Steve left a party by saying, in a somewhat loud but very cordial tone, “Good evening.” Once he was out the door, I said, “What a Dracula!” Ben Blacker replied, simply, “’Steve Agee’s Dracula.’” And then this.
Our Nazi-Smashing Benefit recorded in November is now available for download! Starring Nathan Fillion, Autumn Reeser, Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, Marc Evan Jackson,The Good Place’sJameela Jamil, and all of your Thrilling Adventure Hour pals!
A portion of the proceeds from your purchase go to the Anti-Defamation League of Los Angeles.
Thanks for making our benefit for the Anti-Defamation League a sell-out! If you missed out on tickets but still want to support the ADL, please give.
There are still lots of opportunities to see the WorkJuice Players and friends this fall.
OnFriday, Oct 6, at the Bell House in Brooklyn, it’s the Variety Show celebrating Acker & Blacker’s second STAR WARS book! Featuring Jonathan Coulton, Jean Grae, Paul & Storm, Hal Lublin, Mark Gagliardi, and lots more NY pals. TICKETS
Ben Blacker and musical director Jordan Katz helped produce this benefit for Muzack, which helps gets instruments into the hands of kids who need them, on Saturday, Oct 7. The show features Paul F. Tompkins, Ted Leo, Aimee Mann, Natalie Morales, Thomas Lennon, Patton Oswalt, Angelo Moore (of Fishbone), John Wicks (of the Records), Clemmie Williams, Dan Wilson, Tony Thaxton, Zach Sherwin, Billy Bragg, and lots more. It’s an all day carnival. TICKETS & INFO HERE
Sunday, Oct 8, Hal Lublin and Mark Gagliardi and special guests bring their hit podcast “We Got This” live to New York Comic-Con. Acker, Hal, Mark, and lots of WorkJuice Players and pals will be at NYCC all weekend, so check their Twitters for appearances. TICKETS FOR “WE GOT THIS”
Saturday, Nov 12, at Largo, LA, is another Dead Pilots Society, the live show and podcast produced by Ben Blacker and frequently featuring WJ Players and Friends. The Nov 12 show stars Patton Oswalt and David Koechner in scripts by Rob Schrab (co-creator, The Sarah Silverman Program) and Adam McKay (Anchorman; The Big Short) & Chris Henchy (The Campaign).TICKETS HERE
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on as many of the WJ Players and pals’ goings-on as we can. In the meantime, thanks so much for your continued support and interest.
Adventurekateers! We’re coming out of retirement for one night only to punch Nazis in the face!
Please join us at our Benefit for the Anti-Defamation League on November 4 at Largo at the Coronet. CLICK FOR TICKETS
Starring all of the WorkJuice Players in your favorite freedom-fighting episodes of Jefferson Reid, Ace AmericanandAmelia Earhart, Fearless Flier.
Proceeds benefit the Anti-Defamation League, combating anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds in the Los Angeles area. If you cannot attend the show but would like to support the ADL, please give here.
We’ve raided the old WorkJuice Vaults to bring a you a “new” podcast today. But more exciting is the information that comes with it! This Thursday, May the Fourth, you can watch our entire STAR WARS-THEMED BOOK RELEASE VARIETY SHOW-SLASH-BENEFIT FOR PUBLIC COUNSEL! It’s an amazing show that stars Workjuice Player Busy Philipps, our pals “Weird” Al Yankovic, Matt Gourley, Mark McConville,Janina Gavankar, Open Mike Eagle, Sara Watkins, Gaby Moreno, and MORE. It was an incredible night of music, comedy, and fun. Get the video, audio, and mp3s of the songs on Thursday at our website!
Today’s “lost” podcast is a studio recording we did back in 2006. It’s a version of the first and third episodes of Beyond Belief that we originally performed at M Bar in 2005.
As always, starring Paul F. TompkinsandPaget Brewster as those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle. Also starring Hal Lublin as the Spooky Narrator; Marc Evan Jackson as the President; Crissy Guerero as the President’s daughter; Mark Gagliardi as another president; Craig Cackowski as Agent Garvey; and Toby Huss as Buddy Holly. Written by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker Directed by Toby Wilkins Produced by Dave Gruber Allen Engineered by Tommy Chan with assistance from Jillinda Palmer Music produced and composed by Andy Paley. “Here’s To Us” by Andy Paley & Acker & Blacker
Some thoughts about this episode from co-writer/co-creator Ben Acker:
In the early days of the Thrilling Adventure Hour, back when it was The Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour, it was a stage show and not a podcast. This episode of Beyond Belief was our very first one. It was the first one we wrote, the one we dropped on Paget’s doorstep, the one we sent Paul, that first time. It was the first one we staged, it only made sense that it be the first one we record, in our first attempt to record the show. Why did we make this recording? To what purpose, you might ask? It was for the same reason as we did the show - we did not know, but it seemed like fun. The opportunity arose due to generosity from friend of the show Tommy Chan, whose studio we used and who engineered the recording and from the generosity of founding WorkJuice player Dave (Gruber) Allen who produced the thing. As you can hear, Beyond Belief at its inception was a different animal. Frank and Sadie were con artists. They had an enemy in the form of a secret service man named Garvey, with whom they had a history. They also had history with famous ghosts. The idea of famous ghosts, while fun initially, wasn’t something we ended up with, in that it planted the Doyles in time, which didn’t turn out to feel right. We found better outlets in the show for celebrity impressions and America stuff. You can also hear in this recording the things that were there at the start of the Doyles, the things that lasted all the way through. Not just their love for each other and booze and their banter and their clink, but the chemistry that Paul and Paget had at the core of those characters. It got richer over the years, but it was there before we were writing it. We hope you enjoy listening to the early days of it.
Where can I find my favorite WorkJuice Players at SF Sketchfest this weekend?
Well, the most WorkJuice bang for your buck is
WORKJUICE IMPROV: Friday 7:30pm
WorkJuice Players Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Annie Savage, Paul F Tompkins and Little Janet Varney improvise scenes based upon monologues by international hip-hop icon and NY pal Jean Grae.
Ben Blacker’s newest podcast and live show, Dead Pilots Society,features live reads of TV pilots that were bought and developed but never produced. On Sunday 1/15 at 1pm they’ll perform pilots by TAH pals Andy Richter(Conan) and by Steve Agee&Rob Schrab(co-star and co-creator, respectively, of The Sarah Silverman Program)!
Starring WJ Players Paul F. Tompkins, Joshua Malina,andJanet Varney and TAH pals Wyatt Cenac, Dave Foley, Matt Gourley, Mark McConville, Christopher McCulloch, Tawny Newsome, and more!
Speaking of podcasts, Hal LublinandMark Gagliardi bring their MaxFun hit We Got This to SFSF on Saturday 1/14 at 1pm. Mark and Hal settle disputes and promise lots of WorkJuice guests!
Looking for something to do after the WJ Improv show on Friday night? At 10:15pm head over to the Brava Theatre to see WJ Player Craig Cackowski and WJ Player-in-Law Carla Cackowski and friends in Orange Tuxedo. Guaranteed great improv.
As usual, Paul F. Tompkins is all over SF Sketchfest. In addition to WJ Improv on Friday and Dead Pilots Society on Sunday, Paul’s has sold out SpontaneanationandSuperego shows (though, you never know, maybe just show up?). On Friday night after WJ Improv see Paul in Wheels Off: The Rhett Miller Show for music, comedy, and fun times.
And on Sunday, Paul joins hosts Vanessa Ragland and Cole Stratton for Pop My Culture LIVE for their final episode. Other guests include our pals Samm Levine and Rhett Miller.
What’s more, be sure to check the SFSF schedule for shows by lots of TAH pals, including John Hodgman, Paul & Storm, Jean Grae, Jonathan Coulton, Adam Savage, and others.
Thanks to everyone who came out to last night’s special holiday show at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel! It was a special night for all of us.
Thanks to the WorkJuice Players: @paulftompkins, Marc Evan Jackson, Paget Brewster, @hallublin, Mark Gagliardi, Craig Cackowski, Joshua Malina, Annie Savage, Autumn Reeser, Janet Varney, and Busy Philipps.
Thanks to our special guests: Timothy Omundson, Chris Tallman, and Open Mike Eagle.
Enormous thanks to Jordan Katz and the Elements of Style, featuring composer Jonathan Dinerstein. And thanks to Rhett Miller and Ted Leo for the amazing new songs.
Thanks to our director Aaron Ginsburg. And thanks to Ben Acker & Ben Blacker who created, wrote, and produced the show. The doors are closed for now, but they aren’t locked.
The Thrilling Adventure Hour #235: Beyond Belief, “Snakes in a Mane”
Starring Paul F. TompkinsandPaget Brewster as those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle. Also starring Hal Lublin as the Spooky Narrator; Annie Savage as a gorgon; Mark Gagliardi as Pterodactyl Jones; and Autumn Reeser as Bloody Mary.
Music by Jordan Katz & the Elements of Style. Written, produced, and directed by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker.
“Love Ain’t No Billy Goat” written by Jonathan Coulton.
Recorded November 12, 2016 at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY.
Tickets are on sale NOW for the FINAL THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR show for many years. It’s at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles this Saturday, December 17, 2016.
Starring Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Joshua Malina, all of the WorkJuice Players, and special guests including Timothy Omundson(Galavant; Psych) and rapper Open Mike Eagle!
The Thrilling Adventure Hour #234: Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, “Still Alive”
StarringMarc Evan Jackson as Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars and Mark Gagliardi as Croach the Tracker. Also starring Hal Lublin as the folksy narrator; Paul F. Tompkins as the Gelato Stand; Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm as The Jonathan Coultons; Hal LublinandAnnie Savage as androids; Paul F. Tompkins as Paul’s Character and Paul’s Other Character; and Autumn Reeser as Virginia West.
Music by Jordan Katz and the Elements of Style. Sparks theme by Eban Schletter.
Written and produced by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker.
Recorded November 16, 2016 at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY.
Tickets are on sale NOW for the FINAL THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR show for many years. It’s at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles on December 17, 2016.
The Thrilling Adventure Hour #231: Beyond Belief, “Mannequin Episode”
StarringPaul F. Tompkins andPaget Brewster as those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle. Also starring Craig Cackowski, Autumn Reeser, Busy Philipps, and Janet Varney as mannequins; and HalLublin as a mannequin hunter. Music by Jordan Katz & the Elements of Style, featuring Jonathan Dinerstein. Directed by Aaron Ginsburg. Written and produced by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker.
Recorded October 23, 2016 at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles. PLUS: A bonus musical treat recorded at the Bell House in Brooklyn, NY, featuring Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Ted Leo, Jean Grae, and the cast!
Some “Love Ain’t No Billy Goat” videos from “A Halloween Beyond Belief” recorded Sunday, Oct 23, 2016 at Largo at the Coronet.
With Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Busy Philipps, Janet Varney, Hal Lublin, Craig Cackowski, Annie Savage, and Autumn Reeser. Music by Jordan Katz & the Elements of Style.
We have ONE MORE BIG SHOW before calling it quits for quite some time!
I’m just a little excited about going over to LA to see thrilling adventure hour. I get to see Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, hallublinpaulftompkins Paget Brewster. I love all the Work juice players but those guys are my fave. My friend has already put in her order for me to bring sweets/candy over from London for her. ✈️ bring it on
Paul F Tompkins’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera
Recorded live at NerdMelt in Los Angeles. Comedy genius Paul F Tompkins provides a director’s commentary for 1925’s Phantom of the Opera in character as Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. Animation by Cat Suit Studios.
