John McEnroe & Andy Cohen To Host Third Annual YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! NYC Comedy Fundraiser At Carolines
By: A.A. Cristi Mar. 28, 2019
On Wednesday, April 10, 2019, top comedians and celebrity guests will join sports superstars John and Patrick McEnroe and Andy Cohen at the third annual You Cannot Be Serious! evening of comedy at Carolines on Broadway from 7:30pm to 10:00pm. Proceeds will benefit the Johnny Mac Tennis Project, a transformative youth tennis initiative founded by McEnroe.
Confirmed performers include Mike Birbiglia, Judah Friedlander and Sean Donnelly as well as some surprise comedic icons.
Founded in 2012, the Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP) provides access to the sport of tennis for thousands of children and families, primarily from the Harlem and Bronx neighborhoods adjacent to Sportime Randall's Island Tennis Center. In addition to partnering with local public schools to provide free tennis instruction and making court time available to the community through partnerships with the City and other local nonprofits, JMTP has also disbursed over $5M in scholarships, allowing talented players to compete and receive high-level training through the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.
Tickets to You Cannot Be Serious! range from $200 for general admission in this intimate venue, to $10,000 front row tables for eight guests. Attendees will join the McEnroe brothers (JMTP Founder John and President Patrick), JMTP board members, celebrities and friends for a night of laughter in support of a great cause.
In addition to a 6:30pm cocktail hour and the hilarious show, there will be a brief live auction featuring items such as VIP access to Grand Slam tennis events, vacation packages, and other one-of-a-kind items and experiences.
For further information about press tickets, please contact JMTP Executive Director Jordan Botjer at (212) 792-8500. For more information, visit www.jmtpny.org/comedynight.
ABOUT THE JOHNNY MAC TENNIS PROJECT
The Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP) changes young lives by removing the economic and social barriers to success through tennis. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, JMTP introduces tennis to thousands of New York City children from under-resourced areas, particularly those living in East Harlem and the South Bronx, two communities immediately adjacent to our base at Sportime Randall's Island. JMTP players are first introduced to tennis as a life-long health, fitness and social activity. For our most dedicated young athletes, ages six to eighteen years old, JMTP funds scholarships to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), which provides a pathway to success through competitive tennis, leading to college scholarships, careers in the industry, and, for a few, professional tennis careers and, perhaps, Grand Slam titles.
Andy Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning host, producer, and author best known as the host and executive producer of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Bravo's Late Night, interactive talk show. The series is the only live show in Late Night television and consistently makes headlines with bold interviews viewers don't see anywhere else. He also serves as executive producer of "The Real Housewives" franchise and hosts the network's highly rated reunion specials. Cohen also hosts the hour-long revival of the iconic relationship show "Love Connection" on Fox. When he isn't in the host seat, Cohen tours the country with Anderson Cooper for "AC2: An Intimate Evening with Anderson Cooper & Andy Cohen" where the dynamic duo discuss all topics deep and shallow in front of sold out audiences across the country. In his ten years as an executive at Bravo, he was responsible for an aggressive slate of unscripted series and specials including hits such as "Project Runway," "Top Chef," "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy" and "The Real Housewives" franchises. Born in St. Louis, Cohen is a graduate of Boston University, is currently on the board of directors for Friends In Deed and resides in New York City. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter (@andy) and Instagram (@bravoandy).
Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is a stand-up comedian, actor, director, producer and writer. He is a frequent contributor to "This American Life" and "The Moth", and has released several comedy albums and television specials. His feature-length directorial debut Sleepwalk with Me (2012), based on his one-man show of the same name and in which he also starred, won awards at the Sundance and Nantucket film festivals. In 2018, Birbiglia starred in a one-man Broadway show, "The New One" - telling a new story in a new way with the same heart and humor we've come to expect. Lin-Manuel Miranda called The New One "as perfect a night as you're gonna get." He also wrote, directed, and starred in the comedy-drama "Don't Think Twice" (2016). His 2010 book Sleepwalk with Me and Other Painfully True Stories was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the 2011 Thurber Prize for American Humor. Birbiglia has appeared in films such as "Your Sister's Sister" (2011), "Cedar Rapids" (2011), and "Trainwreck" (2015), played a recurring role in "Orange Is the New Black", and has guest starred in episodes of "Girls", "Inside Amy Schumer", and "Broad City".
Judah Friedlander
Judah's critically acclaimed stand-up performance film "America Is the Greatest Country In the United States" was named best comedy special of 2017 by many critics, comics and fans. Judah is back touring the USA with new material after an 8 country, 15 city tour in Europe. Judah's new tour "Future President" features nonstop jokes and satire covering issues of the day from human rights to international affairs to American Exceptionalism. And with Judah's hilarious and unique crowd work, he invites audience members to ask him questions about his presidential platform for 2020.
Recent reaves include: "Best Special of the Year & Comedian of the Year" - The Interrobang; "Best Special of the Year - Erik Abriss, The Hundreds (currently at Vulture); "Coupled with his hilarious survey of how other nations rank against the U.S., it's truly a remarkable display of crowd work not only exhibiting Friedlander's comedic chops, but his formidable curiosity and breadth of knowledge about the world beyond America." - Vish Khanna, Exclaim!; "Satirizes issues like systemic racism, fracking, and our nation's increasingly fucked-up place on the world stage." - Molly Fitzpatrick, Village Voice
Sean Donnelly
When he's not catching a nap with his bulldog, Rickles, Sean can be found headlining clubs and festivals all over the country. He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan and NBC's Last Comic Standing.
Sean hosts the podcast Defend Your Movie and the Sirius XM show, Celebrate, and he released his debut comedy album "Manual Labor Face" in 2015 on Comedy Central Records. Sean has been featured on the truTV series World's Dumbest, Comedy KO, and Almost Genius as well as Adam Devine's House Party, midnight, The Half Hour, Broad City, and Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central, Amazon's Alpha House, GSN's Lie Detectors, and Limitless on CBS.
ABOUT JOHN AND Patrick McEnroe
John McEnroe is synonymous with world-class tennis, marveling the tennis world as a player of considerable skill and finesse. However, it's John's fiery competitive spirit and outspoken persona that truly makes him one of the most memorable sports icons of all time. After his breakthrough at Wimbledon in 1977, John dominated tennis in the late seventies and eighties by winning three Wimbledon titles, four U.S. Open titles and countless other events. In July 1999, John was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Having earned his first Sports Emmy nomination in 1998 for tennis analysis, he currently works for ESPN at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, NBC and Eurosport at the French Open and BBC at Wimbledon. As an actor, he has been appeared in TV shows and films including Players, Wimbledon, The Chair on ABC, McEnroe on CNBC, Freak Show, Frasier, Costas Now, 30 Rock, 7 Days in Hell, CSI NY, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Saturday Night Live, Anger Management, Jack & Jill, Mr. Deeds and more.
John founded the Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to expose NYC kids from under-resourced communities to tennis. John's mission is to share the sport he loves with future generations. A father of six, John, and his wife, musician Patty Smyth, reside in Manhattan.
Patrick McEnroe has always loved tennis-and has a host of victories to show for it. As a junior he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open boys' singles in 1983, and won the French Junior doubles,USTA Boys' 18 National and Clay Court titles in 1984, before teaming up with brother John to win the doubles title at Richmond, Virginia.
As Stanford University tennis team captain, he led his squad to two NCAA team championships. During a 10?year professional tennis career, he achieved rankings of World No. 28 in singles and World No. 3 in doubles. After retiring from the tour in 1998, Patrick served as U.S. Davis Cup captain, winning the cup in 2007. Patrick is a well-known face on the TV television tennis commentary circuit and has served as the General Manager of Player Development for the USTA. In 2017, Patrick took on the of President of the nonprofit Johnny Mac Tennis Project, elevating its profile and expanding its scope. He resides in New York City with his wife, actor Melissa Errico, and their three daughters.
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