Daily Loaf

Comedian Roy Johnson has been beefing up his funny resume since his first-ever open mic at Tampa Improv in 2000. A year later, he headlined and produced his first homegrown showcase of local talent (eight followed) and the Improv eventually hired him on as the house MC in 2002. He continued to carve a name out for himself on the road, got a ringing endorsement from standup legend David Brenner (who said Johnson “is absolutely brilliant and is destined to be a world class headliner”), won the Maxxim/Bud Light-sponsored Real Men competition and enjoyed a cushy gig opening for Charlie Murphy, Joe Rogan and John Heffron on the Read Men of Comedy Tour, released a CD, Love Notes From the True Romantic, and triumphed in the I-4 Comedy War against the best comics of Tampa and Orlando. Johnson is headed to LA and performs one more night of his observational comedy at Roy Johnson’s Hollywood or Bust – about anything from his experiences living in Florida and dealing with hurricanes and redneck neighbors, to the follies of romance and life after marriage – tonight at his farewell show. See him off, buy him a beer, and be prepared to laugh your ass off. Wed., Nov. 4, 8 p.m., Tampa Improv in Centro Ybor, Ybor City, $8, tampaimprov.com. – Leilani Polk Read the rest of this entry »

American Stage’s After Hours Series returns with Paul Rudnick’s new comedy, The New Century, which has gotten some pretty good press — the New York Post warns that there are “so many gut-busting one-liners that those with heart conditions are advised to steer clear.” Here’s the set-up: Helene brags on her three gay sons at her Long Island chapter of POLGBTQCCCO: Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, The Transgendered, The Questioning, The Curious, The Creatively Concerned and Others. Mr. Charles, on the other hand, is finding his flamboyant ways a bit of a drag. The new gay order of NYC exiles him, and Charles now spends his time with a hunka-hunka burnin’ love named Shane, with whom he produces a cable TV show called Too Gay? On the other side of the world (or so it seems) Midwestern Barbara, a competitive cake decorator and craftswoman, has lost a son to AIDS. When the three drastically different characters collide, expect a lot of laughs tossed with a hefty dose of poignancy. Oct. 20-Nov. 1, 7 p.m. Tues.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., American Stage, 163 3rd Street N., St. Petersburg, $20, $10 student rush tickets 30 minutes prior to curtain, 27-823-7529, americanstage.org. – Franki Weddington Read the rest of this entry »