Spirits upstairs opens with 5 Funny Females

Saturday night we were invited to the press party for the touring comedy act 5 Funny Females presented by Drinkwater Productions, which coincided with the opening of a beautiful bar and second floor space at Spirits’.

Rivaling the bar at Strega this space is contained within a room off the main second floor space.

While the press party was somewhat of a bust, it did allow me to sit down with all five of the comedians for a chat.  For those of you who don’t get to see much live comedy having an all female show is a rarity.  Most of the time venues will only have one female comic per night.  The perception is that all women comics have the same routine and people want a limit on vagina jokes.  After seeing this show I can tell you that concept is far from reality.

Each of the five women come from different backgrounds and approach their comedy from different angles.  Some are full time comics others part time.  Some work exclusively in clubs while others are on TV or movies ( Check out Comedy Central on August 1st to see Erin Judge).  They also mixed in different ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, color and comedy type.

5 Funny Females is the brain child of NYC comedian Susan Alexander. Alexanders comedy tour travels the country mixing and matching great women comedians so no two shows are ever the same.  Her vision and talent for hand picking these women is only surpassed by her ability to make everyone bust a gut.

In addition to gathering the talent for these shows Susan also did her own stand-up and MC’d the show.  The evenings other talent showcased Michelle Buteau, Chantal Carrere, Bethany Van Delft, and Erin Judge.   They aptly played to a mixed audience ranging in age from late 20’s to over 70.  One couple who were in their 70’s (and have been married for 50 years) quickly became “friends” and material for a number of the comics who engaged and interacted with the audience.

Although I was a bit skeptical about seeing the show at first (I figured it might be as male friendly as Sex in the City), my reservations were dashed by the great energy and fast paced comedy.  Everyone in the audience had a great time.  And while me recounting the jokes would be about as funny as when your friend recites some George Carlin joke he just saw on youtube, I can say that if you get the opportunity to see any of these women again or catch this tour you owe it to your funnybone to do so.

You can find upcoming dates, comedy clips and find out whats going on with any of these funny ladies over at their myspace pages listed above.  While you’re there don’t forget to friend us!