Two great nights of laughter will take center stage when the Belleayre Music Festival presents with Comedy in the Catskills II with rising star Harrison Greenbaum on Friday, Aug. 23 and the sharp wit of Rita Rudner on Saturday, Aug. 24. Rita Rudner brings her understated brand of comedy to Belleayre’s Main Stage headlining Comedy in the Catskills II on Saturday evening.
Rita began her career as a dancer, but her natural comedic gifts were never far from the surface and she ultimately shifted her career in that direction. She quickly rose to prominence a standup comic and got her first TV exposure on “Rodney Dangerfield Hosts the 9th Annual Young Comedians Special” on HBO. Her big break came on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1988.
By 1989, she had landed her first solo gig on HBO with “One Night Stand: Rita Rudner.” Two others, “Born to Be Mild” and “Rita Rudner: Married Without Children” followed. She has also appeared in numerous TV shows and specials including her latest Showtime special “Rita Rudner and 3 Potential Ex-Husbands.”
The comic has also written several books and has continued to perform on the road and in concert at least 12 weeks per year, delivering self-deprecating insights that are at once honest and hilarious.
Hysterical new talent
Rising standup comedy star Harrison Greenbaum had the audience rolling in the aisles with his performance at the inaugural Comedy in the Catskills and promises more of the same this year.
Harrison has quickly become one of the most in-demand comedians in New York, performing in more than 600 shows a year and thus leading the NY Daily News to call him “the hardest-working man in comedy.”
One of Comedy Central’s “Comics to Watch,” Harrison has received many awards and honors, including the Andy Kaufman Award (2010) for creativity and originality in comedy, the Shorty Award in collaboration with Comedy Central and the New York Comedy Festival for “Best Emerging Comic” (2011), and the Magners Comic Stand-Off (2011).
Both shows begin at 8 p.m. Tickets for the Harrison Greenbaum show in Belleayre’s Comedy Club are $26 for general admission. The Rita Rudner performance will be held on the main stage with tickets ranging from $66-$46. There are no lawn seats available for this show.
Retro Rock
The season closes in theatrical rock style with The Music of Pink Floyd on Saturday, Aug. 31. The groundbreaking progressive rock of Pink Floyd will be celebrated at Belleayre on the 40th anniversary of one the enduring albums of all time, “Dark Side of the Moon.” The Music of Pink Floyd
Will be presented by a full rock band with the Belleayre Festival Orchestra, conducted by Brent Havens.
All shows begin at 8 p.m. Tickets for all shows are on sale via Ticketmaster. For additional information, please call 800 942-6904, ext. 1344, visit: belleayremusic.org
For information on where to stay, dine, shop or to simply enjoy the great outdoors when you¹re in town for the Belleayre Music Festival, please visit: www.catskillhighpeaks.com, www.ulstertourism.info or www.greatwesterncatskills.com. Belleayre Music Festival concerts are held on the grounds of Belleayre Mountain in Highmount.
Belleayre Mountain is located in the heart of New York’s Catskill Mountain region, and is operated by the Olmpic Regional Development Authority. The ski resort is located just off Route 28 and is 37 miles west of Thruway Exit 19 at Kingston; 55 miles southeast of Oneonta on Route 28; 40 miles from the Route 17 exit at Roscoe; and 95 miles southwest of Albany and just two hours north of NYC.
