The Marsh Announces Will Durst's "Elect to Laugh: 2016"

From The Marsh Berkeley:

BERKELEY, CA – As it heads into its final weeks – concluding with a special election night performance on November 8 –The Marsh announces the addition of two shows in Berkeley for Will Durst’s timely new hybrid of stand-up comedy and theater, Elect to Laugh: 2016. Like politicians hoping to appeal both parties, Will Durst and The Marsh will cross the bridge to bring Elect to Laugh: 2016 to Berkeley for two nights only. Specializing in political humor for folks who don’t like politics, Durst sweeps both sides of the aisle with his patented mix of outrage and outrageous common sense. This bipartisan rabble-rouser transcends party ties in a hilarious blend of monologues, commentary, and the occasional rant. Elect to Laugh: 2016 is currently playing at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia St, on Tuesdays at 8pm, concluding on election night, November 8. Two shows have been added for East Bay audiences, 8pm, Friday, November 4 and 8:30pm, Saturday, November 5 at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. For tickets to either show, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call the Marsh box office at 415-282-3055 (open 1-4pm, Monday through Friday).

For those who want an extra opinion on politics from a local master, political icon and former SF Mayor Willie Brown teams up with Will Durst for free “Will and Willie” shows, 6pm, October 11 and November 1. At these two Tuesday events, the pair discuss up-to-the-minute developments on the campaign trail before a live audience at The Marsh San Francisco, followed by the regular performance of Elect to Laugh: 2016.

Elect to Laugh: 2016 originally opened in March, charming audiences and critics alike. The Marin Scope exclaimed, “My face ached from chuckling.” Stark Insider declared it, “Smashing! Watching this election mediated by Will Durst will get us through November.” The Will Durst’s look into politics must close on election night in San Francisco with a special show hopefully featuring election results. “It’s a wonderful place to be on election night,” said The Marsh’s Executive and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman.

As up-to-the-minute as the latest tweet about what the Republican Vice President hopeful Mike Pence is pensive about, Elect to Laugh: 2016 draws from real issues facing the Presidential candidates and their campaigns. Durst explains, “Mining from some of the best joke writers in the business: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, not to mention the ubiquitous Sarah Palin, this show is more bipartisan than an Apple Pie Day Proclamation.” Elect to Laugh: 2016 hits the hypocritical where it hurts, chronicling the country’s torturously amusing path through the primaries, debates, ads, mud, spin, tears, flip-flops, and flop-flips.

Acknowledged by peers and press alike as one of the premier political satirists in the country, Will Durst has patched together a comedy quilt of a career, weaving together columns, books, commentaries, acting, voice-overs, and stand-up, always guided by his abiding motto, “You can’t make stuff up like this.” The New York Times calls him “possibly the best political comic working in the country today.” Fox News agrees, “he's a great political satirist,” while the Oregonian hails him as a “hilarious stand-up journalist.” This former radio talk host currently writes a nationally syndicated humor column, and his work has appeared in Esquire, George, the San Francisco Chronicle, National Lampoon, The New York Times and many more. He is a five-time Emmy nominee; has been fired by PBS three times; told jokes in 14 countries; racked up seven nominations for Stand-Up of the Year; and his 800+ television appearances include Letterman, HBO, Showtime, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, the BBC and many more. The critically acclaimed off-Broadway run of his one man show, The All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing, was turned into a book of the same name by Ulysses Press.

Photo credit: Pat Johnson