Following his sarcastic how-to book Get Rich Cheating, comedian Jeff Kreisler will perform standup at the DC Arts Center tonight at 7:30. Tickets, available here, are $10 for DCAC members and $15 to $25 for the general public—although it’d be hard for Kreisler to press charges if you sneak in. His routine, based on the book’s lessons, encourages you to cheat, lie, and fake your way to the top—just like professional athletes, successful politicians, and corporate executives. Does it work? “Trust me,” says the law-educated Kreisler. “I’m a lawyer.”
Also tonight, the much-hyped Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest takes place at 7 at the DC Improv. Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher will be there—seriously—along with a slew of other names you never thought you’d see at a comedy fest: president of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist, the Washington Times’ Richard Miniter, and Politico’s Patrick Gavin. Senator Ben Nelson is being given a lifetime-achievement award. Baratunde Thurston, who edits the Onion, is the emcee. The proceeds benefit Standup for Kids, a nonprofit to help homeless and at-risk youth, and tickets aren’t cheap—$200. If you’re really in the mood to splurge, you can get a VIP pass, a table for eight, and seating with a celeb for $5,000. Call 202-250-9193 for tickets.
If you’re in Arlington and in the mood for a laugh—who wouldn’t be?—stop by the perennially fun Arlington Cinema ’N’ Drafthouse on Friday, October 2, when Brent Weinbach will perform standup. He received the Andy Kaufman Award at the HBO Comedy Festival and created and starred in the Web series Weinbach in Wonderland, so expect lots of bizarre character-based humor. Tickets are $18, doors open at 9:15, and the show starts at 9:45. Other nights, stop by the Drafthouse to catch a ridiculously cheap ($5.50) pair of films—this week’s show features the comedies The Hangover and Funny People. See the schedule, which changes daily, here.
Fast, resilient, and mildly self-deprecating, Paula Poundstone is in her 30th year of standup comedy. Her career has included a starring role in Bravo TV’s three-part Funny Girl series, a place on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 greatest standup comedians, and a book, There Is Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say. She’s a frequent panelist on National Public Radio’s Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! Poundstone will perform standup on Saturday, October 3, at the Birchmere. Tickets are $39.50; buy them here. The show begins at 7:30.
Next Tuesday, October 8, is opening night for Evil Dead: The Musical, the off-Broadway adaptation of the cult-hit C-grade movie by Sam Raimi. A campy, tongue-in-cheek gorefest, Evil Dead was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding off-Broadway musical and deemed “the next Rocky Horror” by the New York Times. (The songs include showstoppers such as “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Cadarian Demons!”) The production takes place at the DC Arts Center. Tickets are $25, or $20 for DCAC members. Get them at the door or online here.
More>> After Hours Blog | Arts & Events | Happy Hour Finder | Calendar of Events
