New Variety
Encyclopedia
The New Variety was a Chicago
-based cabaret
produced by Thom Goodman and Richard O’Donnell in the 1990s. It was a fast-paced, ever-changing volley of acts that included award-winning jugglers, fire-eaters, stand-up comedy
, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy
troupes.
) teamed up to present the New Variety, located at 400 N. Clark, downtown Chicago
. Modeled after the vaudeville
variety shows of the ‘20s and '30s, the New Variety presented an evening’s worth of acts that included jugglers, fire-eaters, comics, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy
troupes. It was hailed by the Chicago Tribune
as a Cabaret
for the 90s. The bill included artistic director & host Richard O'Donnell (billed as "R."), jazz
band the Vince Willis Trio, juggler extraordinaire Andy Head, drummer Donny DeMarco Jr., tap dancer Ayrie King, stand-up comedy
by John Tamborino, and Saxophonist Sarah Underwood, followed by a crowning performance by the incomparable blues
chanteuse Barbara LeShoure.
, host), and Steve Seagren and sketch comedy
troupes including the all-girl Nude Coffee, the all-gay The Boys in the Bathroom, and the all-improv The Upright Citizens Brigade
. Dr. Boom (who literally blew things up on stage) was the highlight of the evening.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
produced by Thom Goodman and Richard O’Donnell in the 1990s. It was a fast-paced, ever-changing volley of acts that included award-winning jugglers, fire-eaters, stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
troupes.
History
In February 1992, producers Thom Goodman (founder, CrossCurrents) and Richard O’Donnell (founder, New Age VaudevilleNew Age Vaudeville
New Age Vaudeville was a professional theatre troupe that was part of the Chicago comedy boom of the 1980s.-History:In March 1983 while in New York, Peninsula Players’ Tony award-winning producer, James B...
) teamed up to present the New Variety, located at 400 N. Clark, downtown Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Modeled after the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
variety shows of the ‘20s and '30s, the New Variety presented an evening’s worth of acts that included jugglers, fire-eaters, comics, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
troupes. It was hailed by the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
as a Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
for the 90s. The bill included artistic director & host Richard O'Donnell (billed as "R."), jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band the Vince Willis Trio, juggler extraordinaire Andy Head, drummer Donny DeMarco Jr., tap dancer Ayrie King, stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
by John Tamborino, and Saxophonist Sarah Underwood, followed by a crowning performance by the incomparable blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
chanteuse Barbara LeShoure.
Improv Comedy Club
In August, 1993, the New Variety moved to the Chicago Improv, (504 N. Wells) and was responsible for changing a faltering 3-ring comedy presentation into a successful variety format. The New Variety now offered a more streamlined, commercial show. Acts included artistic director & host R. O’Donnell, stand-up comics Paul Gilmartin (Dinner and a movieDinner and a Movie
Dinner and a Movie is a cooking and entertainment television program produced in the U.S. by TBS from 1995 to 2011.Each episode included a movie and the preparation of a creative dinner to go with the theme of the movie, generally via a pun...
, host), and Steve Seagren and sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
troupes including the all-girl Nude Coffee, the all-gay The Boys in the Bathroom, and the all-improv The Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
. Dr. Boom (who literally blew things up on stage) was the highlight of the evening.