2008 Woodie Awards
Improv show brings '70s swagger to Blue Room
By: David Wangberg
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Entertainment
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When:10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Blue Room Theatre
Do you need some motivation in your life?
Then keep Friday night open as "The Ed Forman Show" hits Blue Room Theatre. Get ready for some "laughing, loving and living" as Forman promises that by the end of the night, audience members will be doing what his slogan says.
Forman is excited to bring his show to Chico, he said. He is an actual human being and not writer/director/star of the show, Aaron Ross. Ross was unavailable for an interview.
"The Ed Forman Show" is a throwback to 1970s talk shows such as "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Forman is pleased to bring along special co-host Bobby Mickey from Dallas.
Mickey has been doing comedy for about three years, but only a year and a half of it has been professionally. Before becoming famous, Mickey performed comedy shows at funerals, wakes and outside McDonald's bathrooms.
He mainly got into comedy for the ladies, he said. He lives up to one quote he joked about finding while reading a "Playboy" interview with Jamie Farr.
"'If you're funny, chicks may not want to sleep with you, but they'll always want you to be around,'" he said.
When asked what the audience can expect from "The Ed Forman Show," Mickey had few words to say.
"Think Merv Griffin on acid," he said.
Forman is a motivational speaker who gives advice to people in need. He claims to have written national best-selling books such as "Laughing, Loving, Living," and the children's classic, "Poop… Or You'll Die."
The one person who has driven him to be the person he is today is Burt Reynolds, Forman said. Forman joked that Reynolds is a longtime friend who starred alongside him in the hit sequel "Cannonball Run II."
"That was where I hit my pinnacle," he said. Forman knows Reynolds starred in the flop "Cop and a Half," but he forgives him for it.
Forman describes the show as a mixture of sketch comedy, improv and music.
In Bed With Ed
Video from YouTube
Forman looks to get rid of whatever fears people may have, such as standing in a theater in front of 100 strangers, he said. The show allows people to interact and become co-stars of the show.
"You can't interact with a late night television show if you are watching it on television," Forman said. "You can if you're a weirdo."
He will also be starring in his one-man show "Al Gore Memorial High School," which also involves audience interaction and revolves around a high school freshmen orientation. This is a Saturday-only event that starts at 7:30 p.m.
Forman last made an appearance in Chico around graduation earlier this year. The attendance was sparse, but he got a great reaction from people, such as the Blue Room's Libby Jensen, and was asked to come back and perform again.
"It was something worthwhile," Jensen said. "Chico doesn't have many improv shows or comedy shows that interact with the crowd the way his does."
Forman is taking his show on the road for a "20 shows in 20 days" tour. His next stop will be in Oregon where he will perform in Eugene, Portland and Salem.
Tickets for "The Ed Forman Show" and "Al Gore Memorial High School" are $10.
David Wangberg can be reached at
dwangberg@theorion.com
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