National Lampoon Returns to Live Comedy Production

By: Arts & Entertainment News

National Lampoon, Inc. (AMEX:NLN), the most widely recognized brand in comedy, today announced that it will return to producing live entertainment, with a reconceived re-imagined version of the Broadway show, NATIONAL LAMPOON LEMMINGS Comedy Troupe Presents America 2.0.

With the creation of the new 90-minute interactive show, National Lampoon is re-entering the live production arena and will roll-out NATIONAL LAMPOON LEMMINGS Comedy Troupe: America 2.0 as a franchise. NATIONAL LAMPOON LEMMINGS will go on tour this fall, with performances at colleges, theatres, casinos, and corporate events across the country with plans to establish permanent play dates in major entertainment cities.

A satire on today’s blown out tabloid world, National Lampoon’s Lemmings: America 2.0 will skewer the madness of modern American life from left to right and from the ridiculous to the sublime. Characters include the Gangsta Rap Wizards and Michael Vick touting his new dog food, “Big Ass Chucks of Little Dog.” Between the sketches, the hilarity stays at a fever pitch with the Lemmings' award-winning short films. In the best traditions of National Lampoon, the Lemmings show unleashes a whole new pantheon of unforgettable sketch routines in one evening of live, multi-media, cutting-edge comedy.

Similarly to its 1970s counterpart, which launched the careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest and Chevy Chase, NATIONAL LAMPOON LEMMINGS Comedy Troupe will showcase the very best young sketch comedians working today. “We have created a stable of talented actors, writers and filmmakers we look to grow within our family in our many television, film and Internet projects. Not unlike the original magazine,” states LEMMINGS Producer Amber J. Lawson. Individual cast credits already include appearances on MTV, Comedy Central, The Aspen and Montreal Comedy Festivals and every major broadcast network.

The LEMMINGS show was created by director/producer Jay Leggett (In Living Color, Without A Paddle), producer Amber J. Lawson and executive-producer Scott Rubin, who also serves as National Lampoon’s Editor-in-Chief, the cast: Adam Devine (Mama’s Boy), Anders Holms, Annie Savage, Blake Anderson, Jen Cain, Jillian Bell, John Moody, Mark Gagliardi (According to Jim, How I Met Your Mother) and Sitara Falcon (Club Fiji) and writers: Haley Mancini (Palisades, Prom Queen), Mike Rosolio, Andy Goldenberg, Pip Lilly and Beth Dover (The Ten). Video creations by Kyle Newacheck.

The official world premiere of LEMMINGS will be held at the ACME Comedy Theater in Los Angeles September 19, 2007 and will be followed by an extended Wednesday night 8 p.m. run at the Hollywood Improv starting early October.

“This is a frenetically fast-paced show that parodies everything wrong and right about America today,” said Jay Leggett, director and co-producer of LEMMINGS: America 2.0. “In the tradition of National Lampoon nothing is sacred and no corner stone of contemporary society is left untouched. With short film, interactive elements, stand-up humor, impressions and more, there is something here for everyone.”

“The Original Lemmings was a groundbreaking event in comedy and National Lampoon’s 37 year history,” said Scott Rubin, editor-in-chief of National Lampoon. “With the new Lemmings show we are making a bold statement that National Lampoon is committed to developing the next generation of brilliant writers and performers. We know the shoulders we're standing on, our own glorious past, and we are determined, with the Lemmings show, to deliver National Lampoon’s next golden age. Get ready, the dawn of the new National Lampoon is upon us!”

For more information about the Lemmings show, please visit www.nationallampoon.com/lemmings.

About National Lampoon

National Lampoon, Inc. (AMEX:NLN) has been a dominant force in the US comedy world for almost 40 years and is currently active in a broad array of media and entertainment segments. These include feature films, television programming, online and interactive entertainment, home video, audio, and book publishing. The Company also owns interests in all major National Lampoon properties, including National Lampoon’s Animal House, the National Lampoon Vacation series and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. National Lampoon reaches nearly one in four of all 18 to 24 year old college students in America today. The Company has three core operating divisions: National Lampoon Films, which includes production along with theatrical and video distribution of feature films; College Marketing Division; and National Lampoon Networks, providing humor content through a number of platforms. These include its National Lampoon College TV network, the National Lampoon Humor Network - the most trafficked humor sites on the web, Toga TV.com - the company’s broadband channel, and the new National Lampoon Video Network, which includes channels on AOL, Yahoo, Joost, and a number of digital video platforms across the Internet.