Kids in the Hall - Town Hall, That Is
Courtesy of New York Now
By ED TAHANEY
Tuesday, February 08, 2000
They've gotten older, but some kids just never grow up. Especially if they're Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson — known collectively as the "Kids in the Hall."
Now, the cross-dressing Canadian comics have reunited after a 4 1/2-year hiatus, and are halfway through a North American tour that brings them to New York tomorrow for seven soldout shows at Town Hall.
The bad boys of comedy have come a long way since doing their improvisational shtick on Queen St. in Toronto. The gang got their first TV gig in 1989 when Lorne Michaels produced their half-hour special for HBO. Soon, "Kids in the Hall" was a hit show on Canadian TV, and then on CBS. It was canceled in 1995, but lives on in syndication on Comedy Central.
The Kids went their own way after the group's first film, "Brain Candy," bombed in 1996. Since then, they have appeared separately in various film, theater and TV projects.
"Let's be honest, none of us has exactly set the comedy world on fire," admits Scott Thompson — better known as martini-sipping diva Buddy Cole. "We've all been very busy, but we've all been underused."
Foley might disagree. He managed a four-season gig on NBC's "Newsradio," but he's glad to be a Kid again.
"We've pretty much all fallen back into our old dynamics — which is the same sort of meanspirited fun," he says.
"Things are really clicking," says Thompson, "but everyone is obsessed with the fact that we carry a little more weight. I think it's mostly the reporters' obsession with their own weight," says Thompson.
The actor doesn't mind that the Kids have a few extra years on them, either. He says they're just as sharp now that they're 40ish.
"No one ever said that about Monty Python when they were making 'The Life of Brian,'" Thompson says. "'They're pushing 40, can they still do it?' Never. No one said that about Jack Benny or the Marx Brothers or Lucy."
The reunion shows have been getting rave reviews across the country — and Thompson thinks he knows the secret of the group's success.
"My theory is that comedy comes from little people. People that feel inferior like sidekicks. Canada is America's sidekick. When you are not treated seriously, you develop comically. Its sense of oneself is so fractured and fragile that it's like the picked-on kid who has to become funny."
Unlike a lot of comedy groups and troupes, there's no single "star" among the Kids — and Thompson says that also figures in their popularity.
"Troupes in Canada are everywhere, but not in America," he says. "No, America is much more [geared to] the solo act, the breakout star. There has to be a breakout star in every group. With us, it's not like that. Even if you fancy yourself the breakout star, no one will ever let you get away with it. The group is the star."
Keeping Up With the Kids
Dave Foley, 37
Movies: "Blast From the Past," "Dick," "A Bug's Life," "Monkey Bone" (upcoming)
TV: "NewsRadio" (four seasons)
Bruce McCulloch, 39
Movies: Directed "Dog Park" and "Superstar"
Music: Album, "Shame Based Man."
Kevin McDonald, 39
Movies: "Galaxy Quest," "The Ladies Man" (upcoming)
TV: "The Drew Carey Show," "Friends"
Mark McKinney, 41
Movies: "Superstar," "The Out of Towners," "Dog Park" and "Spice World"
TV: "Saturday Night Live" cast member
Theater: Manhattan Theater Club's "Fuddy Meers"
Scott Thompson, 41
Movies: "Mickey Blue Eyes," "Tart" (upcoming)
TV: "The Larry Sanders Show"
Books: Novel, "Buddy Babylon"
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