Direct from Dry Bar Comedy… Don Friesen and Brad Upton!
If you missed Don Friesen‘s hilarious Showtime one-hour special, Ask Your Mom, you’ve got to catch him live at The Clayton Center. Engaging, clever and just flat-out funny, Don captures the irony of parenting, marriage and everyday absurdities through characters, voices, parodies and some of the best written routines around.
As the only two-time winner in the 41-year history of the prestigious San Francisco International Comedy Competition, Friesen ignites the stage with a playful, high-energy spoof of his life as a modern suburban dad trying to get through the day with a bit of money in the bank and a scrap of dignity intact. He’s a wanna-be geek who constantly upgrades to the latest tech, but can never get it to work, leading to signature bits about tech support, Idiots Guides, texting and passwords.
Friesen’s credits include Showtime, Live at Gotham, The Lewis Black Christmas Special, and Comics Unleashed. He was also featured in TBS’ The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and is a wildly popular on KLOS’ 5:00 Funnies, 100.3 The Sound’s Laughter at 45 After, and XM Sirius satellite radio.
Brad Upton was a 4th grade teacher and high school track coach when he stepped on stage for the very first time in September of 1984. He’s never looked back. He quickly rose through the standup ranks making numerous television appearances and headlining comedy clubs from coast-to-coast.
In September of 2018 Upton surpassed 6,000 lifetime performances. He is a past winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival and appeared at Caesar’s Palace as part of the HBO Comedy Festival. He has spent the last 12 years as the opening act for the legendary Johnny Mathis and did multiple shows all over the country with the late, great Joan Rivers.
Upton has also been seen in concert with The Smothers Brothers, Smokey Robinson, Little Big Town, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Lewis Black, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Pam Tillis, Neal McCoy and many others. He writes about everyday life, a long-term marriage and anything else that pops into his head. He packs more laughs-per-minute into his set than nearly anyone in the business.
We may not have fireworks, but we’re still going to have a blast this Fourth of July at The Clayton Center. The Malpass Brothers – favorite hometown boys from eastern North Carolina – will perform a virtual concert live from our stage beginning at 7:00 PM on Saturday, July 4. You can access the free livestream via Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/TheClaytonCenter/live).
How better to celebrate Independence Day than with a band that is as authentic as chopped pork barbecue and hush puppies and every bit as American as apple pie? With The Malpass Brothers you can count on classic country. Count on new Malpass tunes. Count on a couple of old-time traditional gospels. Most of all, count on a good time together at home with The Malpass Brothers.
The livestream is presented by The Clayton Center in collaboration with the NC Arts Council and Clayton Cultural Arts Foundation. This is a FREE event, but, in lieu of a ticket, we ask that you support The Malpass Brothers with a donation via PayPal at paypal.me/malpassbrothers.
As an added bonus, you can catch The Malpass Brothers in a second show on July 25 streamed by our friends at the Wake Forest Renaissance Center. For more information click here.
