{"id":472996,"date":"2026-09-23T11:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/472996\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:24:13","slug":"its-five-broken-brains-the-groundlings-long-running-crazy-uncle-joe-show-keeps-saying-yes-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/472996\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s five broken brains\u2019: The Groundlings\u2019 long-running \u2018Crazy Uncle Joe Show\u2019 keeps saying ‘Yes, and…’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After taking a suggestion from the audience, Jordan Black and Roy Jenkins begin an improvised scene in which they are playing two exterminators whose jobs are their identity. It plays out for just enough time to establish character, the stakes and relationship before another member of the cast sharply claps from the sidelines, abruptly ending the scene to create a new one from scratch that riffs off the revealed details.<\/p>\n

The rest of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show\u201d unravels as a barrage of rapid-fire ad libs that makes the 90-minute improv show feel like a comedic sprint. The number of storylines begin to stack up by the second, but it\u2019s no one\u2019s job to remember them all.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone remembers enough,\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast member Jordan Black of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

For the last 25 years, the cast \u2014 Black, Jenkins, Ted Michaels, Stephanie Courtney, Brian Palermo (when he flies in from Seattle) and a couple of rotating guest performers from the Groundlings \u2014 has hit the stage to perform the longest-running long-form improv show in L.A. every Wednesday at 8 p.m.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s five broken brains,\u201d added Courtney.<\/p>\n

But the cast (known as \u201cJoes\u201d) never envisioned it becoming a staple of the L.A. comedy scene \u2014 they just wanted to make one another laugh.<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast member Stephanie Courtney of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI will not do a show unless I think it\u2019s got 25 years in it,\u201d joked Michaels.<\/p>\n

Throughout the years, the format has stayed the same: They take three suggestions from the audience, create new scenes and build on it from the initial ideas. Originally the Joes would go for 90 minutes straight, but sometime during its 25 year run, they decided to split it into two acts.<\/p>\n

There have been times when they get bored and want to try something different and change it, but they always end up having a bad show that takes them back to the original concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to offer a change that was not specific, but it was an evolution,\u201d Palermo said, zooming from home. \u201cWe just became a lot faster, so each individual scene goes so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast member Ted Michaels of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually when people get 25 years older, the show goes slower,\u201d Michaels quipped.<\/p>\n

After the number of shows they\u2019ve performed, the Joes remain committed because of the amount of joy that comes from performing with each other. Even when they are off stage, the cast gets along and their collaboration goes far beyond the stage \u2014 they\u2019re just really good friends who enjoy each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

Right after the interview, they grabbed lunch as a group. They\u2019ve even created traditions like \u201cFakesgiving,\u201d their Thanksgiving celebration two weeks before the holiday. And then they spent more than 90 minutes, including a dress rehearsal, exchanging quips and creating characters.<\/p>\n

Some of those shows begin to blur into one another, to the point that sometimes the Joes make references to the rehearsal during the show, hoping it will get a big laugh from the audience, but to no avail.<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast member Roy Jenkins of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no money in this,\u201d Black said. \u201cWe show up every week and go through traffic and all that because it\u2019s so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Holly Mendel, the creator of the show, put the cast together, she wanted to construct an ensemble that could play together based on who they were offstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people who are easy to get along with, who are flexible, and it has been proven she was a good judge of that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe still enjoy each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chemistry can be hypnotic, Chase Rosenberg said. The member of the Groundlings main company has made guest appearances throughout the year with the Joes, sometimes catching themselves watching in admiration and forgetting they were in the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so connected, and it\u2019s so fun to be a part of it and they\u2019re always very gracious and giving in their performance too,\u201d Rosenberg said. \u201cThey have been doing it for so long that they have a shorthand, if you don\u2019t get your words out fast enough, they\u2019ve sped past onto a million other ideas,\u201d <\/p>\n

Part of that shorthand has been knowing what caricatures come second nature for specific cast members.<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast members Stephanie Courtney and Jordan Black perform on Sept. 9 in \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show,\u201d an improv show at the Groundlings Theater on their 25th year anniversary.<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer\/For The Times)<\/p>\n

Courtney does great old ladies and whining teens, Michaels plays great curmudgeons and Palermo is great at space work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe handsome one, I\u2019d probably get that,\u201d Black half-jokingly said.<\/p>\n

But their range goes far beyond their strengths. The moment a cast member introduces someone as an octogenarian Russian patriarch, they know exactly what to do and the rest of the cast will follow along.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the great things about all these players is I know I can cast them as anything,\u201d Michaels said. \u201cThey can be a little kid, they can be an old man, I can\u2019t stump you guys as far as casting you in the scene and that\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spending 25 years of their lives \u201cyes, and-ing\u201d has also come with lessons that have helped the Joes offstage.<\/p>\n

\"Cast <\/p>\n

Cast members Ted Michaels, Roy Jenkins, Stephanie Courtney and Jordan Black of \u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crazy Uncle Joe Show\u201d has helped Black be a good listener in life, heightening his awareness of the world around him. It\u2019s helped Jenkins show sympathy toward people\u2019s different perspectives and Palermo remain focused. Michaels has learned to let go of things, a sentiment that\u2019s shared by Courtney.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I come to the theater and feel I need to laugh tonight in that gross way, I just say to myself, before I go on stage, I\u2019m going to make my scene partner look good,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that changes the nerves or whatever bad mood or the rest of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can the laughs continue another 25 years?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about that all the time because I\u2019m 64 and so 25 years ago when we started, I was 39,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cAnd to think, will I do another 25 years, does anyone want to see an 89-year-old man on stage, because that\u2019s how we\u2019ll be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m already laughing,\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After taking a suggestion from the audience, Jordan Black and Roy Jenkins begin an improvised scene in which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1864,186065,43632,186067,186068,186063,186062,48,52,51,47,50,49,592,186066,1860,3239,186064,186061,430,72],"class_list":["post-472996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-audience","tag-brian-palermo","tag-cast","tag-crazy-uncle-joe-show","tag-improvised-scene","tag-joes","tag-jordan-black","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-people","tag-roy-jenkins","tag-show","tag-stage","tag-stephanie-courtney","tag-ted-michaels","tag-week","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}