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 Comedian Rick Reynolds, described by the Los Angeles Times as "The funniest man in America," has made numerous appearances on The Tonight Show, as well as Late Night With David Letterman. He also created and starred in the CBS sit-com "Life And Stuff," which was inspired by his hit one-man-show "All Grown Up And No Place To Go." But he is perhaps best known for his ground-breaking and critically acclaimed one-man-show "Only The Truth Is Funny," which he is work-shopping at The Cinnabar Theater, before taking it to other major venues across the country. This new show, "Only The Truth Is Funny - 2009," includes plenty of new material, catching us up on what Rick has been up to these past 17 years. It's both hysterical and heart breaking, and is not to be missed.
REVIEWS
Rick Reynolds’ one-man comedy show, ‘Only the Truth is Funny 2009,’ shares the laughter and tears in his own life By YOVANNA BIEBERICH, ARGUS-COURIER STAFF, Published: Sunday, January 18, 2009
Anyone can tell a joke, but it takes talent to turn life’s dysfunction into something an audience can relate to and still laugh about.
Writer-comedian and Petaluma resident Rick Reynolds did just that by turning the story of his difficult childhood into “Only the Truth is Funny,” a one-man comedy show that earned him two Emmy nominations in the early 1990s.
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Man with no secrets tells all, Comedian Reynolds mines dysfunctional life for laughs in Petaluma stand-up show, by DAN TAYLOR, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Rick Reynolds is a seasoned performer -- in comedy clubs, off-Broadway and on television -- but he also writes his own material.
So it's natural the Petaluma comic would offer to write the lead-in for his interview, and here it is:
"Rick Reynolds, a strikingly handsome young man, is doing a show of pure genius, for a pittance. Are you taking this down? This is golden!"
Did we mention that he's modest, too?
"It's what I do in my own life," Reynolds said of his tell-all approach to the show. "A compliment that I get often, and don't deserve, is that I'm brave. That has nothing to do with it. I tell these stories to anybody who listens to me. I truly am a guy with no secrets. It's almost annoying to know me, so I foist it off on an unsuspecting public."
It helps, of course, that his stories are not exactly routine. His father robbed banks. His mother underwent electro-shock therapy.
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The Bohemian Jan 14, 2009, By David Templeton. Still telling the truth, Rick Reynolds stages his comeback
Though he could have created another new show, Reynolds elected to dust off the show that started it all. Next week, at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, he begins a "workshop run" of a show he is calling Only the Truth Is Funny 2009.
"A lot of people are going to scoff at this, but I swear this is a better show than the original," he says. "It's a cleaner, stronger, funnier, more entertaining show now, and I can't wait to get it out in front of people."
Could lightning strike twice for the godfather of solo shows? Reynolds believes it can—and will. Investors have been calling up asking about the new show and potential tour. Big name directors have expressed interest in directing the show when it's ready.
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Pacific Sun, January 15, 2009, by David Templeton.
Talking Pictures: Marley & Me
Comedian Rick Reynolds bites back
Reynolds, who lives in Petaluma, became something of a North Bay celebrity when "Only the Truth is Funny" was first launched in the early 1990s. The engagingly hilarious show--recounting Reynolds' incredibly messed-up childhood (his step-father was a bank robber), his rocky relationship with his wife, his outrageous career as a traveling stand-up comic, and the life-changing birth of his first son--was a huge hit. A long run in San Francisco was followed by stints in New York and Los Angeles. Mel Brooks called it one of the funniest shows he'd ever seen. It became a cable T.V. special that was nominated for an Emmy Award. By then Reynolds had landed a powerful agent and manager, and was launching new shows that were garnering just as much critical praise and Hollywood attention as the first.
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Dave Pokorny says:
On the heels of my two sold out Comics Stripped shows at Cinnabar theater this year and in an effort to continue to bring humor to our fine little city, I would like to let you in on a show that I know will be a huge step in getting more laughs in the 707 area code for this next year.
An old friend, Petaluma resident, and incredibly funny man Rick Reynolds will be reprising (and updating) his ground-breaking and critically acclaimed one-man show "Only The Truth Is Funny." If you didn't see it the first time around, here's your chance to see him workshop it before he takes to Los Angeles and back to Broadway. Watch this youtube clip and see if you don't agree with the Los Angeles Times "The funniest man in America," is Rick Reynolds. YouTube - Comedian Rick Reynolds - The Prison Gig
On a personal note, as a working comedian for over a decade, I opened for Rick many times before he went to Broadway, and I'll tell you there were very few comedians that I would watch their entire set all 9 shows in a week. Rick's set was not to be missed, I always felt I could learn something by watching him. Not just because he's laugh-out-loud funny, but because you always get more from him. He's smart, philosophical, and most importantly to me, real. He's not just some smart-ass making wise cracks, there's substance to what he is doing up on stage.
So how does someone go from being the darling of the entertainment industry to obscurity in the small northern California city of Petaluma? Reynolds had two hugely successful broadway one-man shows (Only The Truth Is Funny & All Grown Up And No Place To Go). He had numerous spots on The Tonight Show and Late Night With David Letterman. Then he created and starred in his own CBS sit-com based on his life called "Life And Stuff."
His eight-show run at Cinnabar starts January 28th.
According to the Wikipedia:
In 1989, frustrated in his attempts to break into film and television and growing dissatisfied with the strictures of the stand-up form, Reynolds fled Hollywood and returned with his wife to northern California to start a family and write his first one-man show, Only the Truth Is Funny. A mélange of brutally honest personal confession, gut-wrenching childhood remembrances, and episodes of high hilarity drawn from his own life, the show opened in 1990 at The Improv in San Francisco, where it played to capacity crowds for the better part of a year and attracted the attention of Rollins & Joffe, the management team responsible for the careers of Woody Allen and David Letterman, among others. Under their aegis, Only the Truth Is Funny was reborn as a theatrical production, garnering rave reviews during an extended run in San Francisco and subsequent stints in Los Angeles and Off Broadway. In 1993, it was filmed as a Showtime special, for which Reynolds received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing. Only the Truth Is Funny was ultimately released on audio CD (produced by Will Ackerman and Steven Miller) and in book form (by Hyperion).
And a patron writes -
Okay we went tonight and saw Rick Reynolds and he is f'ng HILARIOUS!! OH MY GOD.
Not only was he funny but I loved how he mixed in vingettes of sheer and utter terror and heartbreak with laugh out loud moments. The ski masks that his step father sent from prison? The marriage counselor tape? And I may be haunted the rest of my life by the lounge singer who was paralyzed from the neck up....
Please tell him that I looked for him (while wearing my edible PANTIES) in the parking lot to give a blow job after the show but didn't see him, maybe one of the grandma's got to him first. Oh and seriously he may not have had sex in 6 years because he refers to his cock as a AA battery...just a thought. But SERIOUSLY one of the funniest people I have ever seen. And should you have a party and say he was invited you could invite me too...
Anyway thanks for telling me about the show! Sorry we didn't see you and your lovely wife there, hope you're good.
Lisa |
