New Laughs

Despite the half-filled bars and the departure of Stanford and Sons,
comedy flourishes in Westport. Better still, it’s of the low-price,
off-the-cuff variety, with ComedyCity running its competitive improv
shows Thursday through Saturday at the Westport Flea Market (817
Westport Road) and a parade of ambitious local troupes exploring the
possibilities of extemporaneous scenes and stories Fridays and
Saturdays in the basement of the Westport Coffee House (4050
Pennsylvania). Tonight, WCH hosts new group Anomaly Orange,
featuring members of Lawrence’s Hypothetical Seven, in a show similar
to the one Tantrum has been killing with for a year or so. A monologist
— in this case, Clay Morgan, of Loaded Dice and ComedyCity fame
— tells true stories based on an audience suggestion, and then
the improvisers launch from there with short scenes, leaping from real
life into the unknown. Member Jen Harmon can’t predict what kind of
scenes those will be, but she promises they’ll move: “We have a couple
yoga people, a former modern dancer, and a couple guys who will just
fling themselves all over the stage. This is not ‘stand still and talk’
improv.” The show costs $5 and starts at 7 p.m. Also performing: Rubber
Biscuits.

Thu., May 28, 7 p.m., 2009