I’m a huge fan of “Mad Men,” so when we did our show for iO West’s 12th Annual Improv Comedy Festival and had as our special guest Stephanie Drake – aka Don Draper’s secretary Meredith – I thought it would be fun to do something about the big kiss she’d had on the midseason finale just a week earlier. Especially since we all know that right now Jon Hamm is the one exception that all straight guys would make…
Hey! It’s been a while! But when our show’s most loyal fan, Herb Koss, celebrated his 80th birthday a few days before our March 9th show I knew we had to do something to address it. Brian Vestal does an absolutely amazing characterization of Herb here – even if you don’t know him, you’ll really enjoy it!!
So the December 8 episode of Top Story! Weekly? No big deal. Our guest comedian was only BOB FREAKIN’ ODENKIRK!!!!!
So with a completely sold-out house, and a guest comedian who was one of the reasons I wanted to do sketch comedy, I made sure we brought our A-game. And I came up with an opener that is probably the most UCB-ish game sketch I’ve ever written for TS!W, based upon a suggestion from Phillip Wilburn that the Obamacare website could be a “Christmas miracle.” I went in a different direction, and it ended up opening the show.
With Michele Bachmann retiring from Congress, it seemed appropriate to write another sketch about the Bachmann marriage and see Marcus hanging out with the “boys.” I’m always worried with sketches like this that the jokes about Marcus Bachmann being gay walk a thin line between proper mocking of hypocrisy and just being offensive, but after watching this I’m satisfied this sketch falls on the right side of the line.
Whattya know? After two months I finally get a sketch in Top Story! Weekly again!
Our writing staff is so good that I hadn’t been able to get a sketch in since November. But when Brian O’Connell guest directed I knew I could try to go a little dark. And when the story (which turned out to be a fake) about Justin Bieber fans cutting themselves to try to get him to stop smoking pot, I knew I had just the right angle!
Mitt Romney’s jump-the-gun response to the attack on the Libyan consulate in Benghazi got me thinking: what if he was the sheriff coming in to clean up an Old West town? Here’s what I came up with. Mike Besaw did a great job with the sound effects on this one. And I like how Mike McLendon’s character’s name is a shout-out to his Harold team.
I had wanted for a while to do a “Downton Abbey” parody with Mitt Romney, but I hadn’t been able to figure out an angle. But when I read about the incredibly elitist and out-of-town comments his supporters made outside his Hamptons fundraisers, I knew I had it. And when the Bain Capital allegations blew up over the past few days, the sketch provided a means to address those stories as well. I was happy about a lot with this sketch – especially the audience’s instant recognition of the “smoking and plotting” O’Brien and Thomas.
Tickets are just $10, so make sure you get them now!! Not only will you see an awesome show, but you’ll help a great cause – part of the proceeds will go to the Chris Farley House, a residential sober living facility.
The festival runs from Sunday, June 3 till Saturday, June 9, with amazing shows and workshops every night. The cast of Top Story! Weekly will be hosting all week. And we’ll also be performing in other shows, and teaching workshops that you shouldn’t miss. Check them out after the jump:
Our first show of 2012 was also our first show since the death of Kim Jong-Il. And given that we had our Kim, our Gaddafi, our Diego, and even our Chuck Beanster in the cast, the stars were aligned for the perfect sendoff to our favorite crazy bloodthirsty dictator. Even at 8 and a half minutes, it came out pretty “hilarious”.
If you’re a certain age, when you hear “Oakland” your mind goes to “Hammer”. So when I had to think of an angle on the Occupy Oakland incidents last week. . . that’s where my mind went!
Mike Hughes' blog 
Watch “TS!W 720: Stephanie Drake Talks About Kissing Jon Hamm on “Mad Men”” from Top Story! Weekly Episode 252: “Hidden Cashed Out”
June 6, 2014I’m a huge fan of “Mad Men,” so when we did our show for iO West’s 12th Annual Improv Comedy Festival and had as our special guest Stephanie Drake – aka Don Draper’s secretary Meredith – I thought it would be fun to do something about the big kiss she’d had on the midseason finale just a week earlier. Especially since we all know that right now Jon Hamm is the one exception that all straight guys would make…
TS!W 720: STEPHANIE DRAKE by Michael Hughes
Starring Stephanie Drake (Stephanie), Phillip Wilburn (Phillip), Josh Rachford (Josh), Tommy Bechtold (Tommy) and Bennie Arthur (Supergirl)
Directed by Kristina Adelmeyer
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Tags:Alice, Alice Nelson, Ann B. Davis, Bennie Arthur, Brady Bunch, Don Draper, guys kissing, Jon Hamm, Josh Rachford, Mad Men, Mad Men Season Finale, Mad Men Season Finale 2014, men kissing, Meredith, Meredith Kisses Don Draper, Michael Hughes, Mike Hughes, Phillip Wilburn, Stephanie Drake, The Brady Bunch, Tommy Bechtold, Top Story! Weekly, Top Story! Weekly guest stars, TS!W 720
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