Past and present Cornell University sketch and improv groups gathered at the Kraine Theatre below the KGB bar for the inaugural, weekend-long Big Red Comedy Festival.

The second evening delivered the literal A Little Play About Nothing, a challenging take on wordplay, philosophy and the old “ignorance is bliss” adage, written by Michael Wallach and starring Patrick Stewart. Fortunately Stewart was “sick” and Philip Wolter nobly “filled in,” furiously and winkingly combining one part Seinfeld with one part Abbott and Costello.

Live improv groups have had their work cut out for them since the mainstream success of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and members of Hot Shot City were no exception, save standouts Jen Weinbaum as a Britney Spears fan, Paul Bomba as a Doritos-snorting stripper and Linda Nicoll as one-third of a three-headed monster. Kinetic sketch pair Madame Funnypants also performed admirably with theatrical meta-sketches about relationships and politics, including notable riffs on workplace romance and truly honest breakups.

But San Francisco-based quintet Uphill Both Ways proved that New York isn’t necessarily the comedy capitol of the world with its obscenely witty sketches on Citibank benefits, PBS nature shows and Schoolhouse Rock grammar lessons. Particularly for Bill Kelly’s portrayals of a vaguely homosexual, remarkably William Shatneresque Christ in “Jesus Comes of Age” and half of a wholly homosexual, somewhat home-repair obsessed duo in “Just Caulk It,” Saturday Night Live should come calling soon.

www.bigredcomedy.com

-Julie Seabaugh

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