Wow. That’s all I can say. Okay, who are we kidding, I am going to say a lot more than that. “The Luck of the Irish,” our St. Patrick’s Day show at Jammin’ Java, was a roaring success but, more importantly, a fantastic night of stories.
Adam Ruben started out the night with a story about his unique approach to elementary school field day. It was a great story to warm up the audience because there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, from all the laughing. Katie Kelly talked about penguins. Well, more like penguinos (apparently an irresistible dessert in Honduras) and how they almost led her to a violent and sudden death.
Better Said Than Done then welcomed first time teller Carlos Escobar. No one would have known from his story that he was a first time teller. He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand and even did a little strip-tease for us!
Anna Marie told us why she spent an entire summer carrying around a stuffed dog named Hairy Ball. Mel Harkrader Pine took us on an emotional journey that led, in the end, to a 20 year wedding anniversary. Stephanie Garibaldi proved that she is either the unluckiest or the luckiest person in the world with three (yes 3!) harrowing tales of survival under crazy circumstances.
John Tong, who is an old hat at public speaking but a first timer with Better Said Than Done, taught us a few things about playing the odds in his seamy tale of Vegas gambling and yes, love. And Jessica Piscitelli wrapped the night up with a story about how marathon running and a crappy dating history conspired to bring her love and self acceptance.
All in all, “Luck” meant a lot of different things to our storytellers and we covered a full gamut of topics. It was another excellent show by a talented group of storytellers!
Last but not least, I just need to say an extra special thank you to the blonde photographer, Jaime Windon, who was in the audience at the show and snapped these fantastic photos just because she’s awesome like that. Check out her diverse portfolio (as in photos from Kenya, Mexico, Chicago, and yes, even NJ) at www.theblondephotographer.com
Videos to follow soon!
