3rd Annual New Year's Eve Bash — Do It For Dick! (Clark)
It's a new year and a new venue for Gag Reflex's 3rd Annual New Year's Eve Comedy Bash! The popular Austin sketch comedy ensemble will stage the routinely sold-out event at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, Rt. 183 at Lake Creek Parkway at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31.
"This year's show is going to be a little different," says Gag member Clay Askew. "For starters, while we'll still have the post-show cast party with party favors, door prizes and the traditional midnight champagne toast, the Alamo Drafthouse is throwing in drink tickets and their spectacular appetizer buffet, which includes stuff from some of the four biggest and most popular food groups. Last year we had unlimited alcohol but didn't provide food and there was an awful lot of liquoring up, which got a little scary. But enough about the performers."
"The show itself is a little different this time out, too," adds shapely female Gag Reflex member Kim Ford Fox. "The cast is bigger and, thanks largely to my influence as a writer, some of the material is a bit ... risqué."
While the show is definitely an adult affair, Gag Reflex promises the same random mix of silly, sexy and cerebral humor that has gained the group a loyal following and critical acclaim (the group took "Best of the Week" in the last FronteraFest competition, a performance of which the Austin American-Statesman wrote, "Only beautifully sick minds can create twisted comedy like this.")
Topics of this year's sketches include Sloppy Joes, speed dating, marriage counseling, milk obsession, plagiarism and an update on the Six Million Dollar Man (adjusted for inflation). Former Gag member Maggie Gallant will perform stand-up at the top of the second act.
The doors will open at 9 p.m. so audience members can stake out their seats, graze and guzzle before the brand new, 2-hour Gag Reflex show, "The Bipolar Express," begins. After the show, audience and cast will countdown to a midnight champagne toast with songs, jokes and door prizes.
In addition to Fox and Askew, Gag Reflex Austin includes director Dale Roe, co-founder Joe Stafford, Jed "Dino" Duesler, Julie Fontenot and newcomer Dena Taylor.
Since Gag's New Year's Eve shows routinely sell out, early ticket purchasing is recommended. Tickets for the entire evening are only $40 each, or $75 per couple and can be obtained at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek box office in person or by calling (512) 219-5408. Tickets can also be purchased online at The Alamo Drafthouse. More information can be obtained by visiting GagPlanet, the Gag Reflex Web site.
