hen you're in the middle of a contested divorce in Pasadena, it's difficult to find anything to laugh about. But five divorced comedians in New York are hoping their new comedy show proves that when it comes to getting over bad relationships, laughter is the best medicine.
Last week, New York City's Gotham Comedy Club announced its new show entitled, appropriately enough, " The Divorce Show." Marion Grodin, Sherry Davey, Ross Bennett, Steven Kent McFarlin and Teddy Smith make up the cast of veteran comedy performers, all of whom have been married and divorced at least once.
Grodin, the daughter of actor Charles Grodin, got divorced seven years ago while recovering from breast cancer.
"I've wanted to do a show like this for years, and when I got the call from Gotham about a month ago, I couldn't say 'yes' fast enough," she says in an interview with New York Daily News. "I think it's something that's going to be cathartic and have a lot of legs, because it's a world that so many people live through either with their own experiences or someone else's, even though it's something we still have a very difficult time finding the humor in, which is definitely out there."
Comedian Barry Weintraub, who also serves as the program's emcee, created the Divorce Show.
"Misery loves company, but divorce demands laughter if only just for survival," Weintraub says. "It's always easier to laugh at somebody else's pain, because almost everyone has either been divorced or is heading there. Then there are the rest of us who have at some point hooked up with the wrong person and paid the price." Weintraub hopes to turn the show into a monthly event at Gotham Comedy Club and would love to see it progress to a national tour.
"A comedy club is the perfect place for anybody who's suddenly single, regardless of their circumstances. It's laughter, it's alcohol, it's the complete package. At best, our comics will make it easier for people touched by divorce to move forward. And at the very least, if you're marriage makes the Middle East look like a lover's spat, then this show will numb the pain," Weintraub says.