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COMEDIAN PAT HAZELL, ORIGINAL ‘SEINFELD’ WRITER, -- Jerry Seinfeld Comedian and original Seinfeld writer Pat Hazell comes to the Theatre in Old Town in The Wonder Bread Years, his one-man nostalgia-filled tribute to Americana, beginning Thursday, November 16th. The Wonder Bread Years has been a PBS special and is traveling across the country. It is a refreshing and funny tribute to the baby boomer generation that vividly remembers family vacations in the Country Squire Wagon, Easy-Bake Ovens, Eskimo Pies, the Manwich, Velveeta, the Slinky, Etch-A-Sketch and much more. Showtime declared Pat Hazell, who wrote and performs the show, "One of the Five Funniest People in America." Hazell made his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1989 just days before his ten-year high school reunion and has since made six more appearances with Jay Leno. He served as Jerry Seinfeld’s opening act and became one of the original four writers for the NBC series Seinfeld. As a playwright, his first endeavor, Bunk Bed Brothers, which he co-wrote with Matt Goldman, was critically acclaimed and eventually filmed as the sitcom, American Pie, for NBC Studios.
“Quite successfully offers a glimpse back at a mythical period in American life.” In The Wonder Bread Years, Hazell’s performance reflects genuinely funny observations of our collective youth, telling dozens of stories and reminiscing in childlike wonder about things most of us can relate to -- cereal boxes you could turn into bowls, milk money, Tough Skin Jeans, Kool-Aid vs. Pop, and of course, the staple of every sandwich, that fresh-smelling, soft-feeling, white-as-clouds Wonder Bread. The show’s strong sense of American pop culture earned it an invitation to represent the United States at the Vancouver International Comedy Festival. “The show is a common journey into the attic,” Hazell said. “It’s not really about
what city you grew up in or what age you are. There is a common denominator in life of trick-or-treating, going through your stocking on Christmas morning and Hazell’s formative years in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 1960s and ‘70s, are the inspiration for this 90-minute Erector Set, NBC Peacock, Kentucky Fried Chicken memory-filled, energetic foray into those wonder years. Hazell comments, “What I do is help build a community in the theater for this time together. We can just let go of the outside world and not worry about anything else; we can just enjoy our memories. That’s the beauty of nostalgia; we have more affection for our childhood as more time passes.” Just in time for the holiday season, performances of The Wonder Bread Years begin Thursday, November 16th at The Theatre in Old Town and continue through December - Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 5pm & 8pm and Sundays at 2pm & 5pm. All seats are $30. Information, special holiday performance schedules and tickets are available now by calling The Theatre in Old Town box office at 619-688-2494 or online at www.theatreinoldtown.com.
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