His Really Talented Musical Improv Troupe is Back to Take Your Requests

Last summer I attended a performance from Jonah Platt's (C'08, Off the Beat) One Night Stand Musical troupe. (he's the one in the white t-shirt, tie and hat above)

Not only was I blown away at how talented these kids were, but how quick they were to create an hour long musical based on a few words the audience suggested.

They are now back in LA this summer doing 5 weeks of shows before they head to NYC for the New York Musical Theater Festival this fall.

Check out their website for more information: http://www.onenightstandmusical.com/

And if you live in LA, get tickets HERE to see their show!
Thu, Jul 23 - Sat, Aug 22
Thurs, Fri 8 pm
Sat 8 pm and 9:30 pm

HALF-Off Advance Purchase:
Use Promo Code: musical


Get a taste of the talent here with these recent clips of Jonah and the ONS company below:

"Carpe Diem"

Carpe Diem (the show is called "Riding Weekend")-- it's only the 2nd scene of the show. After watching "the saddest news program on tv," two friends Dave and Roger decide they want to start living their lives to the fullest.


"Pot It In The Box"

The above show is called "the night that changed my life" -- my character, Billy, a young boy, has been pushed throughout the musical by his father and neighbor to grow up and become responsible, but all he wants to do is stay young and imagine things and play with his imaginary friend Peter. In the show's climactic scene, Maturity comes to Billy one night and tells him that if he wants to be mature enough to be with the girl from next door, whom he loves, then he needs to put Peter away for good, and "pop it in the box." (this was also the name of the audience-suggested song title that we had to sing).

Check out other Penn comedians HERE

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This TV Writer Is Putting the Show in Showbizzle.com

What happens when you graduate from Penn, have a hot TV spec that catches the attention of ABC, ..and then the writer's strike happens?!

You partner with your successful Hollywood father to create an entertaining and informative website for other creative types to join and network on.

Lindsey Rosin (C'07, The Excelano Project, The Writers House, Kappa Alpha Theta) has joined forces with her father Charles Rosin (Executive Producer of Beverly Hills 90210 for the first five seasons) to create www.showbizzle.com , a new form of internet entertainment that combines daily updates of original, scripted video content with a social network aimed at emerging actors, writers, directors, fans of the biz – basically anyone with a computer who is looking for some fun entertainment.


Other Penn alumni friends have worked with Lindsey on showbizzle; Gabe Laskin (C'05, Mask and Wig) and Spencer Crawford (W'05, Mask and Wig), both have appeared as actors on the site (Gabe even has one of the three leads). Joey Power (C'06), Stacey Lloyd (C'06), Reg Tigerman (C'07, Mask and Wig) and Jonah Platt (C'08, Off the Beat) all wrote different characters for showbizzle as well.


Per Lindsey,

"The website serves as the daily blog of our fictitious blogger and main character, Janey. She hangs out at her favorite coffee place listening to old friends and new acquaintances, from all strata of Hollywood, confide intimate details about their career ambitions; creative aspirations, pipe dreams, hook ups, romantic liaisons, embarrassing day jobs, galvanizing moments, personal quests, major revelations, unexpected characters and narrative twists – you know, the basic personal and professional stuff that typifies what it's like to be young and in Los Angeles in 2008."

Lindsey sums up the site in 4 points:...+/-

1) Entertainment: it is a social entertainment website that streams scripted two-minute vignettes – updated on a daily basis – these vignettes are centered around the lives of twenty-somethings as they live and work in Hollywood.

2) Community: By joining our site, users can create their own profiles and submit their own videos and blog entries to tell their own stories – as well as comment on our scripted entertainment content, which will influence future story lines.

3) Insider information: Ever wonder what it really takes to make it in Hollywood? showbizzle also offers career advice and insider info via video-taped conversations between showbizzle writer/executive producer Charles Rosin and various Hollywood types. The one thing we can assure you about the 170 videos we will be posting on the showbizzle website this fall is that each vignette feels authentic and different from virtually everything else you can currently find on the world wide web.

4) In addition users will be encouraged to send in videos and blog entries and allow the community to determine their favorites. The winners will then be brought to Hollywood and be involved with the professional production of showbizzle when we go back into production in early 2009,” Charles said.  Lindsey adds, “For some people, it might be an incredible opportunity and a big break -- the amount of exposure available on the internet is endless and that is so priceless to a young talent who is just starting out on their career and trying to break through.”

Find out how Lindsey got her start as a writer, & what she wrote at Penn which led to her selling a pilot pitch idea to ABC.

More of my posts about Penn alumni websites



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Website Wednesdays: Media Maven Musings

In addition to singing well and being the creator of a popular improvised musical troupe, add "blogger" to Jonah Platt's (C'08, Off the Beat Musical Director) list of achievements.

Started in January of 2007, Jonah's site Media Maven Musings offers trustworthy, humorous and Penn-educated (wink) opinions on all things tv/film/music related. The site has had nearly 100,000 unique views since its inception, and has been linked to from dozens of sites around the web, including USAToday, Showtime.com, and many more.

Check out Jonah's site here

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A musical about a Mental Hospital, Geri Curls, and Matzah Ball Soup

Last week I posted about "One Night Stand", the improv musical group that Jonah Platt (C'08, Off the Beat) started seven years ago.

With video camera in hand, I ventured down to see his show last Saturday night with Kiera Reilly (C'93) and we both had a fantastic time!

Jonah came out at the beginning of the show and asked the audience for a bunch of words which they then weaved into a FULL hour's musical performance! A full hour! With an accompanying pianist and an actual story arc! And all of this improv! They were making up songs and lyrics on the spot!

The words that were muttered from the audience from the show I saw included "Mental Hospital", "Geri Curls" and "Matzah Ball Soup". It was exciting sitting in the audience watching this talented troupe work together and weave an entertaining story on the fly before our very eyes. The story which resulted was about a woman admitted to a mental hospital and forced to take pills all day long.

Click here to watch their performance of "We All Take Pills"
(Jonah is the guy swinging his arms in the video)

The protagonist's one true love then gives up his transsexual(!) lover and goes after her. ...This resulted in a very funny scene in which Jonah and 2 fellow performers sang a cleverly improvised song comparing sexual preference to having both the lemonade and ice tea in an Arnold Palmer drink.

Click here to watch this funny "Arnold Palmer" scene

Check out the "One Night Stand" website

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Talent & Involvement run deep in this Penn family

Jonah Platt (C'08) is quite the renaissance man.

Not only can Jonah sing well, and not only is he the musical director of Off the Beat, but he started and sustained an improvised musical troupe "One Night Stand" for the past 7 years (with a show in Los Angeles this week!). Talk about being involved!

...Not a big surprise, considering he comes from an involved family of Penn alumni (his mother Julie Platt (C'79) is a University Trustee and his father Marc Platt (C'79, Glee Club) is a Hollywood executive and Broadway Producer).

Jonah tells me that at his shows the audience makes up the name of a musical ("Mongoose Diaries," "Thundercats in Love," "They Came From My Mother" and "Walk of Shame" are a few recent ones) and the troupe then makes up a cohesive hourlong musical right on the spot. Per Jonah, "We make up the music, the lyrics, the dances, the dialogue-- everything completely improvised with nothing pre-planned or rehearsed."

Check out this "Walk of Shame" clip from their performance at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Jonah is the one lying on the floor and sings at minute 3)

Jonah will be performing their group's international (60 min.) hit show, One Night Stand, at the Hudson Guild Theater in LA this week on January 10 (8pm), 11 (8pm) and 12 (8pm and 10 pm). (6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038). Running Time: 60 minutes, Tickets: $15.00. To make reservations (323) 960-5773.

(I'll be there at the Saturday 8 pm show)

Their group then performs at the Dirty South Improv Festival in Chapel Hill, NC in February, then back to Edinburgh Scotland for the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they made their debut last summer.

Click here to learn more about how Jonah started this group and some of the big name backers to his show.

Check out the "One Night Stand" website

Click to see what other 2008 Penn undergrads are up to

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Off the Beat rocks "Snakes on a Plane"

I just discovered this video from a past Off the Beat performance

Check out Off the Beat's great rendition of "Snakes on a Plane" and the excellent solos from Will Green (C'09), Rina Goncalves (C'07) and Jonah Platt (C'08). Some great voices here...

Click here to watch them perform

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