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The N Crowd
Categories: Performing Arts, Comedy Clubs [Edit]
The Actors Center257 N 3rd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 253-4276
- Hours:
Fri. 7:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- None
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
4 reviews for The N Crowd
You can't beat improv for 10 bucks a ticket!
Unfortunately there were only a few standout performers. You wanted the select few to be onstage more, cause it was definitely hit or miss with the others.
The host for the evening was great, funny in his own right, and kept the night flowing with ease! The evening was topped off by having our Philadelphia vaca acted out for us in improv format. Sweet.
It's not so much that the group on stage weren't trying. It's probably not even that some of them aren't individually funny. But....I think you can probably guess where this review is going.
I feel mean giving one star, something that I've never done before, but the evening I attended was painfully unfunny. It was very much "Who's Line Is It Anyway?". Without the comedy.
For example, it must be very hard to impersonate Sacha Baron Cohen (in the "party" game) if you have no idea who he is, like one of the performers. Similarly hilarious was "Thinks-Everyhting's-On-Fire Woman" in the superhero game; impersonating a fire-hose for five minutes must have been grating even for her (though this wasn't really her fault as it was assigned to her by another member of the troupe). One of the other games involved dividing the stage up into thirds and assigning an emotion to each third so the improvisers would have to change emotion as they moved around the stage. Of all the suggestions from the audience, the host managed to choose "happy", "sad" and "euphoric". The changeovers (or lack thereof) from happy to euphoric were particularly hard to watch. Apparently they had assigned "suicidal" to the audience without telling us.
That's not to say that some people weren't laughing. No, some people were laughing uproariously. Even when nobody on stage was saying anything. You know, maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe I'm just a grump. Or maybe I'd forgotten to take my NMDA-enhancing pharmaceuticals before arriving. Which actually brings me to another point: there's no bar. I'm almost certain that this could have been pushed to two stars if they'd let me drink my way through it.
Honestly, I'm hoping I saw the N-Crowd on a bad night and that it was an off-performance. Maybe every other night they're captivating and hilarious. If you want to chance it, have $10 you won't miss and are all caught up on house-work, laundry, alphabetizing the contents of your larder and anything else that could fruitfully occupy two hours, go and see the N-crowd! (But don't forget to come back here and leave a nice review if you enjoyed it.)
I have seen the N Crowd somewhere around 12 times, and they are always funny. Of course some nights are better than others, but that always depends on the size of the audience and the audience's willingness to give suggestions. The cast themselves are always hilarious and work really hard to entertain. I went to the Halloween show the other night, and the whole cast was dressed as characters from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I have somehow never seen this movie, but I still thought their costumes were awesome. (One cast member was dressed as the Ferrari, one as the random Gummy Bear-distributing girl from the credits, one as the water tower...) Anyway, the skits themselves were fantastic. My friends and I were in pain by the end from laughing so much. Especially interesting and funny was the final skit, which was an improv free-for-all. Awesome. Anyway, if you want to do something different, cheap, and fun on a Friday night, check out the N Crowd. I assure you you will have a great time and want to come back again.
This was a really great time. EVERY Friday night at 8PM, they do their short-form improv comedy show. I was laughing the whole time. Tickets are only $10 and the show is nearly two hours long! The time flies because you will be having fun.
The theater space they currently use is on the second floor of the Actors Studio on Third Street. It is a small space with about 38 chairs. The AC was running constantly so the space was kept nice and chilled while the performance was going on.
Jokes and wit come at you at 100 miles per hour. The energy and ingenuity of this group is absolutely outstanding. If you're a newcomer to improv, the short-form style (or improv games) are what make up this performance on Fridays. So, if you've seen "Who's Line is it Anyway" on TV, you'll kind of know what's going on. But that's not really important, because improv is about being spontaneous! They also do long-form, but at different times.
Afterwards, you're most likely to find the cast getting drinks and some food at Charlie's Pub just down the street around 10:30 PM.
Check their website for show times, other events, and to order tickets in advance. However, you can always buy them at the door.
Specialties
The N Crowd specializes in short form improv comedy. Our show involves audience participation. Be prepared to shout out suggestions every 3 to 5 minutes at our show. We may even pull you up on stage to help us out with something. (Fair warning... we usually pick the people who are pointing at other people.)
History
Established in 2005
The N Crowd was started by Philadelphia local, Ray Reese in 2005. The first N Crowd show took place in April of that year at 213 New Street in Old City. Eventually the show moved to the Society Hill Playhouse for several months before finally settling at the Actors Center for it's weekly shows. As of early 2009, The N Crowd has performed over 300 times in the Philadelphia area. Besides performing weekly on Fridays, The N Crowd is also available for performances at other events. We have performed at Ursinus College, Eastern University, The Renaissance Academy, Fergie's Pub, Bethlehem's First Night, the Philly Fringe Festival in 2005, 2007, 2008, and all 4 years of the Philadelphia Improv Festival.
We pride ourselves on our high energy show with heavy audience participation. We hope you can come out and see our show soon.
Meet the Manager: B.J. E.
Well hey, I'm just one of the many face you will see on stage at The N Crowd but I'm usually the person you talk to when you call. The N Crowd is very much a group effort with everyone coming together to produce the weekly show you see. There is no single person who is the keystone to our operation. Everyone contributes a little something in order to make this a great show.
If you order tickets online and there's a problem, give us a ring. I'll do my best to resolve any problems you may have.
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