Going Once Laughing Twice
by Brian Jaffe
Now Playing St Luke’s Theatre
308 West 46th Street New York City
This theatrical event is a hilarious interactive parody of the prestigious world of art auctions. Go behind the scenes at Chump’s Auction House. This is an unscrupulous world where you’ll get to meet and join in the fun with the owners and crazy employees of Chump’s at its grand annual gala. It features a cast of engaging scoundrels who pull you into the action as the story and intrigue of the famous Chump Auction House unfolds. The show culminates with a rollicking auction and you’re the patrons! Collect your bidding paddles and fortune in Chump Money as you enter and then bid, laugh, and be swindled! The lucky bidders actually take home the “Objets d’Artesâ€.
Reviews
Cast
SHANNON WHALEN (Heidi Hoe) is so excited to be joining the amazing cast of Going Once, Laughing Twice. Whalen received her BA from SUNY Albany in both Theatre and Voice Performance. Recent stage credits include The Better Man (Becky) at the Thespis Theater Festival, The XXX Scholar (Susan) at The Chain Theater, and Proof (Catherine) at Albany Civic Theater. Recent film credits include Stable directed by Anthony Arfi, and Sofia directed by Juliana Isa
ELAINE BAEZ (Theresa) is delighted to be part of the cast of Going Once! Laughing Twice!! for her Off-Broadway debut, and to work with such an entertaining team. She’s performed in South Pacific at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, various cabarets (Cranky Cabaret), The Gallery Players, Queens PAC under the direction of Chapman Roberts, and worked on other local experimental theater/dance projects & showcases.
BREENA BECK (Kelly) is a recent graduate of the BFA Musical Theatre program at Emerson College in Boston. At Emerson, she appeared in Starting Here, Starting Now; It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman and Broadway Backwards. Breena also worked as an apprentice at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
BRIAN JAFFE (Author/Freddie Kahn). In addition to writing Going Once! Laughing Twice!! Brian has written the comedies Sunset in Canaan, Bloodsucking in America and Skitzofrenia in which he also appeared. His excruciatingly funny memoir Squeaking By is scheduled to be published mid-December. As a benefit fundraising auctioneer Brian is in a class by himself. Through his auctioneering, his seminars and consulting skills, he raises millions of dollars annually for non-profits including private and public schools, charities, hospitals, community groups and a variety of foundations. As a comedian Brian has used his auctions to entertain high rollers at the Sands, Resorts and Claridge Casinos in Atlantic City which is also where La Galerie, the precursor to this current show at St. Luke’s, was performed to rave reviews. He also insists that he was the first person to ever call dungarees “jeansâ€.
WINSTON SHAW (Count Hans Und’Feete) is a native of Santa Fe. He studied theater and screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College and improv at the People’s Improv Theater in NYC. He currently resides in Brooklyn, and has appeared in Off-Broadway productions at EST, The Mint Theater, the Looking Glass Theatre and many others. He recently appeared as Ishmael in a production of Or the Whale, an adaptation of Melville’s classic Moby Dick at the South Oxford ART space in Brooklyn, and worked with Director Eric Parness previously on a production of North to Maine: A Journey on the Appalachian Trail at American Theater of Actors, where he played the erratic bon vivant known as Rock-Stabber.
SCOTT WATSON (Jean-Paul Georges-Ringeau) is très excité to be a part of Going Once! Laughing Twice!! and this magnificent cast and crew. Recent credits: Thurio in Two Gentlemen of Verona (dir: Claire Kelly) w/ Shakespeare on the Sound, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing & Brabantio/Montano/Lodovico in Othello (dir: Michele Vazquez & Christopher V. Edwards) w/ Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival & an Off-Broadway run of Henry V with New York Classical Theatre. Bachelor of Theatre Performance from Grand Valley State University, MI.
MARK SYPEK (Edward Chump). Mark is thrilled to join the company of Going Once! Laughing Twice!! A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Mark also studied at the Moscow Art Theatre School and thanks his teachers and mentors for their guidance. Other New York credits include:Sarah After Hours (New Ohio Theatre), a reading of Carroll Gardens (Theater for the New City), and The Odyssey Experience(Experiential Theater Company/Young Audiences). Much love to my family & friends whose support is unconditional.
JAMES WARE (Daniel Pinkerton) is originally from Columbia, SC. For seven years he lived and performed in San Francisco before moving out to NYC. Since living here he has appeared in numerous Off and Off- Off Broadway productions and worked with some of the most beautiful people this industry has produced. Most recent roles: Theseus in Oracle Theatre’s production of Brooklyn Labyrinth, Catesby in Boomerang Theatre’s Richard III and Busman in Resonance Ensemble Theatre’s R.U.R. He is a staged combat fanatic
Creative
BRIAN JAFFE (Author/Freddie Kahn). In addition to writing Going Once! Laughing Twice!! Brian has written the comedies Sunset in Canaan, Bloodsucking in America and Skitzofrenia in which he also appeared. His excruciatingly funny memoir Squeaking By is scheduled to be published mid-December. As a benefit fundraising auctioneer Brian is in a class by himself. Through his auctioneering, his seminars and consulting skills, he raises millions of dollars annually for non-profits including private and public schools, charities, hospitals, community groups and a variety of foundations. As a comedian Brian has used his auctions to entertain high rollers at the Sands, Resorts and Claridge Casinos in Atlantic City which is also where La Galerie, the precursor to this current show at St. Luke’s, was performed to rave reviews. He also insists that he was the first person to ever call dungarees “jeansâ€.
ERIC PARNESS (Director) is the Artistic Director of Resonance Ensemble, where he has directed classics by Sophocles, Gorky, Chekhov and Ibsen, as well as 10 world premieres, including new plays by Charles Mee, Michael Feingold, Christopher Boal, Steven Fechter and Richard Manley. Also in NYC: Jean Cocteau’s Crazy for the Dog, Rachel Reiner Productions’ Embraceable Me, Oberon Theatre’s Starship Astrov, ATA’s North to Maine, Hypothetical Theatre’s Kryptonite City, and Boomerang’s Blood Wedding. He is a graduate of Brandeis University (BA) and Brooklyn College (MFA), and a member of Lincoln Center Theatre’s Directors Lab.
JULIETTE DANIELS-STOKES (Scenic and Properties Design) is the vice-president and general manager for Hudson Valley Arts, an art and design company in Ulster County. In addition to her invaluable creative work for Going Once! Laughing Twice!! she was also head designer for Brian’s show Skitzofrenia and has had the remarkable ability to deal with Brian on a daily basis.
Now Playing St Luke’s Theatre
308 West 46th Street New York City
