LOL WITH IT: "The Monthly Hour" with James Hesky

James Hesky talks about PHIT's "The Monthly Hour," a must-see current-events-mocking sketch show that occurs on the last Monday of every month.

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LOL WITH IT: "The Monthly Hour" with James Hesky

POSTED: Friday, July 27, 2012, 12:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy LOL With It

James Hesky has been helming "The Monthly Hour" at Philly Improv Theater since February, when Chip Chantry retired his "One Man Show (with Special Guests)." In addition to Hesky, Philly comedy-faves Jim Grammond, Darryl Charles, Mary Radzinski, Pat House and Mikey Gleason write and perform a mix of current-events-mocking and hilarious characters for each show, which occurs the last Monday of every month.

Says Hesky, "It's been a lot of fun to work on it. It’s basically an excuse for me to work with some of the funniest people in the city. I get to meet and exchange emails with a group of comedians trying to find a way to take current events and make them funny. Then after the show is over we throw it all away and start fresh."

The Monthly Hour crew writes about half of the show — about 25 minutes of material every month — and has guests on for the other half.

"It wouldn’t work without the mix of people that we have. Mikey is amazing at editing and directing our video sketches. Mary came up with this great character “the Advisor” (pictured right with Hesky) who gives awful advice with way more confidence than any person should have. Darryl is the best actor out of all of us by far, and Jim and Pat have really helped with monologue jokes and shaping our sketches. It’s just a great group."

Every episode of The Monthly Hour starts with a video sketch that takes place in their writer’s room, followed by a monologue and a slideshow segment called “visual aids.” After that, they'll usually perform a topical sketch before bringing out their guest. Some guests they've had include Tommy Pope (who just got accepted into the Montreal Comedy Festival), Chip Chantry, Alex Grubard, Luke Cunningham, David James, Doogie Horner, John McKeever, and Roger Weaver. This Monday they'll have Aaron Hertzog, Christian Alsis (of The Feeko Brothers) and award-winning storyteller Juliet Hope Wayne.

"I’m also very excited that this fall we’re going to bringing on Tim Butterly as a new writer and cast member. He’s newer to the Philly comedy scene but he’s one of the most talented guys in the city right now and we’re all really happy to be working with him."

Tickets are $10, or $5 with the password that they announce a few days before the show on the group's Facebook event page and on PHIT’s twitter account. Your ticket to The Monthly Hour also gets you into Aaron Hertzog’s standup showcase “Hey Everybody!” at 10pm immediately following the show.

Have something funny you want to share with the author? Email him at ryan.carey@citypaper.net or tweet him @slackerdiytoday.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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