Kathleen Donnelly
Who doesn’t like to laugh? Especially when the Dow drops below 7000. Lucky for us that Charleston has an inventive, laugh-out-loud comedy scene to keep our smiles intact.
And we’re about to see a first. Local by-night comedian and Theater 99 company member, Kathleen Donnelly (known by her nearest and dearest as CKD), will debut her first ever one-night-only one-woman show on Thursday, March 12. Donnelly seems to embrace the Seinfeld school of thought where regular stories happening to regular people are funny. Bad negotiation with your boss? Funny. Terrible breakup? Hilarious. Her shtick is the good girl who finds herself in trouble, and honestly, who can’t relate to that?
As Donnelly makes hand puppet gestures while she talks to CHARLIE over her tuna melt at Sweetwater Café, she tells us about the comfort of improvising on stage. “Everybody in the company, at one point, was just in the audience wondering what they would do up there.” But come on. The nerves? “It’s more like an adrenaline rush than a nervousness,” she assures. We’ll see about that Thursday night when 137 faces are staring back.
Theater 99 has been bringing gut-busting laughter to Charleston since 2000. Founded by Charleston’s most famous comedy troupe, The Have Nots, Theater 99 is now home to 45(ish) other local talents specializing in improv, stand-up and sketch comedy. For as little as a $5 Footlong (or maybe two), you can go to be wildly entertained by Charleston’s top funny people any Wednesday, Friday or Saturday evening. And we’re talking good talent. Theater 99 has served as a petri dish for breeding top-notch talent who have ventured onto big cities and one who even landed a spot on “Saturday Night Live.” Check out all performances including Donnelly, John Brennan (his shows “This is Chucktown” and “The Banana Monologues” have both received raves) and of course, The Have Nots, who started it all and gave the great local comedians a home.
The best part? You’re in the show too. Don’t worry, it’s not in the miserable, uncomfortable way that you may fear. Instead, the audience gets to shout things out in the blackness and watch the comedian du jour incorporate their direction into the show. Donnelly tells us that the #1 rule of improv is to agree with the circumstances that are thrown out on stage, meaning you could get them to do just…about…anything.
Remember, Theater 99 is about comedy for the masses. Keep it clean, folks.
Get your tickets to Donnelly’s one-women show by calling 843-853-6687.
