An Interview with Johnny DiLoretto about Mooch and Pinsky

Mooch and Pinsky: The Shocking Story of Two Comedy Legends will be performed at Shadowbox Live on Tuesday July 21st at 8pm. Tickets are $5 and are available @ www.shadowboxlive.org or at the door. Johnny DiLoretto was kind enough to answer a few questions from Colin G. about the show.

CG) You and Jimmy Mak go way back. Do you remember when you first met and what was the first idea you guys performed together in front of an audience?

JD) Yes, absolutely I remember the first time I met Jimmy. How could I forget? He was sporting one of those Michael Jackson red-leather Thriller jackets, a spiked mullet, and no pants. Hard to shake, really.

Jimmy and I were best friends and creative collaborators through high school and college and we made a hundred silly video sketches, but until Mooch and Pinsky, we'd never performed an entire show - that we conceived of - together on stage. This is kind of a silly dream come true. 

CG) Can you give a brief rundown on what Mooch and Pinsky is all about? 

JD) The basic idea behind the show is a theatrical mockumentary. Kind of like This is Spinal Tap, but done live on stage and about a comedy duo instead of a heavy metal band. Mooch and Pinsky were a 1950's comedy nightclub act that hit it big in Hollywood. They made three of the greatest comedy movies of the 60's then vanished. The show is a search for the answer to their mysterious disappearance - and also an excuse for me and Jimmy to dress in drag a couple times...

CG) So at what point did Mooch and Pinsky transform from an idea that sounded good after eleven cocktails to "Let's really do this thing?" Was there one moment when the idea became a reality?

JD) This is exactly the kind of idea Jimmy and I would have had when we were 19. We were drinking one night and kicking around the idea of doing a live mockumentary. Once we settled on that it was just a matter of figuring out the subject. Being Steubenville boys, we thought Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis seemed like a good jumping off point. 

CG) How difficult was it to decide on the names Mooch and Pinsky? Were there other names in the running?

JD) HA - great question. I think we sat around one evening and spent the better part of the night drinking and tossing around names. We wanted one Italian name and one Jewish name. Then we just started throwing them at each other until we started laughing. There were certainly other names in the running. Probably Poppatoozi and Bergman; Nippoli and Klein; Frappatelli and Gould... You get the picture. 

CG) How did you decide who got to be Mooch and who got to be Pinsky?

JD) We just kind of fell naturally into those two parts. The smooth Italian singer turned comedian fell to me; and the wound-up goofball went to Jimmy. But somewhere along the line they both turned ridiculous.  

CG) Does the show change each time you do perform or does it stay pretty close to your original draft? 

JD) This is only the second time we've ever done it. There are only a few tweaks between this and the first performance. But we love the idea. And plan to keep working on it to see where it goes. 

CG) Without giving away too much, do you have a personal favorite moment in the show that people should keep an eye out for?

JD) I definitely think drag turned out to be a surprise highlight of the show. There's a fun "interview" with Mooch's parents with me as the Italian mom that's a lot of fun. But later both of us play a pair of dancing sisters who used to open for Mooch and Pinsky and that bit gets out of hand pretty quickly.  

CG) Do you and Jimmy have any future/bigger plans for Mooch and Pinsky or do you take it on a show by show basis?

JD) A part of the show consists of seeing "clips" from the three Mooch and Pinsky films. We tried to make them look like zany B-comedies from the 60's, but we didn't have the time or resources to pull them off exactly like we wanted. I think that element of the show has a lot of potential -- seeing scenes from the movies, maybe old interviews with the duo, or seeing video from their live TV show, The Milk of Magnesia Comedy Hour.....

Truth be told, midway through writing this show last year we thought it might be a little too out there, but the audience got the concept and loved the characters. Some people even thought they were a real comedy team! So, I think the plan is to just keep pushing the concept forward and see how far we can take it. 

CG) Thanks for answering my questions and best of luck to Mooch and Pinsky.

JD) Thanks Colin! We appreciate the chance to shamelessly promote the show. By the way, tickets are only $5, so if it's abysmal just order a pizza. 

Jimmy Mak Wrote This The Morning After 9/11. You Can Read It Today.

Message: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

I was supposed to be at work at 8:30 for a meeting, a meeting I had called, a meeting I was in charge of, a meeting … I had completely forgotten about. I sauntered into the office at nine and casually headed to my desk. My fellow manager immediately gave me grief about the meeting and how this kind of thing simply can not happen. “Shit!” Not a good way to start off the morning. 

At 9:15 I was hard at work, a little depressed that people had come in early counting on me and I had let them down. Suddenly, I heard some talk outside the office of a plane that had hit one of the twin towers at the world trade center. It didn’t mean anything to me. I immediately thought, “Jesus, that sucks,” but thought of it in the same way I would about a car crash I hear on the news. I couldn’t believe I missed that stupid meeting. I kept working.

Someone suddenly called out, “Hey man, you should come listen to this.” I walked out of my office and saw staff members sitting there, listening to the radio. Another plane had hit the other tower. Then we heard that a plane hit the Pentagon. Then a plane crashed outside of Pittsburgh, PA. My eyes started darting back and forth. What the hell? We … we were under attack. Today. No warning. I caught myself looking up for no reason. What the hell was going on? One of the towers collapsed. Then the other one. People dead. Twin towers … gone. We all just … just sat there. Impotent.
I expected the attacks to go on all day, but they didn’t. Four planes. The rest were accounted for. Hours went by. It was over. 

My wife and I work together and at about three in the afternoon we took a walk outside. Just to … to get away from the madness. We walked to one of the benches that outlined a fountain in the town square. The fountain was a large square on ground level where water would randomly spurt out at different places. Parents would always bring their children there in bathing suits and let them play. Today it was empty except for one older gentleman, easily in his late sixties, and he was walking a little girl, who looked to be about three, through the fountain. Every time the water spurt, the little girl would laugh-scream and the older man would quicken his step until they were safe outside the square. Then they would turn around and head back toward the danger, he walking right behind her, she reaching up and holding his fingers so as not to fall.

My wife closed her body into mine and rested her head on my shoulder. The sky was perfect blue, dark and bright at the same time, comic book blue. And the yellows and reds and greens of the surrounding buildings made everything a cartoon. Trees rustled peacefully and I closed my eyes, listening to the sudden sounds of water splashing and a small girl laughing and with my wife in my arms, I thought, “Everything is perfect.” 

Then I heard a new sound and when I opened my eyes I saw a plane in the sky and my heart started beating faster and I just froze, watching the white streak stain a scar across the sky and the sadness overwhelmed me because I knew. It was all different now. Everything was different.

Jimmy Mak is the head writer for Shadowbox Live, the largest resident theater company in America. Learn More at Shadowboxlive.org

What's Bobby Brown's Name Again? - by Jimmy Mak

I recently heard "Don't Be Cruel" by Bobby Brown on I guess what would be called the Oldies station now. Anyway, it got me thinking – what is Bobby Brown’s obsession with his own name? For those of you who don’t know who Bobby Brown is … I envy you. God, how I envy you. Anyway, he was the old New Edition kid who went on to have a string of crappy pop tunes in the late ‘80s. And in almost every one of these crappy pop tunes he mentions his name. I mean, this guy REALLY wants to make sure you know what it is. It’s Bobby. Brown.

It starts off kind of subtle really. In the song (can we really call it that?) cleverly entitled Humpin’ Around, he lets us know “My name is Brown, that’s what I’m called.” OK. Got it. No big deal really. I mean, I already knew his name was Brown but little reminders never hurt anyone. (If you actually have been hurt by a little reminder I apologize for misspeaking.)

Then we move to the more popular Don’t be Cruel where he states “… to be with me, Bobby B.” OK, so he’s using the first letter of his last name to represent his last name (which if you missed it before is Brown.) I won’t fault him that. He also tells the girl to whom he’s singing “Now you know my name …” Now, if she didn’t know his name before, that means she never really knew him, and that means he’s acting like a psycho-stalker and she has every right to be cruel.

OK, you’re thinking, “yeah, he’s a little weird about his name, so what?” Well that brings us to the song Every Little Step. Forget the fact that he dresses like Olivia Newton-John in the video and basically does the Electric Slide the entire time. Instead let’s focus on the “rap” section of the song (and I apologize to 50 Cent for using the word “rap” to describe what Mr. Brown does here.) Right away he gives us an order. He tells us “When I’m on the mic, don’t you dare call me Freddy.” Now, I wasn’t going to call him Freddy, were you? Was anybody? Does he have some nemesis who knows that his weakness, his Kryptonite, is being called Freddy while he’s on the mic? We don’t have time in the song to ponder this too much because he then goes right into “My name is Brown.” So we’re forgetting the first name here and going for the tougher sounding moniker of the last name (like “MacGuyver” or “Garfunkel.”) But wait! He then goes immediately to “That’s what they call me.” So … they call you by your name? Good. But wait! In case you’re a little slow, he draws it out for you. 

“Broooooooowwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.” 

It’s so nice of Bobby to help people who can’t say words learn his last name. Alright, so now I think the boy has a serious issue with people learning his name. But I figure he made his point. Imagine my consternation, then, when he ends the rap with “My name is Bobby, not Uncle Sam.” So, it’s not Uncle Sam? Or Freddy? Can I call you Freddy when you’re not on the mic? So many questions. But I do know this. His name is Bobby. Bobby B. Brown. Brooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn. And that’s what I’ll call him.

Oh well, I guess the only thing worse than Bobby Brown obsessing over his name is obsessing over Bobby Brown obsessing over his name. But it’s my prerogative. I can do what I want to do. (I need help.)

Watch at your own risk: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0FKzPfsxA4

Jimmy Mak is the head writer for Shadowbox Live, the largest resident theater company in America. He would also prefer not to be called Freddy. Learn more about Shadowbox by clicking here.

Columbusland, or... The Abby Singer Show!

I used to be on TV. But, after ten years, I had to leave because of the man. And by “the man,” I mean this dick I worked for.

While I was pondering leaving my high profile, perk-riddled gig, my wife asked me if I could do it.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Not be on TV,” she said.

“What, are you kidding?”

Was she implying that I was some sort of egomaniac who needed to be on TV, like I needed the attention of an audience in order to be fulfilled?

Yes. She was.

“Of course, I don’t need to be on TV. That’s preposterous.”

It wasn’t long after I started my new job at the Gateway Film Center that I began plotting ways of getting my face on the screen. Why be on TV when you can be in the movies?

Yes, it killed me, but she was right.

The first piece I shepherded into being was a promo spot for the film center’s annual summer Double Barrel Western Series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcWwHiXb6QE

Well, seeing my mug plastered across a 50-foot wide screen was all the encouragement I needed to do more.

As part of the Cinema Classics film series, a companion to the WCBE radio show of the same name that I co-host  with my friend John DeSando, I saw another opportunity: comedy sketches that spoofed the movies we were showing.

They both feature an idiot studio exec who doesn’t quite get the geniuses who work for him.  In the first one, he (me) tussles with Stanley Kubrick; and in the second, Orson Welles.  Jimmy Mak, ShadowboxLive’s head comedy writer and an old friend, plays both directors -- brilliantly. DeSando turns up in a weird non-sequitir cameo in both.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48XxD4nDBek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1w6T-Lna6Q

Fortunately, my boss, the phenomenally talented and brainy and not susceptible to in-print ass kissing, Chris Hamel, approved of these extracurricular activities. In fact, he’s so game he played the James Bond figure that my Nameless Cowboy guns down in the Western bit. What kind of a boss allows that to happen? An awesome one.

So, Chris asked me what I thought of the film center’s pre-show. For those of you not familiar with theater parlance, a pre-show is that generic package of trivia questions, ads, and animations that plays before the movie and is generally ignored.

We sat and watched the pre-show together. In its entirety. Afterwards, he asked me what I thought and I told him I thought it was crap. He agreed and asked if we could do better. Naturally.

And so, our new in-house show was conceived. After breathlessly kicking around different titles based on obscure movie jargon like The Cross Cut the good ideas began to flag. By the time we were seriously considering calling it The Abby Singer Show we were good and loopy. “But no one will know who or what an Abby Singer* is,” our co-workers cautioned. “Right!” we shouted back. “That’s the beauty part.” Eventually, having reached the nadir of our naming sessions, Chris blurted out Columbusland.

Abby Singer, for the record, is the second to last shot of the day on a movie production, named after 1950s Hollywood production manager and assistant director, Abner "Abby" Singer. When Singer's crew would ask how many shots were left to do he'd answer, "We'll do this and one more." 

Fortunately, the "Abby Singer" show idea never left Chris's office. The basic idea survived though and that was to create a loosely formatted, informal talk show in which we would interview Columbus prominents about the movies while drinking.  And the city would be our playground.

Kinopicz American, a hyper-talented production company in Grandview, agreed to take the project on and brought their insight and ideas. In order to keep the show from becoming me and Chris drinking and ego-jousting, Kino, as we affectionately call them, suggested bringing on a Girl Friday who would temper the testosterone and drastically drop the combined age of the two-man cast which if combined would approach octogenarian heights.

We immediately thought of social media maven and Columbus vlogging sensation, Amy "Schmittastic" Schmittauer. 

We thought Amy would anchor the show, keep it grounded, but she quickly proved to be as strange as we are, and so the show quickly took on a life of its own.  So far we’ve only shot 3 episodes, but it continues to evolve. We’ve worked in more scripted comedy and we’re playing around with the interview dynamics, and, quite frankly, I'm not sure where it's headed. As long as it continues to get better, which it has, we'll all be happy.

Each episode of Columbusland runs at the Gateway Film Center for 8 weeks and you can see the show 20 minutes before any movie we’re showing. Well, due to the constant cocktail drinking and frequent light cursing, you can see it before any PG-13 or R- rated movie.

The entire endeavor, it bears repeating, is the kind of project that can happen when a cool boss rolls the dice on a great idea and lets it ride.

Here’s episode two:

The complete cut of Columbusland: Episode 2 CASINO, shot at the new Hollywood Casino in Columbus, Ohio. Join in the misadventures of the Gateway Film Center characters as they traipse around Columbus, bumping into local personalities who share their takes on life, Columbus, and, of course, movies.