Spend Your NYC Saturdays Having a Ball at the UCB

On April 5, I had the pleasure of stopping by New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre to attend one of their many improv comedy shows.

The show I caught was a group of comedic giants called “Let’s Have a Ball.” This Saturday, the group featured: Scott Adsit (30 Rock, Moral Orel), Kay Cannon (30 Rock), Christina Gausas (Dorff & Gausas, Late Night with Conan O’Brien), Laura Krafft (The Colbert Report), and Tami Sagher (30 Rock).

“Let’s Have a Ball” started off with Gausas asking for three very distinct word suggestions from the audience. Using these words as title for their show, she then delightfully introduced an hour-long improvised show “for the first and last time.”

The first half hour consisted of three two-person scenes.

The initial scene starred Krafft and Adsit. The duo organically discovered that they were in a prison and Krafft was visiting her lover Adsit, who just happened to create a life-sized replica of Krafft to get him through those lonely cell block nights.

Next on stage was a scene with Sagher preparing to marry Gausas’ estranged lover. The audience ate up the scene’s subtle humor. At one point Gausas said that maybe she could have had the chance to steal one of Sagher’s lovers. To which, Sagher politely and consolingly responded, “Hmmm, no you couldn’t.”

During the third scene, Adsit returned to the stage to join Cannon in one of the most uproarious scenes I’ve ever witnessed. Adsit played the home-schooled son of Cannon. There are no words that can describe the unbridled comedy that happened on stage. Unfortunately, like most good improv, you’ll never get to see it again.

In the second half of the show, the entire group got up on stage and did exactly what their name suggests - they had a ball. The ensemble created anything from performance art dance routines to elaborate dream sequences, and left the audience wanting more.

It’s no wonder why this show is several noches above any comedic show I’ve seen in a while. Adsit, Cannon, Gausas, Krafft, and Sagher all honed their talents on the mean streets of Chicago, performing at Second City and IO.

Unlike some improv shows you see which tend to become rushed slapstick fests, the beauty of “Let’s Have a Ball” stems from the realism of the characters. Each actor brought his or her own unique perspective, desires and feelings to an unscripted role. The cast took their time each scene, slowly uncovering the comedy within. Then they moved away from what was funny to discover something even more laughable. The result - a show that was entirely made up on the spot, but felt like it was scripted.

Other regular performers in “Let’s Have a Ball” include: Anthony King (Reuben Williams, writer, creator, Gutenberg! The Musical!) and Becky Drysdale (One Woman in Several Pieces).

When in New York, be sure to catch “Let’s Have a Ball,” every Saturday at 7:30pm at New York’s UCB Theatre (307 W. 26th Street). The price of a ticket is only $8 - it’s like attending a Broadway show for only a fraction of the cost.