No Name co-founder Eric Vetter celebrates two decades of producing "NYC's Best Damn Comedy / Variety Show" with a special anniversary blowout at a special location - The United Palace in Washington Heights (175th & Broadway) - on Wednesday, February 26th at 7:30pm.
Known for bringing a multicultural mix of comedy, music and fun to alternative performance spaces throughout Manhattan, Vetter brings some of No Name's best performers uptown, including comedian extraordinaire Christian Finnegan (TBS "Are We There Yet"), comic Liam McEneaney (Comedy Central's "Premium Blend") and author / storyteller
Ophira Eisenberg (NPR's "Ask Me Another") for this inaugural visit to the venue.
Joining the festivities will be NN regulars, pundit / blogger and very funny lady Leighann Lord (Fox News "Strategy Room), author Michele Carlo (Fish Out Of Agua), and a surprise guest or two. No Name house band,The Summer Replacements, will be in full effect and yes, there'll be chips and cheap door prizes for some lucky audience folk. $15.00 advance tickets ($25.00 at the door) can be purchased online at: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/9880577
For tickets and additional information, call (212) 568-6700 or go to: www.unitedpalacearts.org
Vetter, a Washington Heights native, traces No Name's roots back to his undergraduate days at City College, where he met good friend and No Name co-founder, Dawn J. Owens. After college, they began a sketch comedy group, called The No Name Players, and had their first performance on February 26th, 1994. A few years in, they morphed into a comedy/variety show format as a means of finding stage time for themselves and some of their talented-but-frustrated friends. "We originally conceived it as an opportunity for good performers to work out new material in a nurturing, supportive environment, one filled with other artists who are serious about their craft," he said.
Early incarnations of No Name racked up credits in such venues as
Don't Tell Mama on "Restaurant Row", Gotham
Comedy Club, and even a pair of appearances at Caroline's, as well as being named a 'comedy pick of the week' by the New York Post. As the show evolved and became "No Name... & A Bag O' Chips", they began featuring a heavier dose of stand-up performers. They also added bags of chips to the show-closing cheap door prizes giveaway, a staple from the start. During this period, the show migrated to several now-demolished/closed venues including the Common Basis Theatre in Times Square (where "Bag O' Chips debuted), Ochi's Lounge, and Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction.
No Name currently produces their flagship "Bag O' Chips" comedy / variety show on Friday nights at Otto's Shrun
Ken Head in the East Village, as well as a weekly storytelling and comedy show on Tuesday evenings at Word Up Community Bookshop in Washington Heights (2113 Amsterdam Avenue @ corner of 165th St). Their monthly "The Uptown Cabaret" and "The Uptown Cabaret: SPOTLIGHT" showcases take place at Indian Road Café (600 W. 218th Street) in Inwood. Both the storytelling and cabaret shows are free and feature a sign up where local residents can flex their literary and musical muscles in a supportive environment.
Located at 4140 Broadway at 175th St. in New York City, the United Palace is a classic, architecturally grand venue. Originally opened in 1930 as one of the five Loew's "Wonder Theatres", the Palace has been maintained by Rev. Ike and his church since 1969 and used as a rental facility. Since 2012 it has also housed the nonprofit United Palace of Cultural Arts, a unique, inter-cultural center for the arts.. Take the "A" subway, to 175th Street and walk one block east to Broadway. Performers subject to change.
