Poppy Champlin will lead the troupe of comics.
Poppy Champlin
It’s comedy spelled with a “Q” when the Queer Queens of Qomedy hosted by popular lesbian comedian Poppy Champlin head to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton for a New Year’s Eve filled with outrageous yucks from the mouths of some of the country’s best lesbian comics.
Show host and producer Champlin said her marketing efforts are directed at those “who are going to respond to me” referring to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. But that doesn’t mean others aren’t welcome.
“If straight people want to see the show, they should. We have some amazingly funny comedians on the bill for New Year’s Eve,” said Champlin.
A graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a degree in theater, Champlin went on to the Famed Chicago Second City Improv school. She has opened for such comics as Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Bill Maher, Bill Hicks and Rosie O’Donnell. Her club appearances are many and her stand-up has been seen on the Showtime special “Pride” and Logo special “One Night Stand-up.” She was the focus of a feature story on Entertainment Tonight, a winner on The Joan Rivers Show, and a panel guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen. Champlin is also a favorite on Atlantis and Olivia cruises.
When Champlin hit tinsel town, she continued to perform stand-up, as well as study acting at the Larry Moss studios and has since put up her critically acclaimed One Woman Show, “A Chocolate Sandwich.” She was a staff writer for FOX’s Show Me The Funny, and she wrote, starred in, and produced her character-driven comedy pilot called News You Can't Use.
But, while Champlin’s star may be rising now, it wasn’t always that way.
She didn’t “come out” as a comedian until the year 2000, in her personal life while in college. “Since I came out, the LGBT community has welcomed me with open arms and I’ve been working ever since.
Still, Champlin felt a sense of frustration because she wanted to perform in bigger theaters. “The days of going on Lettermen or Carson and then becoming a star are over. So, I didn’t know how to get my star bigger, other than getting my own network sitcom,” said Champlin.
So, she put together a show with other comedians and was booked into a larger theater nearly selling it out. As a result, the Queer Queens of Qomedy was born and the rest is history.
Joining Champlin in Northampton for her lesbian and transgender comedy revue will be fellow queens Michele Balan, transgender comedian Ian Harvie, and Greenfield comic Cindy Foster.
“When Poppy sent me a message that she wanted to add me to the show for 10 minutes, I was just blown away. I am more than thrilled to have this amazing opportunity to perform at the Calvin on New Year’s Eve,” said Foster.
The Greenfield comedian has done stand up at Divas night club in Northampton and is the co-star and producer of the local GCTV improv comedy show Stanley and Bubba. She is the lead comic and founder of the annual Karen J. Marquis Memorial Comedy Jam and lives with her partner and three children.
“I will definitely be talking about my life, just awkward moments that everyone can relate to. A lot of my stories are coming of age stuff with a lesbian flair. I make fun of myself more than anything, but I do bring my mom in a little and she’s a good sport about it. So, I’m definitely an observational comic,” said Foster.
Foster said people have been asking her if she’s scared to be playing in a larger venue such as the Calvin.
“I tell them, ‘not really.’ This has certainly been my secret passion my whole life (doing comedy) and I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh. I feel very comfortable on stage and I know that the people coming to our show on New Year’s Eve want to laugh and be entertained, so I’m psyched,” said the Greenfield soccer mom.
Born in Portland, Maine, transgender comic Harvie honed his comedy skills at comedy clubs there and in Boston. After moving to the West Coast in early 2006, he began to produce and appear in his own self-titled, critically lauded “The Ian Harvie Show,” which has been running since April 2007 at the famed music and comedy club, Largo, in Los Angeles. He tours his one-man stand up comedy show titled “Superhero” around the country, which was also filmed as a one-hour special for television.
Lesbian Balan was one of the finalists on NBC’s “The Last Comic Standing” and was ‘The Last Woman Comic Standing.’ She has appeared on the Joy Behar Show, Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, and the OUTlaugh Festival on MTV’s LOGO. Balan headlines across the country at comedy clubs, corporate events, cruises and more.