This review of Assorted Comics at "New Talent Night" at Caroline's was written and published by Dr. Thomas Robert Stevens and appeared in Volume I, Issue 4 (February, 1998) of Applause! Applause!
"New Talent Night" - Assorted Comics
Caroline's (1626 Broadway, NYC)
Reviewed 1/26/98 at 9:30 p.m.
Eddie Brill was the M.C. for this new talent night which featured Jim Wisniewski, Lisa Pearlman, Sam Berman, Deke Haylon, Dustin Chafin, Ben Bailey and Special Guest Star Jeffrey Ross. Eddie Brill is a talented comic and a good M.C.. The two shining stars from this pack were Deke Haylon and Dustin Chafin. Deke Haylon claims to come from an Irish Catholic family in Connecticut and has a mother who sounds like Katherine Hepburn. He claims to have been a former "Connecticut Crack Whore" who went to cooking school and who cannot convincingly say "I'm exhausted. I've been having sex with chicks all day. There was snatch everywhere." Deke has a unique style, perfect timing, good material and an endearing stage presence. He has charisma and an act unique enough to take him all the way on the comedy circuit! Deke Haylon is a bright new rising star that will not soon be extinguished!
Dustin Chafin is another comedian with a unique act that should not be changed. He too is on the road to national recognition. Dustin acts on stage as if he's stoned. He holds the microphone with both of his hands close to his mouth and delivers his gold. He tells a woman in the audience "you look good and I've got wood." Then he confesses that he "dated a Jehovah's Witness once, but we had a problem though. She'd knock on my door and I wouldn't let her in." Then he confessed to "dating a Korean girl. Now I can't find my dog." Dustin stated that he obtained a minority scholarship to Parsons School of Design because he was a "heterosexual white guy." Dustin stated that he was once told that "the key to picking up girls on the beach is to put a potato in your swim trunks." He stated "I tried it, but it didn't work. They forgot to tell me to put the potato in the front of my trunks and not the back." Each of Dustin's lines were perfectly timed and delivered. He should become a great success!
Jim Wisniewski, a good-looking, married, Polish-Catholic was perfectly dressed and wore an attractive red and blue shirt with black pants and a black turtle neck sweater. His material was sometimes deliberately gross as when he began discussing how his wife starts "popping blackheads" while giving him a massage. He also perpetuated the myth that New Yorkers are rude by saying "I gave a cab driver the finger, like most New Yorkers would." I would like to know where Wisniewski was born. I'll bet he isn't a native New Yorker because I don't know many native New Yorkers who treat other people rudely, and the few who do are just rude people who should leave our city without delay. In all fairness to Jim Wisniewski, he did have a few good lines in his material, as when he said that "90 % of what sister did to me in Catholic School is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention" or when he said that he thought "the movie "Titanic" sucked because it was totally unbelievable. A ship that size is not going to sink just because it hit a little iceberg." I'd like to see Wisniewski again after he re-thinks his material.
Lisa Pearlman is very attractive and has a good personality. She needs to speak louder and to better develop her material. She can play the perfect J.A.P. or anything else she chooses. I see a future for her in the comedy world. Ben Bailey needs to dispose of his husband and wife material. It is old and tired. His only great line was that he "drinks coffee and smokes a joint" which results in his "having all this energy, but no focus." I don't think he should give up being a comic. I only think he needs to re-think his direction and to develop a unique act. Sam Beamon has some good material, especially about mixing products together. After pointing out some examples of products that were mixed together, he laments that the corporate world hasn't started to mix together products he can get some real use out of like "Preparation H and toilet paper", "Yeast in his condom", and "penicillin with his prostitute". Beamon made the fatal error of saying "I'm Sorry" after mis-speaking a line, a sure sign of his amateur status. Nevertheless, this man has a great future in comedy.
Jeffrey Ross, the headliner, appeared to me to be somewhat lethargic. Perhaps he was overtired. After fumbling around on stage for a few minutes, he finally announced that we shouldn't worry because he did, in fact, have some jokes which he brought with him. Ross is a natural talent. Despite his unusual state, he delivered his lines well and gave the audience more than their money's worth. His funniest lines came when he was proposing some stupid answers he could offer to friends who asked the stupid question how his 104 year old Aunt Teek died. Some suggestions included saying "She was trampled at a Who concert", "Her Harley flipped over", "She died during childbirth", and "She scored some bad crack".
Attending New Talent Night at Caroline's is a great way to check out the up-and-coming comics who will be the stars of tomorrow. Don't miss them!!
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