TVSquad

The stage version of Family Guy will be in Chicago next month. That's right, there's a stage version of the Fox show. Family Guy Live started in 2004 at a Montreal comedy festival and then had a couple of shows in LA and New York in 2005. It appeared again in Montreal this summer and now is headed for a two-night gig in Chicago.

The live show features all the actors who do voices for the show, including creator Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Mike Henry and Alex Borstein. The performance is a compilation of musical numbers from the actual series. And, because it's live, I can only imagine that it hasn't been nearly as censored as it would be on Fox.

There will be just two shows in September 15th at the Chicago Theater. The production coincides with Family Guy's syndication on Tribune stations, which have headquarters in Chicago.

I was unaware of this until recently, but apparently some live stage versions of Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist were performed with the original cast and crew.

Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist was, if you don't know, an animated series that aired on Comedy Central in the late '90s. It starred comedian Johnathan Katz as a therapist to several comedians, who would essentially do their shtick while he would listen and respond. The episodes didn't all take place in Katz's office, it also expanded to his home and personal life to include his son Ben (played by Jon Benjamin) and his receptionist, Laura (played by Laura Silverman).

Via Funny or Die, the site that brought you Adam McKay's cursing daughter, Pearl, comes this clip (below) of comedian Zach Galifianakis doing his stand-up act for a crowd that just won't cut him any slack. I guess Zach's brand of dry, irreverent humor just doesn't sit well with the colonists.

Strangely enough, while I found the juxtaposition of Zach on stage and the crowd of stoic men and women mildly amusing, I found myself laughing the loudest at his actual jokes. I guess that works too, unless Zach wanted me to laugh specifically at the fact he was bombing. I'd hate to think I'm appreciating his video in the wrong way.

Dave Chappelle is back on the stage after his departure from Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show in 2005. On Sunday night, he took the stage at Los Angeles' Laugh Factory for six hours and seven minutes! Not much is known about what he said or did, but the owner of the joint says the audience was howling with laughter the entire time.

Earlier this month, unfunny "comedian" Dane Cook set the Laugh Factory record for endurance at three hours, 50 minutes. The previous record was held by Richard Pryor, who was on stage for two hours, 41 minutes back in 1980. Does anyone else think Chappelle was trying to stick it to Cook for busting Pryor's record? I sure as hell hope so.

You can watch clips of the Jim Henson Company's Puppet Up! Uncensored improv shows on TBS' Laugh Lab site. New sketches will be added every Wednesday.

Puppet Up! Uncensored is an improved stage show from the Jim Henson Company that's essentially Who's Line Is It Anyway?, but with puppets. A Puppet Up! special was shown on TBS not long ago, and I found myself enjoying it, albeit intermittently.

Hello, are you enjoying your weekend?

Yeah, thanks for asking, Adam.

No prob. Do you know what would make your day even better?

Um, Mr. Belding from Saved By the Bell singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey?

Yes, imaginary person in my head, that's exactly what would make this great day even greater, and just for you and all my adoring readers, I've placed a video after the jump of Belding himself (real name: Dennis Haskins) joining metal band Metal Skool on stage along with football player Tony Romo for a rousing rendition of the hit song. Belding even treats the crowd to a truncated version of the Saved By the Bell theme. The best part comes toward the beginning when he's mistakenly introduced as "Mr. Belvedere."

The video contains LOTS OF CURSING, so don't watch it of you're at work or church.

[via Best Week Ever]

The title of this post is also a pithy description of my upcoming autobiography -- thank you, you've been a lovely audience!

House band: Ba da bop ba dop bop!

Anyway, the clip after the jump is a scene from My Bare Lady, Fox Reality Channel's series about a bunch of female porn stars trying out for a role in Romeo and Juliet on the London stage. The clip features the women faking orgasms as part of their audition, I assume for the famous "fake orgasm" scene in Romeo and Juliet: "Thou art causing me to climax!"

As I said before, I find it a little condescending that this series implies porn actors aren't real actors. I say they are real actors, just different kinds of actors. It's not so easy to be in the moment and maintain that element of fantasy when a roomful of people are watching you do it. I should know, it's why I'm no longer allowed in the library.

The video is probably NSFW, so click ahead with caution.

[via Digg]

Did you watch the Billboard Awards on Monday night? Me neither. Thank goodness. There's a clip of Fergie performing her atrocious "Fergalicous" song with absolutely no energy whatsoever. After watching her lifeless performance of what should be a high energy song, I am convinced that she's nothing but eye candy. She can shake her ass and her boobs in the camera for music videos, but when it comes to stage presence, girl ain't got none. She walked out on the stage and stood there as dancers bounced and lights flashed all around her. The director couldn't even hide Fergie's performance with a bunch of zooming cameras. About two-thirds into her song, she seems to forget the words. I sure hope this chick's 15 minutes are up.

Video of Fergie's Billboard performance after the jump...

[Via The Superficial]

I always considered myself a pretty strict Darwinist, but I have to admit, Ricky Gervais, best known for The Office and Extras, does offer a compelling argument for Creationism. The clip after the jump is from Gervais' 2003 stage show Animals, in which he lectures in his own dry British way about the animal kingdom and whatever else pops into his head. It's not like watching a stand-up comedian, per se, but it's very funny, nonetheless. In fact, I'm fairly certain Gervais has said on more than one occasion that he doesn't consider himself a stand-up comedian. Either way, he's on a stage and people are laughing, so why split hairs? You can also buy the DVD with the entire show, but only if you live in the UK. Take that, Americans. Anyway, enjoy the clip, and then watch the second part of it here.

What did Katharine McPhee do to tip the balance in the universe so bad things happen to her? Maybe it's because she continues to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow as if she wrote the song herself. Earlier this week, she broke her foot during a performance. Her wranglers say she tripped on something backstage at the Idols concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. She sang two songs wearing "slipper sandals" (huh?) and then went directly to the hospital for x-rays, which revealed a broken left foot. She had just rejoined the tour last Friday after suffering from bronchitis and laryngitis. This mishap, however, is not enough for her to leave the tour.

As I already mentioned, Conan O'Brien will be bringing his show to Chicago next week. He sat down (or maybe he was standing, I have no idea) recently with Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune for an insightful interview where he talked about wanting to do the show in Chicago for a long time. That's understandable, since Chicago, home of Second City, has been a place where a plethora of comedians were molded into the fleshy joke machines we know today. I found it very interesting that Conan once did a stage show in Chicago with Robert Smigel (creator of SNL's "TV Funhouse" segments and the voice of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog) and Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show and Tom Goes to the Mayor) called "The Happy Happy Good Show," which I totally would have gone to see had I known it existed and had I not been twelve years old at the time. Well, his famous "In the Year 2000" sketch originated from that stage show, so I guess we all got a little taste of it after all.

Jacob Young, who plays JR Chandler on the daytime soap, All My Children, will make his Broadway debut this spring in Beauty and the Beast. He'll play Beauty. Just kidding. But seriously, look at the kid. He's gorgeous.

Actually, Young will be playing the candlestick, Lumiere, in a 10-week run starting May 9. Don't worry AMC fans, he'll still be on the soap too. Young will be doing double-duty on stage and on television. His only conflict is the Wednesday matinee, which gives his Broadway understudy a little stage time.