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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Bursky boffo in first preview of The New 30!


Veteran comedian Alan Bursky made a rousing comeback and the theatre world saw a new contender emerge last night as the solo show The New 30 had its first preview on the Sunset Strip.

Eric Cohen's comic play about a generation's obsession with looking and acting younger than our ages played to a select crowd at The Laugh Factory, and while there are obvious technical kinks to work out in the multi-media stage production, the content, pacing and delivery of the show point to a winner.


The celeb-studded crowd that included comics Elayne Boosler and Dom Irrera and former HBO chief Chris Albrecht were howling at the observations on everything from Botox to erectile dysfunction to Keith Richards.

The fast-paced, laugh-filled play, which is produced by our pals at Frozen Pictures along with Cohen's Murray Hemingway Productions, is obviously a prime candidate for franchising in theatres and comedy clubs across the country.

But it was Bursky's performance that had the crowd on its feet. A veteran of thirty years of the comedy wars (he first hit it big as a teenager), Bursky's comfort onstage, interjections of physical comedy and ability to relate to the audience erased all boundaries between author and actor and made it seem as if he'd lived every ache, embarrassment, disappointment and prostate problem that Cohen writes about so hilariously.


The show returns for two more showcase previews at The Laugh Factory on October 28th and November 6th. Meanwhile, Bursky will be appearing at Harrah's Improv on the Las Vegas Strip with John Caponera (who appears in Frozen Pictures' influential sports comedy Cloud 9) from October 14th through 19th. If you're lucky enough to be in Vegas, catch Alan Bursky before he explodes again.

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