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Last Wednesday marked the 4th annual Comedy Central Festival at SummerStage in Central Park and, in my humble opinion, it was the best. Outside of having the illustrious host of the nightly fake news program, Jon Stewart, himself on hand the show included all of my favorite contributors to the Daily Show over the past year.
First up was Rory Albanese, four time Emmy-Award-winning executive producer and writer for the show, and an accomplished stand up comic in his own right. Using his obviously authentic New York antecedents he gave a hysterical account of being ejected from a McDonalds while travelling abroad – remarking the high point of American technology in the last century was removing the bone from the McRib, while keeping the rib shape. Made me proud.
Next up was Rob Riggle who delighted the crowd with his accounts of his newly acquired spider monkey that he had trained to perform very specific personal services. Tip to aspiring monkey trainers – always maintain eye contact during moments of simian, uh, servicing.
Wyatt Cenac arrived on stage after Rob’s inspiring performance and quickly took the evening to another level with a dead on excoriation of the usages (popular and not so) of vernacular in referencing other ethnicities. (Yes, that word.) Witty, incisive and painfully funny.
John Oliver was next and immediately pointed out that he was not related to, or actually knew anyone at BP – “You all used to think this accent was cute.” The high point of his segment was when he got into it with a bunch of persistent hecklers. The hecklers were actually the park’s robust population of crickets which, with the fall of darkness and the heat, were almost as loud as John.\
Topping the bill was everyone’s favorite furious New Yorker – Lewis Black. My personal favorite, Lewis came out and worked himself up to an apoplectic frenzy in no time. This was enjoyed by the crowd, which had, because of the 95 degree heat, and the fact that this is after all New York, already experienced several times just getting there.
The entire evening was once again brilliantly hosted by SummerStage and the Parks Foundation which does a remarkable job in making these free shows available to all of us. This is one of the very few places in NYC that you actually get much more than you paid for.
About Central Park
Find all the information you need to enjoy your visit to New York City’s iconic Central Park.
Attractions
Central Park features 843 acres filled with classic architecture, gorgeous statuary and up to date sports, educational and performance facilities. Besides all of this there is the world famous Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center and the Children’s Zoo.
Things To Do
From The Philharmonic on the Great Lawn to Shakespeare in the Park to SummerStage, Central Park offers an endless array of things to do, see, hear – and, with two full service restaurants and several cafes, taste. You can visit The Shakespeare Garden, take in a performance at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater, take a ride on the Carousel – or just sit and people watch at Bethesda Terrace!
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New York, NY, 10028