The second half of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival Includes three improv shows in Piccolo Fringe at Theatre 99.
At the center is “Doozy,” a fast-paced spectacle from June 4 to June 6 that stars Edi Patterson, better known as Judy Gemstone on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. Days before “Doozy,” Patterson was in Tennessee Williams Unscripted, an improvised play inspired by the legendary playwright.
“I knew it was something I was supposed to be doing,” she said in an interview, “probably because I had been improvising without knowing that’s what it was called for my whole life — making up skits and doing characters for my family and trying to make my friends laugh at school.”
“Doozy” is a mix of scenes built from audience suggestions and performed by Patterson, Dan O’Connor, Brandy Sullivan and Greg Tavares.
“Dan and Edi approached me and Greg about doing a show together, and we jumped at the chance,” said Sullivan, a Theatre 99 co-founder. “Our first ‘Doozy’ show was in November 2023, and every performance has been a total blast.”
For Patterson, the success of an improv show lies in letting go, trusting co-actors and not thinking about what’s next.
“The audience is smart,” Patterson said. “They know when something is planned and it just doesn’t ring true. You have to stay in the magic of the moment and let your ideas go.”
The Have Nots! turns 30
Two other improv shows will draw crowds at Theatre 99 during Piccolo Fringe. “The Have Nots!” — created in 1995 by Tavares and Sullivan during time in Los Angeles — is Charleston’s longest-running improv show.
“The audience really feels like they’re part of the show,” Tavares said. “People come up to me years later and ask if I remember their suggestion — sometimes I do, especially when it’s something new. Charleston loves to support local artists. They know we live here year-round and make an effort to see us during Piccolo.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the troupe at the festival, and though no big celebrations are in sight, every show is like a reunion.
“We often guest a member of our performance company, which makes it extra fun,” Tavares said. “ ‘The Have Nots!’ is like watching a band play together that has been together over half their lives. We have such history and kind of know what the other guy is going to do or say before they even say it.”
Catch them if you can
“Take the Funny and Run” is a third energetic improv show featuring short-form games in the first act and long-form improv in the second, with a rotating cast of Theatre 99’s finest.
“Charleston is full of some hilarious improvisers, and ‘Take the Funny and Run’ is where you can see them,” said Tavares. “The games we play change a lot, and you get to see different players every time you come to the show.”
Whether it’s “Doozy’s” engaging fun, the tight-knit teamwork of “The Have Nots!” or the fresh variety of “Take the Funny and Run,” Theatre 99’s improv scene continues to thrive and keep Charleston laughing.
IF YOU WANT TO GO: “The Have Nots!” plays on May 31 and June 7; “Take the Funny and Run” performs on May 30; “Doozy” runs from June 4-6 at Theatre 99.
Mathilde Refloch is a graduate student in the Goldring Arts Journalism and Communications program at Syracuse University.
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