Comedy comes to South Philly as Philly comedian Chip Chantry takes you back to school.
Philadelphians have spied fellow local Philly comedian Chip Chantry in all manner of positions (I know, that doesn’t sound quite right), from hosting nights at Helium Comedy Club to podcasting. Me? I see him walking a dog all the time as he is a neighbor. Starting tonight, Thursday, September 12 at South Philly’s Bok Building, Chantry is hosting and helping put together a weird, new show: an old school in-between classes assembly with comedy, and actual educational speakers. “Kind of a 60’s-retro Nerd Nite,” said Chantry of his comedy event in the Bok’s huge, old auditorium.
“When I was approached to host this show in the auditorium at Bok, I was blown away by the space,” said Chip Chantry, running past my house. “It’s a massive, historic auditorium that’s been pretty much dormant for years. Doing this show is kind of like opening the Wonka Factory and letting people in. Plus, I can walk to Bok, which is a bonus for me. And there’s not a whole lot of comedy in South Philly. We want people in the neighborhood to be able to just walk over for a show. Hopefully, we’ll get a nice crowd, and this will be the start of a lot of different shows in this space. The neighborhood has a built-in theater. Let’s use it and have some fun.”
With that, Chantry’s new production is a comedy variety show, but, since they are in an education-based property, he wanted to present some work in a literal teacher-ly fashion. There are presentations about “some really cool topics” surrounded by the comedy, updated with multi-media features. “It’s like a late-night talk show meets a vaguely nostalgic school assembly from when we were kids, which are my two favorite formats,” said the comedian.
Chip Chantry will host the event with fellow Philly comedian Mary Radzinski, will include Samantha Russell and Brian Craig from the sketch group Secret Pants (“which will be worth the ticket just to see them”) Plus the very funny and informative Dr. Neil Bardhan, the amazing Kalela Williams from the Free Library of Philadelphia, Justin Geller, who be providing the music as well as a quick lesson on sound, and maybe a few other surprise guests.
All additional info can be found, HERE.
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