brooks archive."
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Gunderson also took note of comments from festival-goers that the National Comedy Center can't control.
"One thing that always strikes us is how much feedback we receive about the warmth and enthusiasm of the community. Visitors talk about how welcoming our staff is, but they also tell us about the wonderful hospitality they experience at local hotels, restaurants and local businesses. The block parties add to that sense of community, with visitors and residents coming together downtown throughout the weekend," Gunderson said. "There's something very unique about combining that welcoming, small-town feel with a world-class national attraction and a festival featuring some of the biggest names in comedy. I think that's a big part of why we see so many visitors return year after year. They come for the comedy, but they also develop a real connection with Jamestown and the people here.