Emmy Winning Comedian Paul Mecurio Announces New Off-Broadway Show PERMISSION TO SPEAK

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian, Paul Mecurio, announces his new Off-Broadway show: PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH Paul Mecurio. With over a decade of television appearances including his own comedy special, his longtime association with Stephen Colbert through multiple stand-up appearances on and as being the opening act for The Late Show, and headlining comedy shows throughout the U.S. and Europe, Mecurio is prepared for this next great challenge. PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH Paul Mecurio will play at the Jerry Orbach Theater at NY's Theater Center (1627 Broadway, New York), with previews beginning Monday, July 16, 2018 and opening night scheduled for Monday, July 23, 2018.

In this exciting one man comedy show with a twist, starring the audience and Mecurio, Mecurio improvises with audience members by randomly bringing them on stage and talking with them about who they are, their lives, interests, personal experiences and what they honestly think without feeling boxed in by the confines of contrived political correctness or fear of offending. A breath of fresh air, PERMISSION TO SPEAK is first and foremost, funny and entertaining, but also a truly freeing experience.

"People have very revealing, fun and refreshingly honest things to say that no one has ever bothered to ask," says Paul Mecurio, "so I created a show where audiences can have a lot of laughs and are free to be open and honest ... by the way, when needed, we're calling BS on the BS! I love the unscripted format, it's fun, keeps me and the audience on our toes and we end up on this unexpected journey together into funny truths. Everyone has a story, every night people reveal something fun and eye-opening and in the process, people come to understand and appreciate one another a little more."

Prior to entering the world of entertainment, Mecurio worked as a lawyer on Wall Street at a top tier international law firm (Willkie Farr & Gallagher) and as an investment banker at a major Investment Bank (Credit Suisse), executing multi-million-dollar M&A transactions for Fortune 500 companies.

While on Wall Street, Mecurio had a chance encounter with late night comedy icon, Jay Leno, who subsequently hired him to write jokes for NBC's The Tonight Show. After living a secret double life as a Wall Street lawyer/banker by day and comedian by night, Mecurio, at the encouragement of Leno, left his day job to go into entertainment full time. This quickly led to his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and the beginning of his longtime association with Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report" and now, the number one show in late night, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Partnering with longtime friends and creative collaborators from The Late Show, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, PERMISSION TO SPEAK will feature set consultation by Emmy Award-winning set designer Jim Fenhagen, digital mapping by Tim Donovan and Ryan Kelly of industry leading experiential marketing studio Bravo Media and Optoma Projection, and lighting design by Michael Scricca.

PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH Paul Mecurio will play Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm at the Jerry Orbach Theater at NY's Theater Center (1627 Broadway, New York) beginning Monday, July 16, 2018 through Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

Ticket pricing: $52 - $72.

To purchase tickets, please go to: Ticketmaster or call the box office at 212.921.7862.

Paul Mecurio is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning comedian/writer (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), TV personality, actor, and podcaster who currently headlines comedy clubs across the U.S. and Canada and makes regular appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In addition to his presence on The Late Show, Paul has hosted shows and pilots for Comedy Central, HBO, CBS, VH-1 and has starred in his own Comedy Central special.

Over the years, Mecurio has made numerous late-night television appearances on: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; The Late, Late Show; The Tonight Show (writer); Comedy Central; The Daily Show; Fridays (NBC); and The Joke Show, to name a few.

He also appears regularly as a pop culture and general news commentator and political satirist on a wide variety of major national television shows including: CBS Sunday Morning; CNN (New Day, CNN Newsroom, Showbiz Tonight); MSNBC; Fox News Channel (Hannity, Fox & Friends, Red Eye, Real Story, Outnumbered, Kennedy, Viewpoint); ESPN (SportsNation); Katie Couric; The Meredith Vieira Show; Bethenny; Dr. Drew (HLN & VH-1); and many more. Mecurio is also a published essayist: The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

Mecurio has performed at many prestigious comedy festivals around the world including "Just for Laughs" and the Glasgow/Edinburgh Comedy Festival, to name a few.

Mecurio's critically-acclaimed podcast, The Paul Mecurio Show, showcases his talent as a skilled interviewer that covers a wide range of topics and conversations with A-list guests at the pinnacle of the worlds of entertainment, pop culture, music, politics, science, sports and more. Guests include: Paul McCartney; Stephen Colbert; Katie Couric; Bryan Cranston; Judd Apatow; Kristen Chenoweth; Neil deGrasse Tyson; Jay Leno; Bill Burr; Adam McKay; Jeff Fager, Executive Producer of 60 Minutes; Stone Cold Steve Austin; Bob Costas; Lewis Black; Hardball's Chris Matthews; Thomas Freidman of The New York Times; Rob Reiner; Artie Lange; Rob Corddry and many more.

Prior to entering into the world of entertainment, Mecurio graduated Georgetown Law School with high honors and worked as a lawyer on Wall Street at a top tier international law firm (Willkie Farr & Gallagher) and as an investment banker at a major Investment Bank (Credit Suisse), executing multi-billion-dollar M&A transactions for Fortune 100 companies.

While on Wall Street, Mecurio was hired by Jay Leno to write jokes for NBC's The Tonight Show. After living a secret double life as a Wall Street lawyer/banker by day and comedian by night, Mecurio, at the encouragement of Leno, left his day job to go into entertainment full time... if he hadn't he would have had a nervous breakdown trying to keep the two worlds separate.

Mecurio soon went on to serve as a writer and occasional correspondent on The Daily Show and appeared in the regular segment which he created, "Second Opinion," in which he skewered the medical profession playing an HMO representative with a less than sympathetic mindset.

For additional information, please visit: www.paulmecurio.com

Podcast - "The Paul Mecurio Show": http://apple.co/2cMp0sV

To post a comment, you must register and login.