New Yorkers who are tired and hoarse from yelling at their TV, radio and computer will appreciate "Town Hall Schmooze," a weekly live show mixing humor and politics, free-flowing banter and audience participation. The series, hosted by Lower East Siders Sam Greenfield and Yori Yanover, will launch September 21 at Eastville Comedy Club, 85 East 4th Street, with State Senator Daniel L. Squadron as special guest.
The audience is encouraged to ask questions and be part of the program. One New York celebrity will be featured each week. The show will be of interest to all New Yorkers, but is especially oriented to the East Village and Lower East Side. Both of the hosts are Lower East Side residents, living with their wives and daughters (each has one of each) in the same building on Grand Street.
Sam Greenfield is a veteran radio host and comic, well known for his unabashed liberal views and for his gift of gab. He's been a talking head on Fox News and MSNBC, and host of his own radio shows on the late, great WEVD and ultra-liberal WWRL (flagship station of Air America). These days, he hosts a morning drive show on WVNJ (whose area of coverage misses the Lower East Side by a hair, but you can hear him online). Sammy also hits the comedy clubs a few times a month with his hilarious take on the news and an ideology coming from somewhere between Jane Fonda and Angela Davis. ("It's where I belong," he insists.)
Yori Yanover (www.yoriyanover.com) is publisher of The Grand Street News, author of apocalyptic fiction ("The Cabalist's Daughter") and non-fiction ("Dancing and Crying," "How Would God Really Vote") and, recently, writer/performer of his own one-man show, "Biodegradable Hero." Yanover's politics are a little harder to nail down: he is an observant Jew with views on many issues that are surprisingly way to the left or way to the right of what you might expect.
The first guest, reform-minded State Senator Daniel L. "Kid" Squadron, is a 29 year old Democrat who was elected in 2008 to represent District 25, which encompasses Downtown Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. He grew up in Carrol Gardens and earned his Bachelors at Yale. He has been an aide to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and is co-author of Schumer's book, "Positively American: Winning Back the Middle Class Majority One Family at a Time."
The show will take place every Monday night at 8:00 PM this fall, starting Sept. 21, at Eastville Comedy Club, 85 East 4th St., between 2nd Ave. and the Bowery. Tickets are $10 plus two drink minimum. For reservations call (212) 473-7284. Online ticketing and more information are available on the show's website, http://mondaynightny.com.
Photo by Jonathan Slaff.
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