Here's Piccolo Fringe's schedule, get your tickets now

Image by 20090204-piccolo.jpg

Piccolo Fringe is nearly here, and is ready to bring Charleston 77 performances from 20 shows from around the country.

Get more coverage in our Spoleto special section. The series of performances runs from May 22 to June 6. it's part of Piccolo Spoleto but presented by Theatre 99.

We recommend you pickup tickets at the Piccolo Spoleto Box Office in the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, 77 Calhoun Street, to dodge the service charges. But you can also buy them by calling Ticketmaster at (888) 374-2656 or online.

The shows will play at three different venues: Theatre 99, The American Theater, and Stars at The American Theater. 

Oh, and we'll be posting more information on the full Piccolo Spoleto line-up soon, but until then here's the full PDF guide.


Shows and times by location

 

 

 

 

 

Theatre 99 - 280 Meeting Street

The Have Nots! Comedy Improv JAM! (1 hr, 30 min) $15
No scripts! All improv! Celebrating 14 years together! This high energy show is entirely based on your audience suggestion so every show is different. Two lucky audience members will actually become part of the show. This year The Have Nots! will perform their unique brand improv comedy AND will invite special guests to perform. You never know who will join them on the stage! Come find out why critics say “The Have Nots! have it!”

May 23, 29 and June 5 at 7 p.m., May 24 at 8 p.m., May 30 at 8:30 p.m.

The Reckoning (1 hour) $15
The Reckoning is the longest-running, most infamous improv group in Chicago. "These players always stand out when they appear in other ensembles, and together, as masters of iO's signature form, the Harold, they're remarkably consistent at giving audiences something to laugh at and students something to study." -- Chicago Reader

May 22 at 10 p.m., May 23 at 9 p.m., May 24 at 5 p.m., May 25 at 7:30 p.m.

FrankenMatt (1 hour) $15
FrankenMatt is a two-man comedy team starring Second City Chicago alums Frank Caeti (MADtv, Reno 911) and Matt Craig (According to Jim, The Office). Last year at Piccolo their improvised show "Pilgrimage" received an A+ from The Charleston City Paper. This year, FrankenMatt bring an all-new sketch comedy show that combines fast paced wit, characters, absurdity, reality, and hilarity. Critics have called FrankenMatt, "nothing short of amazing" and "future rock stars of comedy." www.frankenmatt.com.

May 23 at 10:30 p.m., May 24, 27 at 10 p.m., May 25 at 9 p.m., May 28 at 8:30 p.m., May 29 at 3 p.m., May 30 at 7 p.m.

The Complete History of Charleston for Morons (70 min) $15
Over 300 years of Lowcountry history in 70 minutes! A comedy history lesson accessible enough for morons to enjoy -- forever answering the hard to ask questions like: can you still perform in black face? What took Mel Gibson so long to join the Continental Army? The Charleston City Paper says the Morons “dazzle the audience with their ignorance.” 

May 23, 24 at 3 p.m., May 30, 31 and June 6 at 2 p.m.

Mary Kay Has a Posse (1 hr) $15
Charleston's only all-female improv comedy group! Part talk show format (similar to The View), part long form improv, ALL funny! Bitingly witty, unpredictable, and politically incorrect the ladies of “Posse Talk” break all the rules. “An unforgettable night of laughing ’til your face hurts.” Charleston City Paper If you are easily offended or feel that a woman's place is in the kitchen, stay home.

May 22 at 7 p.m., May 23 at 5 p.m., May 24 at 6:30 p.m., May 26 at 9 p.m., May 30 at 4 p.m.

80's Blank Tape
The 80's brought a brand of TV, movie, and music that could only be described as: crap. Charles Ross takes you through a tour of his old blank tape. Wrestling, John Hughes, Rock Videos, Commercials. If you saw the One Man Star Wars Trilogy you know what to expect- if not, then know this: He does them all.

May 26 at 7:30 p.m. and May 27 at 7 p.m.

Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company (1 hr) (adult audiences only) $15
The Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company presents an evening of hilarious, long-form improv comedy from the nation's leading venue for alternative comedy, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Every night the UCB TourCo creates two acts of mind-blowing scenes for a full hour show all based on audience suggestions. Cast credits: Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Cent ral's Showbiz Show, MTV's Boiling Points, VH1's Best Week Ever, and many others.

May 28 at 10 p.m., May 29, 30 and June 5 at 10:30 p.m., May 31 at 8:30 p.m., June 1, 2 at 9 p.m., June 4 at 9:30 p.m., June 6 at 7:30 p.m.

The Cody Rivers Show: Meanwhile Everywhere
(1 hr) $15
“Absolutely mesmerizing. From moment one…no one could tear their eyes away,” says Time Out Chicago. "The Cody Rivers Show is completely unhinged...You have never seen anything like it." The Edmonton Sun. Pushing the envelopes of dance, music, physical theatre, and intellectually nonderivative high concept comedy with their latest new work, The Cody Rivers Show delivers unique shows unlike any other comedy act, past or present. “Nothing short of genius,” The Georgia Strait (Vancouver). Back by popular demand!

May 27 at 8:30 p.m., May 28 at 7 p.m., May 31 at 5 p.m., June 1, 2, 3 at 7:30 p.m., June 6 at 4 p.m.

BriTANick (1 hr) $15
BriTANicK (rhymes with Titanic) is the two-person sketch comedy explosion of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. They have performed at comedy festivals all over the country and have a running show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York. Join them for a batch of sketch comedy that Time Out Chicago praises (or possibly mocks) as 'delightfully dorktastic'.
Also, check out their website and videos at www.BriTANicK.com.

May 29 at 9 p.m., May 30 at 5:30 p.m., May 31 at 7 p.m.

Cupid Has a Heart On
(1 hr) $15
Hailed as the "Best Sketch Comedy Troupe in Chicago" (Chicago Reader), the Cupid Players perform distinctive musical sketches about relationships, life and love. Sometimes touching, sometimes trashy, always funny - this talented troupe boasts the longest running sketch revue in iO Theater’s history. A “Must See” says Time Out Chicago!

June 4 at 8 p.m., June 5 at 9 p.m., June 6 at 6 p.m.

Improv Riot! (1 hr) $12
Come join Brandy Sullivan and Greg Tavares of The Have Nots! along with hilarious members of the Theatre 99 improv family for this fast paced, unpredictable, and always hilarious show! Come loaded with suggestions because the entire show of improv games is based on your audience suggestions. It’s like Whose Line is it Anyway? on lots of caffeine! 

May 22 at 8:30 p.m., June 3 at 9 p.m.

Fringe Finale (2 hr) $20
What’s a festival without a Finale?! The Have Nots! host this annual extravaganza that ends the Fringe with a bang. 

June 6 at 9:30 p.m.


The American Theater - 
446 King Street

One Man Star Wars Trilogy (1 hr) $15
A one-hour, high energy, nonstop blast through the first three Star Wars films. The catch is, there's only one cast member. Charles Ross, the writer and solo performer, spent too much of his childhood in a galaxy far, far away- adulthood has been similar. Ross plays all the characters, recreates the effects, sings the music, flies the ships, and fights both sides of the battles. The hit of the 2004 and 2006 Piccolo Spoleto festivals! 3 movies, 1 man, 1 hour!

May 22, 23 and 25 at 7 p.m., May 28, 29 and 30 at 9 p.m.

The Fowler Family Radio Hour (1 hr) $15
Direct from Second City's Donny's Skybox Theatre in Chicago, this comedy revue takes the form of a weekly radio broadcast from the small southern town of Henley. "The Fowler Family Radio Hour" gives its listeners the lowdown on local politics, physical fitness, and other passing fads, and features performances by country and bluegrass musicians. Time Out Chicago calls it a "finely tuned sketch show," and The Charleston City Paper says the Southern cast "finds plenty of ways to pick on Southern culture."

May 28 and 30 at 7 p.m., May 29 at 7:30 p.m.

The Banana Monologues
(1 hr) $15
The hilarious story of one relation ship ...one woman...that gave one man the best sex of his life -and all that came with it. This one-man show is performed by John Brennan who was voted best Local Comic and Actor 2007 by the readers of The Charleston City Paper. He plays all parts, including the banana. 

May 22, 23 and June 6 at 9 p.m., June 5 at 9:30 p.m.

Meet Bridezilla (The Engagement and Obliged) (1 hr 15 min) $15
Award winning performer Kimmy Gatewood (The Apple Sisters) offers her wildly successful solo show "The Engagement." Having just been dumped by her groom to be, we find main character Kim, hiding from a multitude of nosey-guests. 

In the one-woman show “Obliged,” Megan Grano exposes the state of weddings by following one bride's story, starting with her engagement. We meet a multitude of characters all involved in making this the biggest, and (therefore) bestest day of her life!

June 4 at 8 p.m., June 5 at 7:30 p.m., June 6 at 7 p.m.


Stars at The American Theater
 - 446 King Street

The Bitter Poet's "Looking For Love In All The Wrong Cafés, Strip Clubs and Black Box Performance Spaces" (1 hr) $15
The Bitter Poet sings, vents and rants his guitar-d riven poems in this darkly humorous, satirical and painfully honest romp about searching for True Love and the contortionists you meet along the way! A high-energy, irreverent celebration of the crazy things we do for love!
May 22 and 23 at 8 p.m.

Big Dicktionary
(50 min) $12
Big Dicktionary is a two-person, long-form improvisational comedy team composed of Timmy Finch and John Brennan. The two share the stage and break many of the "rules" to entertain. Neither one is safe from the other as they keep the show tight and fast even as they call out each other’s foibles. Oh yeah, they use a very big dictionary in the show.
Venue: Stars at The American Theater (446 King Street)
May 25 at 8 p.m., May 30 at 7 p.m.

Doppelganger! (50 min) $12
Come see Charleston's only all improvised rock show, where you, the audience, shout out the "titles" of your favorite DOPPELGANGER! songs, and have them performed for the first and last time ever. The Critics say: "Lee Lewis and Jason Cooper are so good at what they do that the lines between fact and fiction may blur a bit during the show." - Jason Zwicker. "It's a mix of VH1 Storytellers and Tenacious D" - Erica Jackson
Venue: Stars at The American Theater (446 King Street)
May 29 and June 5 at 8 p.m.

Improv Marathon (70 min) $12
Three improv group s for the price of one! Some of Charleston’s funniest improv shows will perform including three of the following groups: Neckprov, Moral Fixation, Cats Hugging Cats and Full Love Throttle.
May 28 at 8 p.m., June 4 at 8:30 p.m.