Steve Martin and Martin Short perform in musical comedy show at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Feb. 15
From a press release:
It was announced today that award-winning comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short will reunite for a unique show called “Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t” at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019 at 8 p.m.
In this special performance, Martin and Short present new material in a variety of musical sketches and conversations about their iconic careers, most memorable encounters and, of course, their legendary lives in show business. The duo will be joined on stage by the Grammy Award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers, the bluegrass band that Martin frequently performs with, and renowned jazz pianist and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” band member Jeff Babko.
Martin and Short’s previous live collaboration, which came to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center late last year, became the 2018 Netflix special “An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life,” which received four Emmy Award nominations. They will announce additional tour dates for their new comedy show, “Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t,” in 2019.
Tickets, which range from $41.50-$250, plus applicable ticketing fees, go on sale this Friday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at the NBT Bank Box Office at Mohegan Sun Arena (255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre), ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 800-745-3000.
Steve Martin is one of the most well-known talents in entertainment. His work has earned him an Academy Award, five Grammy Awards, an Emmy, the Mark Twain Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.
He began his career on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (1967-1969), for which he earned his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety, or Music in 1969. In the mid-1970s, Martin shone as a stand-up on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and made appearances on HBO’s “On Location” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Martin’s widely popular films include “The Jerk” (1979), “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987), “Roxanne” (1987), “Parenthood” (1989), “L.A. Story” (1991), “Father of the Bride” (1991), and “Bowfinger” (1999).
Martin is also an accomplished Grammy-winning, boundary-pushing bluegrass banjoist and composer. In 2013, Martin released his third full-length album called “Love Has Come for You,” a unique collaboration with songwriter Edie Brickell. It won a Grammy for Best American Roots Song for the title track and inspired their musical “Bright Star.” “Bright Star” garnered five Tony Award nominations and also received Outstanding New Broadway Musical and Outstanding New Score at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Martin and Brickell’s second album together, “So Familiar,” was released on Rounder Records and featured 12 remarkable songs that bought the acclaimed duo’s musical collaboration into fresh creative territory. Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers released a second record together in 2017 titled “The Long-Awaited Album.”
As an author, Martin’s work includes the novel “An Object of Beauty,” the play “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” a collection of comic pieces called “Pure Drivel,” the bestselling novella “Shopgirl,” and his memoir, “Born Standing Up.” His play “Meteor Shower” premiered on Broadway in 2017 in a production starring Emmy Award-winner Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti, and Alan Tudyk; it was directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks.
Martin Short, a celebrated comedian and actor, has won fans and accolades in television, film, and theater since his breakout season on “Saturday Night Live” over 30 years ago.
Short won his first Emmy in 1982 while working on Canada’s SCTV Comedy Network, which brought him to the attention of the producers of “SNL.” He became an “SNL” fan favorite for his portrayal of characters such as Ed Grimley, lawyer Nathan Thurm, and legendary songwriter Irving Cohen.
His popularity and exposure on “SNL” led Short to cross over quickly into feature films. He made his debut in “Three Amigos” with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase, and followed with “Innerspace,” “Three Fugitives,” “Clifford,” “Pure Luck,” and Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks.” One of Short’s most memorable roles was in the remake of “Father of the Bride” as Franck Eggelhoffer the wedding planner, a role he reprised a few years later in “Father of the Bride Part II.” Short also lent his voice to the animated film “Madagascar 3” and Tim Burton’s Oscar-nominated “Frankenweenie.”
An accomplished stage actor, Short won a Tony, Theatre World Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his role in the revival of “Little Me.” He was nominated for a Tony and took home an Outer Critics Circle Award for the musical version of Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl.” Short co-wrote and starred in “Fame Becomes Me,” prompting the New York Times to describe Short as “a natural for live musicals, a limber singer and dancer who exudes a fiery energy that makes you want to reach for your sunglasses.” He most recently appeared on Broadway in Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play.”
A two-time primetime Emmy winner and multi-nominated for both primetime and daytime Emmys, Short returned to television in 1998 for the miniseries “Merlin” and host of “The Martin Short Show.” In 2001, he launched the popular comedy “Primetime Glick” and in 2010 received critical acclaim for his role in FX’s drama series “Damages.”
Short has also returned to “SNL” as a host three times and performed in the series’ landmark 40th anniversary special in February of 2015. Other recent television credits include “Hairspray Live!,” “Maya & Marty,” “Mulaney,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and the critically acclaimed PBS series “Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.”
Short’s New York Times bestselling memoir “I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend” was published in 2014.
In 1994, Short was awarded the Order of Canada, the Canadian equivalent to British knighthood. He was also inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in June of 2000. This year, he received a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award from the Governor General of Canada.
Read NEPA Scene’s interview with Steve Martin before his 2013 performance at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre here.
