Watch “How (Not) To Write A Holiday Classic” From Top Story! Weekly Episode 131: “So This Is Christmas”

Christmas gave me the chance to write the least topical thing I’ve written in a while, spurred by a comment at our writers’ meeting by Colin Hughes (no relation) about how many Christmas songs are sad. To be honest, I think some of the rewriting done here didn’t help things – Judy and Bing shouldn’t have been singing at either the top or bottom of the sketch, for instance – and the actors weren’t as precise as I would have liked. But Kipleigh Brown’s Judy Garland is a thing of beauty!

HOW (NOT) TO WRITE A HOLIDAY CLASSIC by Michael Hughes

Starring Phillip Wilburn (Bing Crosby), Kipleigh Brown (Judy Garland), Gregg Lopez (Frank Loesser) Brent Pope (Hoagy Carmichael) and Jimmy Guidish (Walter Winchell)

Directed by Kristina Adelmeyer

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Watch “Golden Sentence” From Top Story! Weekly Episode 130: “Leaving the Jet Plane”

When Rod Blagojevich got sentenced last week, I figured I’d throw myself into the cast of Top Story! Weekly to reprise my role. Jimmy and James did a great job with the pace of this one.

GOLDEN SENTENCE by Michael Hughes

Starring Michael Hughes (Rod Blagojevich), James Warfield (Sheldon Sorosky), and Sean Cowhig (Judge James Zagel)

Directed by Tom Repetto

Watch “Words with Alec” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 130: “Leaving a Jet Plane”

The Alec Baldwin “Words with Friends” incident was almost a self-parody, so this sketch is pretty straightforward. Fun fact: Sean Cowhig was actually tweeting while on stage.

WORDS WITH ALEC by Michael Hughes

Starring Phillip Wilburn (Alec Baldwin), Kipleigh Brown (Stacy), Artemis Pebdani (Gwen), James Warfield (Pilot), Jimmy Guidish (Passenger) and Sean Cowhig (Passenger)

Directed by Tom Repetto

Watch “El Alcalde Es Occupado” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 129: “Maybe Cain Isn’t Able”!!

Mayor Villaraigosa negotiates the end of the “Occupy L.A.” protests the same week that Top Story! Weekly has Neil Garguilo (Principal Cox from MTV’s “Awkward” and iO West‘s Dr. God, and one of our regular cast members as well) in the cast? That makes it time to revisit one of our favorite recurring sketches – the telenovela with Los Angeles’ Mayor, “El Alcalde de la Pasion!!”

EL ALCALDE ES OCCUPADO by Michael Hughes

Starring Neil Garguilo (Antonio Villaraigosa), John Druska (Police Chief Charlie Beck), Jen Cain (Mae), Kipleigh Brown (Tiffany), Jimmy Guidish (Troy), Tammie Smalls (Gloria), Derek Reid (Donovan) and Phillip Wilburn (Announcer),

Directed by Michael Hughes