Hot In The Presses: Voro Lounge Presents 'Comedy and Cocktails' 11.20.08

Recently the editor of my town's local paper discovered what I was doing here at attention is fun and asked me to write an article for their arts and entertainment section about a comedy show that just got started locally.  So since clearly I believe in attention, I agreed.  I've taken the liberty of typing it out for your reading pleasure.  My favorite part about my article appearing in the paper, though, is that it appears next to the 'Pet of the Week'(not pictured).  Here ya go:    

When one thinks of Voro Lounge, images of its warm atmosphere and friends coming together for a meal or drink come to mind.  While it is one of South Orange's more upscale drinking holes, residents will soon add comedy club to their description of Voro Lounge.  The venue now hosts a bi-weekly show featuring professional comedians called 'Comedy and Cocktails.'  The News Record was fortunate enough to have been invited by Voro to check out Thursday's show.

South Orange resident and senior correspondent for "Inside Edition" April Woodward hosts the show along with Rob Stapleton of "Top Dog's of Comedy"--and they sum up an evening of comedy that "brings Manhattan right here to Jersey."

Using front-row audience members as material for his jokes, Stapleton engaged the crowd with one-on-one interactions without bullying or offending any of the singled-out members of the audience

One comedienne to hit the stage was Shatara Curry fo BET's "Comic View." Curry came out oozing energy and had the crowd in the palm of her hand in no time.  Her jokes were observation-based, using body movements to illustrate each point.  With jokes based on relationships with her signature line of "Put a ring on it," Curry had a fantastic set which set the tone for the rest of the show.

The next act, K-Dubb of "Def Comedy Jam" and "The Bad Boys of Comedy," had the crowd in stitches throughout his entire set.  His humor was observational, but also politcally driven. At one point, K-Dubb mentioned that the Republicans will take hold of the next election, to which an audience member shouted out, "No!"  Instead of becoming aggravated with the audience member's interruption, he took the opportunity to school her on the history of cyclical politics, impressively and quickly spouting off every president and their political affiliation from George Washington to the present.  K-Dubb is definitely a stand-up performer to look out for in the future, as his comedic timing, skill and intelligence are bound to make him a major player in the comedy world.

While K-Dubb was a tough act to follow, the second headliner, Dean Edwards of "Saturday Night Live" and "Original Kings of Comedy," easily kept the audience's attention and kept the laughter continuously coming.  Edwards' humor relied primarily on his impressions which varied from celebrities, such as Jay-Z, Beyonce and Denzel Washington, to people you would come into contact with on a day-to-day basis at the grocery store.  His impression, paired with the way he used his body to bring his comedy to life, proved to be both successful and hilarious.  Edwards, too, is someone to look out for in the future.

If you are looking to stay local and laugh, Voro Lounge has something for everyone with 'Comedy and Cocktails.'

[These photos did not appear with the article and are mine.  Also, I had to clean up my language for this a little bit...so just so I can prove I'm still legit: fuck]