Romance with a smile

Nothing’s more attractive than funny. Which means that nothing screams “Romance” quite like Valentine’s Day with The UnCabaret.

The off-beat L.A. comedy collective — featuring Andy Dick (News Radio, The Andy Dick Show), Beth Lapides (All Things Considered, The Beth Lapides Experience), Tim Bagley (Will & Grace, Strip Mall) and Sherri Shepherd (Everybody Loves Raymond; Less Than Perfect) — will make its St. Louis debut Feb. 14 as part of the third annual Antigala fundraiser at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.

The one-night-only performance begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. Tickets are $30 and are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets. Edison Theatre is located in the Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd.

In addition, the Friends of Edison Theatre will host a special post-show dessert reception with the artists. Proceeds support Edison Theatre programming, especially the ovations! for young people series and Friday morning performances for local elementary students. Cost is $55, which includes a ticket to the performance. Availability is extremely limited. For tickets, reservations or more information, call (314) 935-6543.

The UnCabaret is the mothership of the modern comic confessional, described by Los Angeles Magazine as “a combination of psychotherapy, performance art, and stand-up comedy.” Nothing is off-limits, from personal breakdowns and battles with cancer to crises of faith and sex, drugs and rock & roll.

The company was founded in 1990 by Lapides, who sought to create a more honest and spontaneous alternative to the “rigid formulas and offensive ‘acts’ of mainstream stand-up clubs.” Over the next three years, her “floating craps game” of a troupe shuttled between alternative spaces like The Women’s Building and Highways before settling into a much acclaimed seven-year run at the music club LunaPark. When that venue closed, in 2000, The UnCabaret packed houses for a year-long stint at Hollywood’s HBO/Warner Brothers TV. They currently appear bi-weekly at M-Bar in Hollywood.

UnCabaret’s ever-shifting line-up has become a virtual who’s who of progressive writers and comedians. Over the years, members have included Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Julia Sweeney, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Kathy Griffin, Bob Goldthwait and Andy Kindler. Notable, Sweeney’s one-woman show God Said Ha! and Cho’s I’m the One That I Want both began at UnCabaret.

UnCabaret has been featured on numerous television and radio programs, including Comedy Central, and has released three CDs, The Un & Only (2002) and Play the Word (Vols. 1 and 2) (2003). The troupe also has spawned a handful of noteworthy side projects, including the Un-Cab Lab, a performance workshop for young comics and writers; and The Other Network, featuring un-aired and previously un-seen television pilots by some of the most original, creative and disturbing minds in the business.

Dick studied improv at Chicago’s celebrated Second City and ImprovOlympics. In 1989, Ben Stiller cast him in the short film Elvis Stories (1989), and in 1992 tapped him again as a cast member for FOX’s The Ben Stiller Show. In 1994, Dick appeared in his first feature film, Reality Bites, and in 1995 starred in FOX’s short-lived remake of Get Smart before being cast as the fumbling reporter Matthew on NBC’s hit NewsRadio. In 2001, he launched The Andy Dick Show on MTV, which Rolling Stone called “the funniest thing on TV.” He currently is featured on FOX’s Less Than Perfect and recently appeared in the film Old School (2003).

Bagley, who plays the semi-regular character Larry on Will & Grace, is a veteran television actor who also recently starred on Comedy Central’s Strip Mall. Other television appearances include The Court, According to Jim, Dharma & Greg, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The X Files, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, ER, Ellen, Wings, The Nanny and Coach, among others. Films include The Mask (1994), The Crazysitter (1995), Happy, Texas (1999), The Fluffer (2001) and the forthcoming Memron and The Day After Tomorrow.

Shepherd began her standup career in 1990 while working in Beverly Hills as a legal secretary. In 1995, she became a regular on the WB’s Cleghorne! and the following year was cast as opinionated cop Sgt. Judy Potter on Everybody Loves Raymond. Other television appearances include Joan of Arcadia, The Jamie Foxx Show, Friends, Suddenly Susan and Living Single. She currently plays Ramona on Less Than Perfect, and also performs regularly at the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory and the Improv.

Lapides was the voice of Radio Un-Cabaret on Comedy World, a nationally syndicated radio and online network where she also hosted The Beth Lapides Experience, a daily 2-hour show. She also created and hosted The Couch for MTV, and has appeared on Sex and the City, Will & Grace and Politically Incorrect, among others. Film roles include Single White Female (1992), Push (1998), I Know What You Screamed Last Summer (1999) and Luster (2002).

For more information about The UnCabaret, visit www.uncabaret.com.

Edison Theatre’s OVATIONS! Series serves both Washington University and the St. Louis community by providing the highest caliber national and international artists in music, dance and theater, performing new works as well as innovative interpretations of classical material not otherwise seen in St. Louis. Focusing on presentations that are interdisciplinary, multicultural and/or experimental, Edison Theatre presents work intended to challenge, educate and inspire.