#beth lapides

Creator and Founder of the famed live alt-comedy LA-based show The Uncabaret, Beth Lapides, joins JV this week to talk about her brand new star-filled audiobook, So You Need to Decide and much more! Such as: breaking comedy conventions and glass ceilings, the perfect Cobb salad, and the yet more perfect sex appeal of Mulder and Scully! 

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STAND UP FOR FRIENDLY HOUSE HOSTED BY ROSIE O’DONNELL

Rosie O’Donnell is set to host an incredible night of comedy to benefit Friendly House LA on Saturday, July 16th, 2022, at The Fonda Theatre. The benefit will also feature an array of amazing fierce and funny women including performances from Atsuko Okatsuka, Beth Lapides, Gina Yashere, and headliner Kathy Griffin, with more to be announced. Get tickets here:…

FEMINIST BUZZKILLS LIVE! WITH SPECIAL GUEST BETH LAPIDES

The Mom Also Rises: Phoebe Bridgers’ Mother, #JamieBridgers, Finds Her Own Voice Doing Alternative Comedy

Jamie Bridgers spent enough time nurturing her daughter and nudging her toward the career she has now — which is, for lack of a better term, rock star — that it make sense she’d pay as close attention as any Phoebe Bridgers fan would to the finer points of her sophomore album, “Punisher,” which came out Friday. Of course, as a mother, Jamie may be more on the lookout than others to see whether…

It’s Los Angeles and it’s the dawn of the 90s and everybody looks so young. There's Janeane Garofalo, Paul F. Tompkins, Kathy Griffin. There’s Bob and David, pre-Mr. Show. There’s Margaret Cho and Larry Charles and Patton Oswalt and maybe a babyfaced Apatow. Within a few years, the people in this room will be credited with transforming the face of popular comedy. Right now, they’re in a basement of a restaurant in West Hollywood, and Beth Lapides is holding court.

Lapides’ UnCabaret was a unique pillar in LA’s nascent “alternative comedy” scene — offering performers an “un-homophobic, un-xenophobic, un-misogynistic” stage to work out their weirdness in front of a generous audience. Now in its 25th year, Lapides and CAP UCLA bring UnCabaret to The Theatre at Ace Hotel on Sunday, November 18 for a star-studded anniversary show. 

After a quarter century of shows, how does UnCabaret maintain its vitality?

Finding new, unique talent and nurturing them. Being in the now. This now. No, this one. Now. Knowing we are part of a big shift. Staying true to our core beliefs, still feeling urgent about our mission to create “un-homophobic, un-xenophobic, un-misogynistic” comedy. And at the same time being willing to evolve. 

Coffee. More coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. Oh and stories, of course.

UnCabaret's alumni list is obviously staggering, but are there names new or old that you miss on the Anniversary roster? So many! We would need a full series of shows to include everyone we wanted to include. Dana Gould, Michael Patrick King, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Alec Mapa, Sarah Silverman, Tig Notaro, Judd Apatow, John Riggi, Larry Charles, Baron Vaughn, Erin Foley, Marc Maron, Kira Soltanovich, Aparna Nancherla, Jamie Bridgers, Merrill Markoe, etc, etc, etc. Love them all. They are all part of us.

And I wish with that Judy Toll and Taylor Negron were still here, both were so key to UnCabaret’s DNA. The mix that we do have on stage includes performers from the various chapters of our story. We wanted to make sure this show wasn’t a “reunion show," but that it had the joy of reunion. The Theatre at Ace Hotel is such a perfect place for it. It’s a great size, 1600 seats, but somehow manages to be intimate. And the fact that it was the United Artists Theatre is so perfect for UnCabaret. Which is, essentially, a group of united artists. List three emblematic UnCabaret memories — first thought, best thought. Julia Sweeney’s first set about her cancer. "I have a little cancer," she said. She let it sit there for a minute. Then after a beat, she said, "Hold for laughs." The room exploded. Her story unfolded onstage week after week. And then those sets became God Said, Ha! on Broadway and subsequently in book and film.

Judy Toll brought a blown-up check of the $30,000 that Scientology returned to her after she left. And her e-meter, as she told the story of getting into and then out of Scientology. 

Faye Dunaway asked Mike MacDonald to be her comedy coach. He spent an entire day on the phone with her. 

Kathy Griffin’s various sexcapades. 

Michael Patrick King, the triple threat behind Sex and the City, told a story about going on a very revelatory spiritual retreat with his boyfriend. 25 years is pretty reflective milestone — do you have a vision for the future?

Yes, we are going to expand. That may mean taking a longer stride into monthly rather than weekly shows. We’re developing scripted projects and books. Our edu-wing is growing. Our venue for the past 7 years just closed, so we’re looking at new venues. It’s an exciting and expansionist time.