Dennis Hensley's THE MISMATCH GAME Returns to L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, 1/11 & 12

What better way to start the New Year than to “get ready to match the stars!" with a new edition of Dennis Hensley’s The MisMatch Game. The perennial L.A. cult favorite returns to the Center’s Renberg Theatre for another comic free-for-all on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 11 and 12.

Producer and host Dennis “Gene Rayburn” Hensley will be joined onstage by a panel of film, TV and theatre performers — some of Hollywood’s fastest, most creative and deranged comic minds. Once again, Hensley and Company are generously donating the run’s proceeds to benefit the Center’s wide array of free and low-cost services.

The MisMatch Game regularly fills the house at its irregularly scheduled gigs. Audiences keep coming back for the razor’s-edge improv (the panel has no clue what the questions will be) and the sassy, racy and decidedly un-PC wit and wildness.

The long-running cult hit has been a staple at the Renberg Theatre for nearly nine years, raising $100,000 for the Center—an especially impressive accomplishment considering that tickets are always priced at a budget-friendly $15.

The Advocate honored The MisMatch Game with a “Theatre: 10 Best” award, writing, “This recurring Los Angeles happening reimagines the ‘70s TV game show Match Game with full-camp press and excellent sub-lebrity impersonations.” With kitschy prizes for volunteer contestants pulled from the audience, it’s time to dig out that leisure suit for an affectionate, irreverent parody of ‘70s game show insanity.

The cast for this edition will be announced as information becomes available. Past performers have included Willam Belli, Patrick Bristow, Julie Brown, Jackie Clarke, Drew Droege, Nadya Ginsburg, Tom Lenk, Melissa Peterman, Felix Pire, Jack Plotnick, Oscar Quintero and Tony Tripoli.

Writer/performer Dennis Hensley is a staff writer on E!’s hit series Fashion Police with Joan Rivers. He is the author of the novels Misadventures in the (213) and Screening Party and recently released a DVD of his short film projects called The Dennis Hensley 5-Pack, which features the comedies Rubdown, Reunion, Screening Party, Dipshits and Evie Harris: Shining Star. The DVD is available for purchase at FilmBaby.com.

Hensley co-wrote the feature film Testosterone with director David Moreton and appeared in the cult comedy Girls Will be Girls. He was one of four hosts of the national gay radio show Twist. His podcast with Tony Tripoli, The Comedy Couch with Dennis Hensley and Tony Tripoli, is available for free on iTunes.

Hensley has worked as a writer on Logo’s The Big Gay Sketch Show and Lifetime’s Lovespring International and was one of Kathy Griffin's 'Main Gays' on her reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. He also served as a consultant on the fourth season of Logo’s RuPaul’s Drag Race.

More info is at Hensley’s website, www.dennishensley.com, and Dennis Hensley’s The MisMatch Game on Facebook.

he L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre (200-seat mid-size house) is located in The Village at Ed Gould Plaza 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Blvd. Free parking) Shows take place on Friday and Saturday, January 11 and 12, 2013, at 8 p.m. Tickets: General Admission $15 Tickets available at www.lagaycenter.org/theatre or call 323-860-7300.

For more than 40 years, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us on the web at: www.lagaycenter.org.