Opening Night
Direct from New York
Canadian Premiere
The J.A.P. Show: The Princesses of Comedy

Three of today's funniest Jewish female comics salute the trailblazing and treasured pioneers of comedy with their own zany stories and hilarious stand up. Peppered with vintage footage of the original queens of comedy - including Belle Barth, Totie Fields, Jean Carroll and Betty Walker - these current "princesses of comedy" prove that kvetching about husbands, family, sex and weight issues is as funny to us today as it was way back to Bubby and Zayde in the schtetl.

Creator of The J.A.P. Show: The Princesses of Comedy, Cory Kahaney was voted Best Comedian in New York City by Backstage magazine and has been seen nationally as one of the stars of NBC's Last Comic Standing and in her own comedy specials on HBO and Comedy Central.

Award-winning stage actor and stand-up comedienne Adrianne Tolsch has headlined at every major comedy club in the United States, as well as casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, having opened for the likes of Jay Leno, The Pointer Sisters, Bobby Vinton, Pat Cooper and Billy Crystal.

Jessica Kirson (2006 MAC Award Winner "Best Female Comic") recently made her debut on The Tonight Show and has been featured in numerous comedy shows including Last Comic Standing, She's So Funny on the Women's Television Network and the VH1 specials Awesomely Bad Hair, Awesomely Bad Love Songs and Awesomely Bad Breakup Songs. www.thejapshow.com

"A loving comic tribute that conjures side-splitting
      borscht-belt bawdiness with a revisionist twist" Newsday

"Universally funny, so even the goyim feel welcome" Daily Variety

"You'll laugh your tuchas off" Theatremania.com

Producing Sponsor: Dr. Neil and Michelle Pollock
Producing Sponsor: Harriett and Isadore Wolfe

Improv Show
Lipshtick!: A Lipshitz Brothers Show

Behold the Lipschitz Brothers - Shmuel, Shimshon and Shteve- the last scions of a once-great theatre dynasty! They speak no Yiddish and the scripts their ancestors performed have been lost to history, but every now and then, their genetic legacy draws them together to improvise a play and make with the funny.

Ryan Beil (Shmuel), graduated with a BFA in Acting from UBC, and recently won a Jessie Richardson Award for being an outstanding newcomer. Theatrical credits include Transit Lounge, Village of Idiots, Anne Frank and The 4H Club. He is a cast member with Vancouver TheatreSports and Instant Theatre, and also has a regular show in town called Sunday Service.

Toby Berner (Shimshon), enjoyed seven years as a top player with the Vancouver Theatersports League but knew there was more to acting than just goofing around in front of sold out houses every night. So he auditioned for Studio 58, graduated in 1997 and became a well rounded versatile actor and person. One of the stars of SUCKERPUNCHon the Comedy Network Toby has also appeared on TV in such unfunny shows as Da Vinci’s Inquest, and Jeremiahstarring Luke Perry. Not only is Toby a successful professional actor, writer, and improviser but he plays drums, and he can juggle, tap dance, and skateboard, all at the same time if necessary.

Dan Hershfield (Shteve) is a well-traveled improviser who has been a cast member with Theatresports Toronto, UBC Improv, and the Vancouver TheatreSports League, and has also performed locally with Urban Improv, Instant Theatre, The Living Room, The Fifth Wall, The Sunday Service, Table 23 Improv, the Soft-Core Comedy Variety Show, the CanWest Comedy Festival, and the Vancouver International Improv Festival. Dan is also an accomplished writer, with many plays to his credit, and at long last can say he received money for a TV script! He graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing and Theatre, where he was the recipient of the CBC Jim Burt Prize for Film.