Kismet Komedy Night ‘08

 

The line extended out to the street as Kismetics gathered for the only, and therefore best, show in town – the third annual night of Comedy as presented by Joanie MacKeehan and Patti Romanzi.

 

Stand up comedy is like walking a tightrope with no net. You have to feel out the terrain and be quick on your verbal feet to maintain your balance with a crowd. While we in Kismet like to think of ourselves as individuals and varied, the truth is we are more alike than different. The mark of an experienced comic is to be able to sense when an approach is not taking and change gears, a sort of a bait and switch routine. When MC Mike Cioffi delivered four distinctly different comics logic maintains that not all will hit the mark. But the ambience, good will and camaraderie of the crowd made slight imperfections barely noticeable, and who could fault our new MC, cute and chubby Mike Cioffi?

 

 

Event Coordinators Joanie and Patti at the door

 

 

Artie Goldstein, Mike Fiore and the Chiros, Linda & Janet, selling drink tickets and 50/50

 

Here are some excerpts of the routines to add to your own memories:

MC Robert Gioffi warms up the crowd: I love being single. I don’t date the level I want to date.  I need a nicer car.  A Ford Focus doesn’t work. A Rover will bend’em over. I am not bi-lingual but I learned in Spanish  “no” means “no”. When I hit my 40’s I began to worry about everything… like the increasing price of catfood.  I don’t have to work anymore, I finally bought a cemetery plot…………

http://www.RobCioffi.com

Laura NikiFortchuk: I’m a spanker. I hated it as a child but now I can’t get enough of it. I’m Canadian but I wanted the full New York experience  so my boyfriend poked me in the face and stole my wallet., My ex was really bad: I had to stay drunk to keep him hot.

http://www.ComedyBabe.com

 

 

 

Michael Young Cho: I still have a lot of deliveries to do in the neighborhood. Lots of alcohol means the more you drink the more you sound like me. If I wear camouflage some of you will have a Vietnam flashback.  You think all Asians are connected. Yankee fans want me to talk to “your homeboy” Hideki Matsui.  I’m from Forest Hills, Queens!

Re: products - Japanese make it, Chinese mass produce it, Koreans market it, and Indians will tech support it. Getting engaged means different things. To the woman “I’m so relieved. If it doesn’t work out I will get half his stuff”, to the man “engaged means in mortal combat”.

http://www.MySpace.com/koreancomedian

 

 

 

George Gallo: a very physical comic, his high energy rapid fire delivery defied note taking as he rat-a-tatted  a barrage of topics at the crowd: On Mike D’Amato “former Jet who knows the thrill of victory and the agony of de feet (I know about his knee surgery from Lou. I was  kinda blinded by his teeth, the George Hamilton look,, a landscaper who knows where all the bodies are buried, and Jim Ryan who worked  back in the days when channel 5 had a real name and not nickname (Fox)…its so hot in here this house will have a thermal updraft and blow itself up… loves Suffolk country, where they are making bombs for the 4^th of July, where you go from here to the barrage of bullets… http://www.GeorgeGallo.com

 

 

Leighann Lord, the crowd favorite, smart, savvy and sassy - who started off  “I’m glad it’s a fundraiser ‘cause I never knew white folks without airconditioning… you just wanted me to feel at home… I voted for Obama because he’s cute and, if you have to look at someone for four years, he better be drop dead gorgeous. McCain is a serial candidate – he’ll run for anything. George Bush Sr. was the Education president, George Jr. is the Special Ed president. Had a Swedish massage recently which really hurt. I had to tell her be careful those are not knots in my neck, those are bones. Prefers not the forgiving God of the New Testament, but the vengeful one of the Old Testament – who can wipe out your enemies… I’m not “urban” I’m “urbane” and thank you for knowing what that means… All Black people think all white folk are rich and smart but then I watched Jerry Springer.

Concluding with “if we can all laugh together, we can all live together”.

http://www.VeryFunnyLady.com

“hero” Mike D’Amato and the comics

Note from Joan:

Thanks go to Sam Wood & Crew for setting up the stage, Tom Licari for the lighting, Dr. Linda for working the very successful 50/50, Bryana Romanzi for helping with both set-up and clean-up. In addition there were several non-dept. members (they know who they are) who helped out without us even asking - that's community spirit!
It is the major fire department fund raiser and co-chaired by Joan and Patty Romanzi, but everyone in the fire department chipped in.  A lot of work goes into getting the equipment out of the truck bays and turning it into the Kismet Theatre.  Tommy, Bobby, Rudy and I do the bar, I stock it.  The Cole boys were great help with setting up the beer; the family is very supportive of the department as a whole with everything we do.  We raised about $3,000 and want special mention to Jimmy Sposato if you please for donating back his half of the 50/50 which was $425. Thanks to Linda N. who did the selling!!  We have been hearing nothing but good things about the night which was attended by 140 people.       

Please thank the town, on behalf of the fire dept, for supporting us and our event.

     

..and don’t fprget the audience