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Broadway Fun, Funny Broads (is that offensive?), and I Do’s
Aug 13th
So… I am in the NJ/NY area this week for a few reasons. First, one of my closest friends is getting married tonite. Hooray for this. Also I had a show on Wednesday nite in the city (see the post below). But Wednesday afternoon before my show I finally was able to see FELA! — the hit Broadway musical about the life of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. It was FANTASTIC!!! Here is a clip below:
The show only runs thru January but I just heard that Patti LaBelle is joining the cast this fall, so if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s only going to get better! Oh, and in other related and even more awesome news, my imaginary boyfriend Chiwitel Ejiofor will be playing Fela in Steve McQueen’s upcoming biopic.
Yummy.
My show Wednesday nite was super fun. Organized by Jen Dziura and Abbi Crutchfield, this was the press preview for their new all-female weekly showcase called Ladybits. Performing on the show were Jen, Abbi, Bonnie McFarlane and yours truly. I had a bunch of friends who live in the area come out and the room was packed. Great start ladies!!! I wish you the best of luck. They had a sketch artist sketching us while we were onstage. I’m looking forward to seeing this sketch. I asked her to draw me thinner. We’ll see what she comes up with… After the show I went for sushi with the hilarious Ms. McFarlane and the equally hilarious Morgan Murphy. Fun times! I can’t wait til I live in New York.
Switching gears, I’m looking very forward to this wedding tonite. It’s going to be a huge event — 270+ guests. Open bar… And guess who has to leave directly from the reception (possibly during) to hit the road for a butt-crack-of-dawn flight outta BWI? Yup… *this girl.* :(
Well, I wish the happy couple nothing but happiness and love and I can’t wait to see them and everyone else!
EJ on The Gloss
Aug 13th
Hey guys! One of my clips was featured on TheGloss.com on Wednesday as part of an article promoting a show I did in NYC. It was a fantastic show! I hope if you’re in or around the NYC area you’ll support this show in the fall! Here is a link to the article:
http://thegloss.com/culture/yes-women-are-funny-introducing-ladybits-comedy/
CALI… great place to visit!
Jul 12th
Sooooo… I’m making my [not so] triumphant return to [the] LA [area]!!!
This Wednesday thru Saturday, July 14-17 I’m going to be performing with my good friend Vince Morris at The Comedy Club at Pechanga at the Pechanga Casino and Resort. I haven’t been to LA since 2008 so I’m really looking forward to it! After the shows I plan on spending a few days in LA just to catch up with friends. If you’re in the area and can make it down I GUARANTEE that you will love this show from top to bottom.
Hope some of you can make it out!
DON’T MISS THIS AWESOME DC SHOW: Come Out Laughing!!!
Jun 29th
HEY, ARE YOU EITHER A WOMAN OR A MAN? ARE YOU EITHER STRAIGHT OR GAY? DO YOU LIKE FUN AND HATE SHOWS THAT SUCK?
YES? Then I’ve got the perfect show for you!
I will be a part of a really awesome show taking place in the DC Improv Lounge July 9th and 10th. One of my ABSOLUTE BEST comedy friends and Last Comic Standing roommate, Erin Foley (Comedy Central Presents Half Hour Special, Last Comic Standing, Almost Famous), and her friend Jason Dudey (LOGO) are bringing their nationally touring show “COME OUT LAUGHING: Some Gay, Some Straight, All Hilarious” to the Baltimore and DC areas.
Here’s a short press release about the show:
‘COME OUT LAUGHING’ COMES TO BALTIMORE AND DC
Stand Up Comedy Show Uses Humor To Build Bridges Between Gay And Straight
06.28.2010 – Los Angeles, CA – Next week, local DC-area comedy clubs will play host to ‘Come Out Laughing,’ a show featuring both gay and straight comics playing at Magooby’s in Baltimore, MD on July 8, and in Washington, DC on July 9 and 10 at the DC Improv Lounge.
“Bringing everyone together to laugh with no other agenda. Isn’t that what we all need right now?” asks Jason Dudey, who co-created ‘Come Out Laughing’ in 2008 along with fellow comedian Erin Foley. Now a regular monthly show at the world famous Laugh Factory Comedy Club in Long Beach, California, ‘Come Out Laughing’ features some of the hottest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and straight comics in the country, with countless appearances on Showtime, Comedy Central and HBO.
The show’s rave reviews have fueled a nationwide tour, with sold-out stops at local clubs and theaters across the country. Performing alongside Jason and Erin as part of the Washington DC show is popular local comedian, Erin Jackson, well known for her appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Last Comic Standing. Says Jackson, “I’m really looking forward to this event, though I recognize how hard it can be as the one ‘different’ person on a show like this… I just hope Jason isn’t too self conscious about not being named Erin.” In Baltimore, Foley and Dudey are joined by Zach Toczynski, a gay comic based in DC who hosts a monthly showcase at Titan Bar.
“I love the concept of this show,” says Foley. “I’d like to think we’ve gotten beyond the idea of gay and straight as opposite things. We’re all just living our lives. And life can be hilarious, no matter who you are.”
And here’s the ticket link to the Improv: http://tinyurl.com/29ytzvq
Get your tickets early! This show will sell out!!!
Bill Maher, HBO, and… me!!!
Dec 10th
Just found out yesterday that I was invited to open for Bill Maher as he tapes his upcoming HBO special in February in Raleigh, NC! I’m suuuuuuper excited! Being the liberal politics junkie that I am, Bill and Real Time are kinda like my crack. My mom thinks they might throw me a curve ball and ask that I renounce Jesus before the performances, but I’m relatively sure that won’t happen.
Just to be clear, I won’t be appearing on HBO, but the fact that they trust me to prep the crowds for one of the network’s biggest stars is super flattering. Not to mention that it’ll be a huge theater full of fans and HBO execs. And hopefully, I’ll get to meet Bill too ;) It’ll be hands-down the biggest show I’ve ever done. Hooray for this!
February 12 & 13
Progress Energy Center
Raleigh, NC
Attn: All my homies in Jersey!!!
Jul 13th
I’ll be making my triumphant return home to New Brunswick this weekend July 16-18 to perform at the Stress Factory Comedy Club! I’m so looking forward to it — I’ve been dying to get work at this club for years and I’m looking forward to catching up with some folks I haven’t seen in forever. My parents retired and moved away about 6 years ago so I rarely get to go home. So getting paid to do it makes it even that much more fun!
Ticket info: https://rsv.stressfactoryreservations.com/tix/default.aspx?selsh=071609
Hope some of you can make it out!
Fourth o’ July – Pt. 1 (Work Hard)
Jul 5th
This weekend I had the honor and pleasure of headlining the main showroom at the Improv here in DC.
I close at other clubs on the road, but there’s something special about the people that have been watching you since you first picked up a mic having enough confidence in you to give you such an awesome opportunity. The management and the staff at the Improv have been AMAZING to me over the years — they’re like family. And at every juncture so far they’ve supported me and even pushed me to take leaps before I even thought I was ready.
Thanks guys for everything!
So many of the friends I grew up with in Jersey have settled in the DC area. A bunch of them came out to support this weekend and for most, it was their first time ever coming to one of my shows! This is my girl Jenny with her two brothers Jamal and Jerome and their friend. They took me out dancing afterwards. We had a ball!
Pre-drinks and dancing... By the end of the night I was leaning like one of the backup dancers in the Smooth Criminal video.
This is my friend/big brother/cheerleader, Joe. Everybody should have a 'Joe' ;)
And this is my former roommate Crystal — the only person (besides my folks — well at least besides my mom) who has lived with me and still likes me ;)
Me and Crys
Many thanks to all my Jersey homies and my Howard buddies who came out to the shows this weekend, and of course the hundreds of other people who took a chance on this small town girl living in a lonely world (how hard does Steve Perry STILL rock? ;)
You made my weekend!
David Letterman’s ‘apology’ and my first real hate mail
Jun 15th
I was quoted in this article in the Style section of Saturday’s Washington Post about the David Letterman/Sarah Palin ‘feud’. If you don’t feel like reading the entire article, here’s what was attributed to me:
Letterman shouldn’t apologize, if only to preserve the comedian’s prerogative to satirize the powerful and to be offensive on occasion, says Erin Jackson, a rising local stand-up comic. “People read things into jokes that you never meant and never intended,” she says. “If [Letterman] got into a cycle of apologizing for a joke or comment, you don’t know where it would stop, or how far back you’d have to go to satisfy everyone. I don’t think he can be who he is if he started doing that.”
Adds Jackson: “When you give it to everyone equally, as Letterman does, as all the late-night people do, you kind of have to take it. It’s like demanding an apology from the National Enquirer — it’s better to just get over it.”
The writer made it clear to me that he didn’t want to examine the political angle of the story — he just wanted the opinion of a comedian on whether or not it was a good idea professionally for Letterman to offer an apology. I’ve offered quotes for articles before, but this weekend was the first time I’ve ever gotten negative e-mails about my comments. Sure I’ve gotten random, anonymous comments on YouTube, etc. But this was full-blown “I’m gonna give you a piece of my mind AND my first and last name and e-mail address.” You know, grown and sexy hate mail. The first message came at like 1 in the morning. I was out with friends and heard the Berry go off. I was crossing my fingers hard for an unexpected booty call …
Nope, just hate mail.
Just for Laughs Chicago and I heart TBS!
May 1st
So… YAY! I just got the word that I’ve been invited to perform at the Just for Laughs Chicago Festival! This is the American sister to comedy’s premier festival — Just for Laughs in Montreal — which I didn’t get into… But this is no NIT. This is the inaugural year of JFL in the US and as you can see it’ll take place June 17-21. So many big names — the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres, George Lopez, Louis CK, Lisa Lampanelli, Patrice O’Neal, Jimmy Fallon, Russell Peters…
What’s even cooler is that I’ll be participating in a TV taping while I’m out there. The festival will be broadcast by TBS and so I’ll have the opportunity to do some new stand-up on their network again! I am so loving TBS right now!!! Also I’m super excited about the location. After 31 years of never visiting Chicago, I get to go twice within a couple of months. I really liked it there. Can’t wait to go back.
Festival tickets are on sale now! You should totally buy some ;) My taping will be at the Zanies Comedy Club. More info as I receive it! Yay! ;)
Thank God I have cute feet
Apr 24th
Thank God.
I mean if the movie Boomerang was real-life, I’m pretty sure my feet would have passed the Hammertime Test:
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna post a photo of them. I know how OPF (other people’s feet) gross some folks out — me included. But mine are cute. Not beautiful. Cute. They’re a little on the short side but they’re the right sizes in the right order and in the spring/summer, just TRY and catch me without a fresh pedi. Admittedly I slack off in the winter but since no one’s gonna see them and there’s no bedmate to complain about my heel spurs, I can afford to slack off a little.
I bring this whole topic up because it’s begun to get spring-ish in DC (which BTW means 75 degrees for like 3 days and then 99 degrees until October) and I broke out the sandals for the first time yesterday. I’m working at the DC Improv this weekend (Tickets still available here) and there was a woman in the front row last night who kept staring at my feet. She was so blatant that I had to stop talking and ask her, “Are you looking at my feet?” She said, “Yes.” She didn’t even look at me when she answered. She was still looking at my feet. And I felt a little awkward… I had gotten a French pedicure earlier in the day so my feet were fine, but audience members checking out my feet is something I’ve always been self-conscious about.
I remember fretting once because I didn’t have time to get a pedicure before a show and one of my guy friends was like, ” Oh please, E. You sound like such a diva.” But he didn’t understand that when I’m on stage, my feet are pretty much at eye level for the audience. And women especially will look another woman up and down and back up again before they give themselves permission to like her. I would hate to Google myself (yeah I do it and so do you) and see something like:
“Well she was aiight funny, but her feet was mad crusty, son!”
All my imaginary online hecklers/critics are from 1990’s New York.
But I digress.
I no longer feel embarrassed or diva-like for making it a point to have a fresh pedi when I’m performing. My boy Randy who was at the show last nite says that’s exactly why he polishes his shoes before he goes on stage. You gotta eliminate as many petty reasons as you can for people not to enjoy the show. If you’re in the DC/MD/VA area and wanna catch a show and maybe check out my feet for yourself, come on down. The headliner, Ted Alexandro, is one of my favorite comedians working today. I even said so here and I’m super psyched to be working with him!
Hope to see you out!
E
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