Unbeknownst to some, one of the many places the Bag Man likes to visit on his journeys through NYC is the UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade) Theater. Here lies the epicenter of long-form improv in New York City. It’s the home of now legendary underground improv teams like The Stepfathers, Reuben Williams, and Mother.
Yesterday was Harold Night. For the laymen the Harold is a form of long-form improv pioneered by my good friend Chicago legend Del Close (rest his soul). It’s been a while since the Bag Man passed through a Harold Night, but I was looking forward to seeing my personal favorites Creep and Mailer Daemon. Creep did there thing as always, but I was disappointed to learn that Mailer Daemon was no more. Some of the team members, including fan fav Matt Moses, had moved on other endeavors. Yes, the Bag Man was almost -BUT NOT QUITE - drawn to tears at this disappointment.
With the end of Mailer Daemon comes UCB’s periodic changing of the guard, as they shuffle up old teams, and create new ones. Typically the Bag Man skips out on a new team intro show, but hey I just saw Creep and I wanted more. So I stuck around to see one of the new Harold Teams - T.R.U.C.K.S.
Let me tell you that the Bag Man was not disappointed. T.R.U.C.K.S. tore the house down this Tuesday night with an inspiring performance. James Santangeli and Ben Schwartz’s engaging characterizations of old country Italians only bolstered the levity of last night’s show. New comer Bridie Harrington formerly of Beatrice drew the audience into the show with emotional displays of improvisation (whatever that means). To be fair, most members of T.R.U.C.K.S. are not strangers to Harold Night. Their Roster includes: Bob Acevedo, Jon Gutierrez, and Ben Schwartz all Harold veterans.
T.R.U.C.K.S. has a long way to go to match the likes of Mailer Daemon. But they’re off to a great start. Just don’t get sloppy. Tuesday was just one time. The Bag Man wants to see if you can keep it consistent.
as a frequent UCB attendee, let me just say…T.R.U.C.K.S. is f-ing brilliant. while i have be known to crush slightly on mailer daemon….T.R.U.C.K.S. takes the improv cake. mark my word.
Ben,
Thanks for the heads up on fwänd, next time the Bag Man’s on location in NYC I’ll definately be passing through.
But I wonder, is Mailer Daemon still classic Mailer Daemon with the loss of three team members? I did have the opportunity to see them a few weeks back in Cagematch, and yes they still rocked the house (or the theater as the case may be)!
Oh and mailer Daemon is still around, but changed around a bit. While they no longer karate kick Harold Night in the neck, they do play CageMatch and are also playing Under St. Marks this friday (Sep 29) at 10:30pm [94 St. Marks place (b/w 1st & A)].
Most of Mailer-Daemon is now in a new team called fwänd who are playing at tonight’s Harold Night. I have to say that the last fwänd performance was the funniest improv I have ever seen. EVER!
Couldn’t agree with you more. Those T.R.U.C.K.S. kids are funny as hell and seem to be getting better every Harold night.