By Eileen Katz
Like much great comedy, The Ruthless Comedy Hour’s name came out of despair.
“It was 2020 and we needed a better name,” Karen Bergreen recalls. “And we were processing the news of Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing and truly feeling Ruth-less.” And so “The Ruthless Comedy Hour” was born.
Bergreen and her co-host, Cynthia Kaplan, have been presenting their comedy-musical-variety shows under different names at Upper West Side venues for the past eight years. Both consider this neighborhood their “comedy home.” They say it is a place where they feel safe and supported by like-minded audiences.
“That plus a shared snarky-meets-schlumpy element that also makes us feel comfortable and at home,” Bergreen says. “We can take chances with material and it’s safe. I can dish about my husband, my kids, and it’s ok.”
Each show includes stand-up performances, musical numbers, and celebrity interviews that poke fun at social, political, and local concerns. Each show ends with an only-possible-on-the-Upper-West-Side, live, cold, dramatic reading of the comments section from an article in West Side Rag!
WSR: How did the idea of live cold readings of the Rag’s comments come into being?
CK: Long before “Mean Tweets” [on Jimmy Kimmel Live!], one of our producers happened to mention that their small-town Facebook page posted something and it set off this chain of comments that was unreal.
KB: We started connecting the dots to see how we could do something like that — and there was the West Side Rag with its pages of comments. Remember I mentioned snarky before? So, it’s become a regular element of the show ever since.
WSR: Any favorites that come to mind?
CK: I think the best was definitely when NYC was making the mandatory switch from plastic to paper bags. The WSR wrote about it and the intensity of the responses was unreal!
KB: And the best is that it really is a live, cold reading. We all get up on the stage — the comedians, the special guest, the musicians — at the end of the show. Someone sets up what the article is about and then we take turns reading the comments out loud, never having read them before. It always hits!
The Ruthless Comedy Hour will perform this coming Tuesday, March 5th, at Stand Up NY, 235 West 78th Street (Broadway), with special guests, comedian Liz Glazer (HBO, Boston Comedy Festival Winner), and author Deborah Copaken (Ladyparts, Shutterbabe, NY Times Modern Love).
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I have had guests to NYC in tears of laughter by reading WSR comments to them aloud – sometimes “with feeling”. I recall the piece about a dog friendly outdoor cafe (what could be less controversial?) was a star because the commenter really objected to the idea of using a cafe chair after a dog might have sat on it…maybe a valid point, but how it was expressed was a hoot.
This show is hilarious and original thanks to the brilliant wit of Cindy and Karen. Do not miss it!!!