I've been meaning to check out the free "Your Terrible Ex!" show at The Riot Theater for a few…read moremonths now. But it takes place at 10pm on a Friday night, and I tend to have to wake up early the next day. So what finally brought me out to this area of JP? A free ComedySportz Improv show courtesy of CSZ Boston and the Yelp Elite Culture Club. With ComedySportz at 8pm - 9:30pm (free for me that night only, otherwise $15 plus $1.50 fee) and Your Terrible Ex! from 10pm - 11:30pm (free all the time, whether for you or for me), I decided, yes, it was time. I would show up for the first, and just simply stay put for the 2nd. Being a girl arriving by myself, I drove by maybe 6-8 times before a driver magically appeared to get into the car situated right on the corner by The Riot Theater. I didn't want to park too long a walk away, although there were some spots maybe 3 blocks off on South Street. According to their website, The Riot Theater, is housed in A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra's storefront rehearsal space, and seeks to bring quality comedy to a part of Boston that has a wealth of support for the arts but little in the way of a regular comedy scene. ComedySportz was fun and entertaining, and entirely family friendly - but I knew this already from a past experience. Ideas were requested of the audience, so it was interactive and what I imagine improv to be - thinking on your feet with information that you have no control over. A myriad of games were played, each with its own name and rules, such as Pile Up, Dirty Hand Randy, Five Things, I Can Do Better, Four Corners, Twinsies (with actual physical audience participation) and 185. I found out that night for the first time that ComedySportz is not just a Boston Institution, but is located in 23 cities across the country, and even in Manchester, UK and Berlin, Germany! That was pretty cool. After the ComedySportz crowd (aka tonight's loyal fans) exited to high fives from our show's cast, a new group took over the space, removed the score screen, set up some folding chairs along the stage, and adjusted the audience's seating a bit. We were told that Your Terrible Ex! would start 5 min late as always. A single private bathroom was available for use, and concessions were available at a table by the entrance. As often happens at events, the headlining show was preceded by a pre-show. And this evening, the guest comedy troupe was The Gorge, a four person group. Perhaps I missed something, but I didn't remember any audience participation. They just flung themselves into acting out a number of situations that confused me and seemed to confuse their improv partners as well. After The Gorge were done, Naffy Improv took over the stage for Your Terrible Ex!, interviewing one eager audience volunteer about his ex with whom he and his current girlfriend (who had introduced them) were no longer friends with. Taking from the interview the fact that he'd gone to museums on dates with this art student ex, the cast ran with it and came up with a skit that took place in a museum. Swears and certain intimate body parts were tossed nilly willy. The scene from Ghost was reinacted to a degree. Children died. Wine was bought; then promptly broken over someone's head. Oregano was requested. Naffy did a bit better on the improv front. Professionally, both groups were a bit lacking, as they would react to each other's bits when as actors they should not have. But hey, it was a free show that runs on donations. Based on this one visit, my order of preference by sheer entertainment value would be: ComedySportz, Naffy, guest group. Background music beat through the wall from Jeanie Johnston Pub & Grill next door, where it was suggested that we could grab a quick shot since The Riot Theater didn't have anything alcoholic.

This review is for Riot Stand Up Comedy at the Riot Theater in Roslindale, Saturday night at 10pm…read more I would not recommend this comedy venue for anyone over the age of about 30. On this evening, the audience was made up of comics and friends and partners of comics, and then there was our group. It's a very small space, so we immediately stuck out. Initially we didn't find the host or the first couple of comics very funny, and we politely chuckled and smiled. As the night wore on, the comics seemed to take offense that we were not laughing, and took it as a personal challenge to "break" us down, until toward the end of the evening the entire focus was on us. The jokes also got more vulgar with one pointing to our group to see if we might want to try a couples swap. The last straw was the next comic who worked himself up to saying he wanted to blank us and we just walked out. I can understand that this is a venue for budding comics to try develop a craft, but this group of 20- and 30-somethings couldn't connect outside their own generation. Some jokes were mildly funny, but too many had obscure references and missing punch lines. Even more, most of them didn't grasp the basic concept of comedy--present your material and if it doesn't get a laugh, you move on rather than take offense and single out or bully people not laughing.

Came in expecting a few laughs and ended up laughing the whole night . Great atmosphere and…read morehilarious comics. Definitely recommend checking it out!

Very well run comedy experience! 1 musical opener (1 song), 2 comedic openers, and 1 comedic…read moreheadliner at the show I went to. I appreciate that every seat has some kind of table in front of it for food and drinks, definitely makes the experience more comfortable. The mobile ordered from your seat and delivery mid show is awesome too! Also a $4 cocktail (jungle juice) is pretty much unheard of these days. Great experience overall.

The Catalyst Comedy Club is located at the Boston Button Factory at 50 Melcher Street, which does…read morenot have a Yelp Profile at the time of this review. Neither did Boston's Unscripted Musical Project (B.U.M.P.), which is what I came to see. But I was feeling lazy and so I didn't start up a profile for either. I don't head over to the Seaport District much, particularly at night, but it was a short walk from South Station, and gave me the chance to check out Flour for dinner beforehand. Alternatively, Blue Dragon is right there on the corner of Melcher Street and A Street, bordering the same No Restaurant Parking as the Boston Button Factory. According to a gentleman I met, the nearby metered spot turned into permit parking after hours but there's $8 parking a short walk away at the Gillette lot - I think he meant the parking lot at 284 A Street. Looks like it is cash only and $5 on weekends. Some facts about the space - it is a raw space that they filled with folding chairs, there are stairs leading down into the space and a step to the single restroom, so take care if you are able bodied, and if you are not, I'm not sure you can get yourself into this basement space; doors open a half hour before show time; seating is general seating (aka first come first served); BYOB (within reason). A focus of the Catalyst Comedy Club is to enable local comedians to develop their talent locally, which is cool, and so, as such, there was an opening act before the BUMP feature act. And thus, my review moves on from the Catalyst Comedy Club to the performance... According to the introduction, the opening act had won a competition. I found that hard to believe, though I will admit that I did laugh out loud once. As I walked towards South Station with a couple after the show, I found them to be in agreement, so it wasn't just me. We did, however, enjoy BUMP's opening (and closing) production of "Superman's Underpants" as suggested by a boy located in the front row with his mom and siblings, and created on the spot with multiple acts and songs, with heroes and villains, with love and conflict and cats. Lots of cats. Sure, there was no finesse to the show, but that is to be expected, given the premise, though a few pauses were starting to get awkward. Through both performances, however, I noticed a theme of joking about disliking kids, which I found to be rather in poor taste given the three children seated right there, in the first row on the left. It was approximately half hour opening act, 1 hour BUMP. For more info: www.bumpcomedy.com. www.theatreinboston.com/theatre/boston-button-factory/8

On Saturday night, I checked out a preview show of Boston's Unscripted Musical Project (B.U.M.P.)…read moreat Catalyst Comedy Club (C3). The show was hilarious! Thanks to an audience suggestion, the title of the musical that was made up on the spot that night was "Tai Chi Sasquatch". All the lines & the songs were made up in the moment, not pre-planned. The cast included some Improv Boston & Improv Asylum former cast members, so they have the skills to make things up and still be funny & entertaining. After the musical, the cast added more performers and did some "freeze" scenes. It was a fun night out, and I look forward to seeing the future performances and performers that come to the "C3" space. The performance space is a former factory that hosts art shows during the day, so it's kind of a blank canvas to work with.

I was able to see Shear Madness with Yelp and wow what a treat!…read more The show is a murder mystery, and just absolutely phenomenal. The second half involves audience participation, but it's not mandatory if you're more on the shy side. The actors were incredible and very funny. They brought some modern twists and definitely some Boston jokes which I enjoyed. You will laugh a lot and have a great time trying to figure everything out. Overall, I think this would be a great show to see for locals and tourists alike. Perfect for a rainy day as well if you're in the area!

Shear Madness was frankly one of the shows that really surprised me in terms of quality and fun…read morethat the crew was able to bring out from their audiences. With around 80-100 seats, the show was pretty intimate and fun. I love how their performers were able to adjust to and roll with each audience's feedback...and many times, returned with even funnier responses. It does take a talented crew to be able to work together and do a bit of improv to keep the audiences highly engaged and I definitely thought the team of performers I saw did such a fantastic job that night. I honestly went in without much expectations but definitely came out really happy that I got to see thus show. Many audiences felt the same as well. P.S. restrooms are underground and behind the stage...so you may not be able to get in there until they start letting the audiences in. Also, they have a bar downstairs so you can enjoy your show with your fav drinks, too.

Great time, great show, every year it's a bit different as they play to the strengths of the…read moreactors. And where do you get to see a burlesque show these days!

Interesting show! Even though as a foreigner I didn't understand most of the jokes in the…read morebeginning...

A beautiful theater and we watched a fantastic performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child…read more Now as for the 2 hours and 50 minutes that we experienced in our crammed seats looking for a way to get comfortable but couldn't - that's when it wasn't fun. I won't say that I won't return to this theater but I've passed on going to other shows because of the seats. I just couldn't pass on Harry Potter!

This theatre is super pretty! Loved checking out all the intricate details. I went for The Cursed…read moreChild and was hoping to grab some Butter Beer but the lines were wild. However, they do have mobile ordering from your seat which was awesome, it just doesn't include any special features depending on what show you are there for. The downside is the seats are not very comfortable. I'm only 5' 5" and I can't imagine cramming in if you are much taller than that. Parking was also a nightmare, we totally should have found a garage a bit further away from the theatre. We parked at the closest one and it took FOREVER getting in there to give the car to valet. Do not recommend that!

I had the opportunity to check out Shakespeare on the Common w/a friend this past weekend, and it…read morewas wonderful! Lots of space/options to choose where to sit and view the play. Coincidentally, I was fortunate to see this year's show, Much Ado About Nothing, at Central Park's Delacorte Theater a few years ago and--it was a treat to see Boston's rendition this year. It was a perfect Boston summer evening (aka not totally roasting w/100% humidity, haha) & one of those nights when you think to yourself--I love this city. Moving forward, I'll be sure to try and check out the summer show each year--it's spectacular.

All that's mentioned in my prior review holds true, yet I had to update so you'd know the 2014…read morestaging of Twelfth Night has been CSC's best production in the past five years. There are four shows left. Catch one of them.

I attended on a weekday fyi…read more I am struggling between 3 and 4 stars. Let me just say I am a Friends fanatic since The Pilot originally aired. The Friends Experience has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. The location is great! The props are sooo fun. The sets were very close to the original. My daughter accompanied me, she isn't really a fan but a good daughter. Most of the employees seemed to enjoy their jobs and were willing to do retakes of photos and take cell phone photos. A couple seemed bored. My one request was to take the iconic peaking around the purple door photo but they wouldn't do it for us. That was my 3-star comment and maybe a little selfish. Lol but IYKYK right!? Anyway, highly recommend for any Friends fan. I enjoyed it very much.

Amazing Customer service! Sysy was very sweet! Very clean inside, such a great experience!read more