Actress-Comedian Annie Korzen Opens Month-Long Comedy Show Tonight in California

If you'll be anywhere near Los Angeles between today and August 13, you should head over to The Braid, a performance space in Santa Monica which will be featuring Annie Korzen Famous Actress, a one-woman show by actress-comedian Annie Korzen. 

Annie, a childhood friend of ours from The Bronx, has been writing and performing one-woman shows about her life for many years. We have featured video clips from her solo show Yenta Unplugged, some of her storytelling performances, and a joke from Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Annie achieved national attention from her role as Doris Klompus, the annoying Boca Raton neighbor of Jerry Seinfeld's parents on Seinfeld.

As Broadway World Los Angeles reported last week about Annie's new show Annie Korzen Famous Actress,

The show begins when Annie learns of her son's plan to adopt a baby. The event is sure to be a disaster, plus Annie is not thrilled about being demoted from the "leading lady" to a "bit player" in his life. She then takes her audience on a hilarious journey through her resentment of the world's most neurotic mothers, to her "crap" acting career, to her rocky relationship with Judaism, and to her traumas with childbirth which led to a bizarre stay in in a Danish psych ward.

Annie guides us through her bumpy career where each audition leads to new anguish. She tells how one director was looking for "an Annie Korzen type," then hired a perky little blond. "I am too Jewish to play myself," she cries. "When they make a movie out of this show, my role will probably go to Reese Witherspoon!"

If we get video clips from this new show, we'll share them with you. In the meantime, here's a video clip from one of her previous shows, The Yenta Cometh. Enjoy! 

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Comedienne Annie Korzen (Seinfeld, Old Jews Telling Jokes) - Yenta Unplugged

If there's anyone who knows how to make an audience laugh, it's Annie Korzen, a writer and performer who has appeared on Seinfeld and other TV shows, and is a regular on Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Korzen began her career as an actress-writer in New York's Off-Broadway scene. She has also worked in films (Tootsie, Stardust Memories, etc.). In Los Angeles, Annie had a recurring role on Seinfeld, playing Doris Klompus in the Florida condo. She also has been on E.R., Judging Amy, Oliver Beene and many other TV shows.

Annie has created two solo shows that combine comedy, original music, and provocative issues. One of them is called Yenta Unplugged, a sophisticated 90-minute celebration of womanhood, from the Bronx to Beverly Hills.

Through hilarious and often poignant tales and songs, Korzen creates 40 characters to serve up the comical trials and tribulations of being female and Jewish in America. 

Here are a few funny scenes from the show. Enjoy!


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Comedienne and Storyteller Annie Korzen on Synagogues, Churches, Buffets, and Being an Outsider

Take a Jewish nonbeliever, put her in a synagogue with gospel singers, and in an Easter service in a church with a husband who's starving from breakfast deprivation and thinks the wafers and wine being distributed are a kind of kiddush, and what do you get?

Well, of course it's Annie Korzen, Seinfeld's Doris Klompus, Old Jews Telling Jokes veteran, and storyteller extraordinaire who blends these experiences into a funny story and a lesson about being an outsider.

As the story unfolds, we and the audience are treated to Annie's funny observations on the differences between Jews and Lutherans in the way they dress and the foods they serve on their buffet tables

We've featured Annie before on Jewish Humor Central, with her stories about her son's wedding and her post-partum blues, and a video clip of her Yenta Unplugged solo show.

Enjoy! 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)     

Comedian Annie Korzen Leaves Them Laughing With "Post-Partum Blues"

Comedian and story teller Annie Korzen has done it again. In February and again in April we posted two of her funny works, a video clip of her Yenta Unplugged solo show and a reading of her feelings about a Jewish wedding, specifically her son's wedding.

Last week Annie took to the microphone at Tales by the Sea, a popular spoken word venue in Malibu, California, to deliver a monologue about what was going through her head as she prepared to give birth to her son and the aftermath of the blessed event.

Annie played the role of Doris Klompus on Seinfeld, has appeared on other TV shows and films and is also a regular on the Old Jews Telling Jokes website.
 
In Post-Partum Blues, Annie tells of the effects of buying into the natural childbirth dogmas of the '60s, greeting her newborn son with tears of profound and hopeless terror ("Who is this creature, and how the hell am I supposed to keep him alive?" She shares the real truth about the imiracle of childbirth ("It is a miracle that anyone who has been through it is willing to do it again.")

She shares her experience in starting motherhood in the cold and windy countryside in Denmark, home of her husband's parents, which only makes the story funnier. We won't spoil it for you by quoting more lines -- you have to see and hear it for yourself.

Enjoy!
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Annie Korzen, Comedian and Seinfeld Veteran, Publishes Funny Memoir

If there's anyone who knows how to make an audience laugh, it's Annie Korzen, a writer, actress, and performer who has appeared on Seinfeld and other TV shows, and was a regular on Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Korzen began her career as an actress-writer in New York's Off-Broadway scene. She has also worked in films (Tootsie, Stardust Memories, etc.). In Los Angeles, Annie had a recurring role on Seinfeld, playing Doris Klompus in the Florida condo. She also has been on E.R., Judging Amy, Oliver Beene and many other TV shows.

Annie created two solo shows that combine comedy, original music, and provocative issues. One of them is called Yenta Unplugged, a sophisticated 90-minute celebration of womanhood, from the Bronx to Beverly Hills.

She has appeared as a storyteller with The Moth Mainstage in L. A., Berkeley, and Boston, and has been a regular participant at spoken word venues in Los Angeles and New York.

Now Annie has published a new book, The Book of Annie, which includes funny stories, anecdotes, and random observations from her life in New York and Los Angeles.

“Understated” and “tasteful” could never be applied to Annie, and that’s just fine with her. A colorful actress with a decades-long career in TV, film, and theater—including a recurring role on Seinfeld and a center-stage spot touring with The Moth—Annie offers her trademark unabashed takes on both everyday and typically taboo topics. Whether she’s sharing her thoughts on the miracle of childbirth (“It’s a miracle that anyone who’s been through it is willing to do it again”), religion (“William Shakespeare was not Jewish; no Jew could write a play called All’s Well That Ends Well”), motherhood, or any other topic, Annie will have you laughing out loud.

Underlying the humor are poignant observations that feel particularly relevant today: the importance of kindness and consideration, how we’re all more alike than different, and the freedom to be found in self-acceptance. You’ll put down this book feeling not just lighter but inspired by Annie’s wisdom and insight, gathered over eight decades.

Recently, Annie sat down with Deborah Vankin of the LA Times at a book launch and signing event at a Los Angeles bookstore. Here is a video clip from the event.

Enjoy!

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A Joke to Start the Week - "Standish Merriweather III"

For the last Monday joke of October, we turn to our old friend and actress Annie Korzen and an old joke from the days when Jews weren't admitted to country clubs. It's another from the Old Jews Telling Jokes series.

For the last few months, Annie has been performing a one-woman show at The Braid in Santa Monica, California. The show has just been extended to November 19. It's an evening of laughs, tears, music and some gentle prodding by a master storyteller and Moth main stager.  Annie Korzen (Seinfeld's Doris Klompus), knows what she wants out of life until life proves her wrong.

Here's the setup: Hymie Greenblatt wants to join the country club, but they don't allow Jews. So he changes his name to Standish Merriweather III. And then...

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

"Fat, Black, and Jewish" - Funny Storyteller Annie Korzen on How She Became a Grandmother

There are many styles of humor. It's not only jokes! A form of humor that's growing in popularity is storytelling.

Storytelling groups are popping up all over the world, especially in Los Angeles, where actress Annie Korzen lives. Not all stories are funny, but many are.

Annie is a master in the art of storytelling, both in telling her own funny personal stories, and also in teaching a course in how to tell stories.

Annie played the role of Doris Klompus on Seinfeld, has appeared on other TV shows and films and is also a regular on the Old Jews Telling Jokes website. Her droll humor has been a feature of many spoken word events.

Annie has been presenting her latest story, Fat, Black, and Jewish at various storytelling locations and has received standing ovations. Today we're sharing this story with you. It's about how a chubby black baby got her to change her mind about grandmotherhood.

Enjoy!

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Actress and Comedian Annie Korzen Gets Funny and Wistful About Her Son's Wedding

Annie Korzen, comedian, actress, writer, and lecturer, is also a regular at spoken-word performances at Los Angeles literary salons. In February we posted a video clip from Yenta Unplugged, her solo show, and we got requests from many readers for more. 

Annie is also a regular on the Old Jews Telling Jokes website, so we considered posting some of her jokes. But our family-friendly language policy keeps us from sharing them.

So we found another way to bring you some of her humor. Annie's only son got married recently and she wrote an essay sharing her mixed feelings about this major milestone in their lives. Alternately happy and wistful, she comes to grips with her reservations about the formality and Jewishness of the affair, and expresses some discomfort with the proceedings. But in the end, she acknowledges the benefits of tradition and gaining a daughter, even though her son is leaving his mother for another woman.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)     

Comedy Special: Actress, Comedian, and Storyteller Annie Korzen on Funny Aspects of Moving

If there's anyone who knows how to make an audience laugh, it's Annie Korzen, a writer, actress, and performer who has appeared on Seinfeld and other TV shows, and was a regular on Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Korzen began her career as an actress-writer in New York's Off-Broadway scene. She has also worked in films (Tootsie, Stardust Memories, etc.). In Los Angeles, Annie had a recurring role on Seinfeld, playing Doris Klompus in the Florida condo. She also has been on E.R., Judging Amy, Oliver Beene and many other TV shows.

Annie created two solo shows that combine comedy, original music, and provocative issues. One of them is called Yenta Unplugged, a sophisticated 90-minute celebration of womanhood, from the Bronx to Beverly Hills.

She has appeared as a storyteller with The Moth Mainstage in L. A., Berkeley, and Boston, and has been a regular participant at spoken word venues in Los Angeles and New York. 

In this storytelling performance in 2019, Annie tells about what happened when she got an eviction notice and believed her life was over. Not true, as she discovered as the pain turned into laughs.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Comedian and Story Teller Annie Korzen on Food and Jewish Women

If there's anyone who knows how to make an audience laugh, it's Annie Korzen, a writer, actress, and performer who has appeared on Seinfeld and other TV shows, and was a regular on Old Jews Telling Jokes.

Korzen began her career as an actress-writer in New York's Off-Broadway scene. She has also worked in films (Tootsie, Stardust Memories, etc.). In Los Angeles, Annie had a recurring role on Seinfeld, playing Doris Klompus in the Florida condo. She also has been on E.R., Judging Amy, Oliver Beene and many other TV shows.

Annie created two solo shows that combine comedy, original music, and provocative issues. One of them is called Yenta Unplugged, a sophisticated 90-minute celebration of womanhood, from the Bronx to Beverly Hills.

She has appeared as a storyteller with The Moth Mainstage in L. A., Berkeley, and Boston, and has been a regular participant at spoken word venues in Los Angeles and New York.

This year Annie published a new book, The Book of Annie, which includes funny stories, anecdotes, and random observations from her life in New York and Los Angeles.

Her colorful stories ring true to audiences who can relate to the experiences that they have had in common. Here is one called "Feed Me" that she shared about Jewish women and food before an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2016.

Enjoy!

A Joke to Start the Week: "The Waiter"

It's Monday morning and our readers in the Northeast are still digging out from the biggest snowstorm of the year. So would it hurt to laugh a little?

Today's joke teller is Annie Korzen, the comedy writer and performer whose yenta routine we posted a few days ago to much acclaim. You asked for more, so here it comes, short and sweet. This joke is a family-friendly one from the Old Jews Telling Jokes collection.

Annie, in addition to her solo shows, lectures, and Old Jews Telling Jokes routines, is a blogger and the author of a book, Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)