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Late
Night Laughter Aside from the bottle-and-doobie-strewn front lawns of college student housing, after 10 pm isn't exactly party time in Eugene. Maybe the Bijou has a late movie or a few bars — and fewer restaurants — are still open. So what's a girl with a sense of humor or a guy who doesn't like keggers to do? The Lord Leebrick Theatre wants to provide an answer, a new way for Eugene to chill long after the sidewalks of our gentle town have rolled up.
Late Night at the Leebrick, to be inaugurated on Sept. 29 and 30 with improv group PotPie, is a weekend comedy show that begins at 11 and continues until the audience can't laugh anymore. Leebrick General Manager Angela Henderson says local young theater folks will deliver improv and sketch comedy while much of Eugene slumbers. Improvisational comedy isn't hard to explain — it's funny, and it's not scripted. Those who chortled through shows at the defunct ComedySportz will recognize performers and enjoy audience participation during Oct. 6 & 7's Kitsch Alive! show. And then there's sketch comedy. What's that like? "Well, it's, it's … there's just no way I can explain it," says Pardon My Juice's Greg Heaton. Heaton is now the volunteer coordinator of the improv/sketch comedy nights. For television watchers — "But they should be at the theater; they shouldn't be watching TV!" says Henderson — Heaton describes sketch comedy as "a 'Daily Show,' Chapelle, Python kind of thing, with some 'Desperate Housewives' just for fun, or maybe 'The Jeffersons!'" Henderson says she's expecting a slightly different crowd than the usual Leebrick audience, maybe a younger crowd, "one that can go out at 11." She also thinks the acts will be consistent: "People will know they can go for $5, and it will be funny every time." Last spring, the Leebrick hosted Pardon My Juice for a short run. The success of that show helped lead to Late Night at the Leebrick. For this fall's plan, Heaton has lined up improv groups including Absolute Improv, a "non-affiliated" group made up mostly of UO theater students, and sketch comedy groups, including Pardon My Juice. Although the Leebrick doesn't yet have a liquor license — "We're working on it," Henderson says — she does hope to provide a place for people to congregate and maybe "hang out for a while." Along with the hipsters of Eugene, the many high school students who loved ComedySportz will find Late Night appealing, says Heaton. But it's not all fun and games for the performers. "We're serious about comedy; we don't screw around," Heaton says. Sketch troupes rehearse heavily, and even improv troupes rehearse techniques, getting to know each other's onstage ways. But don't expect that seriousness to peek through, Heaton says. "We keep it short, and we keep you laughing." Late Night at the Leebrick. 11 pm Fridays & Saturdays. Lord Leebrick Theater, 540 Charnelton St. • $5.
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