'Come From Away' by Broadway in Columbus and a bounty of comedians coming to town
Greater Columbus theater companies, presenters and comedians aim to warm up the winter season with laughter and feel-good fare.
Brian Regan, Hasan Minhaj, John Crist and Trevor Wallace will bring their standup acts to town, while Short North Stage, CATCO,Abbey Theater of Dublin and Red Herring Theater Company will present new and newer plays that, respectively, find humor in boy bands, school girls, American presidents and Hollywood teen idols.
Perhaps the most anticipated winter show will be the delayed Broadway in Columbus tour of “Come From Away,” the heartwarming Broadway musical about the Canadian hospitality extended to stranded airline passengers after 9/11.
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'Altar Boyz'
SHORT NORTH STAGE, GARDEN THEATER, 1187 N. HIGHT ST.
Details: The off-Broadway musical comedy, a 90-minute concert-style one-act, parodies and pays tribute to the boy bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Times: 7 p.m. Jan. 20-22; 2 p.m. Jan. 23; 7 p.m. Jan. 27-29; 2 p.m. Jan. 30; 7 p.m. Feb. 3-5; 2 p.m. Feb. 6; 7 p.m. Feb. 10-12; and 2 p.m. Feb. 13
Admission: $44 to $54, with $20 student-rush tickets available two hours prior to each show
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com, www.shortnorthstage.org
Brian Regan
PALACE THEATRE, 34 W. BROAD ST.
Details: The comedian, who plays Mugsy in the Amazon Prime series “Loudermilk” and appeared twice on Jerry Seinfeld’s series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” incorporates body language and facial expressions into his observational, sarcastic and self-deprecating humor about everyday events, childhood, sports and science projects.
Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 21
Admission: $35 to $210
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: CBUSArts Ticket Center (614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com)
Hasan Minhaj
PALACE THEATRE, 34 W. BROAD ST.
Details: The comedian, acclaimed for his 2017 performance hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and his “Homecoming King” Netflix special, hosted and created the Peabody- and Emmy-winning Netflix comedy series “Patriot Act” and was a correspondent on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
Times: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Jan. 22
Admission: $45 to $179.50
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com
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'School Girls: Or, the African Mean Girls Play'
CATCO, RIFFE CENTER'S STUDIO TWO THEATRE, 77 S. HIGHT ST.
Details: An acclaimed 2017 off-Broadway hit, Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy-drama revolves around conflicts among girls at a Ghanaian boarding school in 1986 in West Africa and issues of bullying and colorism (conflicts between dark-skinned and lighter-skinned Africans).
Times: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27; 8 p.m. Jan. 28-29; 2 p.m. Jan. 30; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3; 8 p.m. Feb. 4-5; 2 p.m. Feb. 6; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10; 8 p.m. Feb. 11-12; 2 p.m. Feb. 13
Admission: $45
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative PCR COVID test within 72 hours of attending a production for all patrons 12 years of age and older required.
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com, www.catco.org
John Crist
RIFFE CENTER'S DAVIDSON THEATRE, 77 S. HIGH ST.
Details: The comedian, a Georgia native, has created comedy-sketch videos for Buzzfeed, opened for Jeff Foxworthy and Seth Meyers, and often focuses on Christian subculture. His YouTube sketches include “Every parent at Disney” and “If golf and soccer switched announcers.”
Time: 7 p.m. Jan. 28
Admission: $49.75 to $149.75
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com
'Come From Away'
BROADWAY IN COLUMBUS, COLUMBUS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, OHIO THEATRE, 39 E. STATE ST.
Details: The inspirational one-act musical weaves true stories about the American airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, on the day of the 2001 terrorist attacks, and the many Canadians who welcomed, housed and fed them with extraordinary hospitality.
Times: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8-10; 8 p.m. Feb. 11; 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 12; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13
Admission: $39 to $119
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required; Bindle check-in app recommended.
Contact: CBUSArts Ticket Center (614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com)
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'The Duchess'
ABBEY THEATER OF DUBLIN, 5600 POST ROAD, DUBLIN
Details: Warren G. Harding and his talented, ambitious wife are at the center of the new political comedy, by former Ohio Supreme Court justice Herb Brown (writer of the CATCO-produced plays “Henry Ford’s Model E,” “The Price of Power,” “The Final Table” and “You’re My Boy”), about the political career and romantic affairs in the early 1910s of Harding, the scandal-plagued Ohioan who became president in 1921.
Times: 7 p.m. Feb. 10-12; 2 p.m. Feb. 13, 7 p.m. Feb. 16-19, with on-demand streaming available Feb. 16-19
Admission: $15 to $25
COVID policy: Masks encouraged
Contact: 614-410-4550, dublinohiousa.gov/abbey-theater
'The Schedule'
Red Herring Theater Company, 3723 S. High St.
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Details: The semi-professional troupe launches its 2022 season with Columbus writer-filmmaker Sheldon Gleisser’s farcical new comedy about a Hollywood teen idol whose manager tries to fix a potentially career-destroying mix-up between a Rolling Stone magazine interviewer and a high-class call girl.
Times: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays from Feb. 17 through March 6
Admission: $30
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: 614-723-9116, www.redherringtheater.org
Trevor Wallace
RIFFE CENTER'S DAVIDSON THEATRE, 77 S. HIGH ST.
Details: The 29-year-old comedian-writer-actor, whose act is suggested for mature audiences because of frank sexuality and profanity, has attracted more than 1 billion views across his social-media channels and been featured on Comedy Central, MTV, and E! News.
Times: 7 p.m. Feb. 25
Admission: $29 to $75
COVID policy: Masks and proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required.
Contact: 614-469-0939, www.cbusarts.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Come From Away' theater show and comedians on bill for Columbus
