Six Degrees: Catching up with ‘Daily Show’ and ‘Colbert Report’ alumni

We’ve been deluged by news about Stephen Colbert this week (yay!), but that doesn’t mean the other people we love aren’t busy, too. Come with us as we play our game of “Six Degrees of Stephen Colbert,” covering items that might interest fans of The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and all of those things that are just that little bit removed from Stephen.

Jon Stewart headed to Connecticut

• We’ve already posted info on his shows at Ryman (in Nashville, TN) and Cobb (in Atlanta, GA), but Jon’s added Wallingford, Connecticut to his calendar. Look for him at the Chevrolet Theater on June 13th; tickets are on “pre-sale” today!
• The Comedy Central Insider posted a collection of Jon’s classic Daily Show “Smackdowns” yesterday, and although they may have missed a few of my faves, there are still a lot of exceptional moments there. I particularly enjoyed revisiting Jon’s segment “Your Show Blows” from the day after his now-infamous Crossfire appearance. Truly, madly, deeply satisfying.

David “DJ” Javerbaum (Executive Producer, The Daily Show)

• DJ Javerbaum’s work is probably best known to Colbert fans from the now-rare tosses between The Daily Show and The Colbert Report; he’s the man responsible for writing them. But he’s also been hard at work on another project, and his long-awaited musical, Cry-baby, is finally set to open. The New York Times gave it a write-up here.
• You can also catch DJ in an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air. (Thanks for the tip, WordsWithGrace!)

Eric Drysdale (former writer, The Colbert Report, and sometimes known as “Bobby”)

• Eric has a gig coming up at Joe’s Pub on May 6th; he’ll be appearing in “Tammy Faye Starlite” in a show celebrating the First Amendment. Ticket info is here. (H/t to DB!)
• Eric also contributed an interview to Xanadu: The Book, which you can pick up if you see Xanadu at the Helen Hayes Theater live or online at Kira’s Skate Shop. Read more here at Eric’s blog; the book also features work of the ever-hilarious David Rakoff, so there’s even more reason to buy.
• The above projects notwithstanding, Eric found the time to help write for the most recent Night of Too Many Stars; you had to look quickly, but he was listed in the credits. Thanks for that, Eric!

Rob Riggle (correspondent, The Daily Show)

• Finally, something in my neck of the woods! Rob is bringing his standup to the Arlington Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse on April 26th, and you can buy tickets here. Now, if only I can make that work in my schedule … (Tip of the hat to Kinaesthesia!)

John Oliver (correspondent, The Daily Show)

• John’s standup special, John Oliver: Terrifying Times, finally airs this Sunday. There’s a review of it here that, while ultimately complimentary, doesn’t really do John justice, IMO. No kidding, you WANT to watch this show.
• Want to catch John live before that? If you’re in NYC, you can see him tomorrow night at the Karma Lounge in “Doris Yeltsin” alongside of some other funny people (more on that here).
• Atlanta residents will also have the opportunity to see John Oliver live when he arrives for shows at the Punchline June 13-15th. Lucky Atlanta residents, is all I can say!

Ed Helms (former correspondent, The Daily Show)

• Fans of Ed’s have enjoyed watching him on The Office, but he’s evidently not confining himself to the small screen. I’m not sure how big a role he has (he’s only in the trailer for a moment), but he’ll be sharing the screen with Eddie Murphy and Gabrielle Union in the upcoming Meet Dave. There’s more info on the movie, co-written by Rob Greenburg (Frasier, How I Met Your Mother) and Mystery Science Theater 3000 scribe Bill Corbett, here. Sounds pretty promising to me.

Aasif Mandvi (correspondent, The Daily Show)

• Unfortunately, I didn’t catch wind of this until after the fact, but it sounds like Aasif recently had some fun hosting “The Others” (referring to Arab, Indian, Bangladeshi, Muslim, Asian, and Iranian comedians) at the Broadway Comedy Club. Sounds like a lot of fun, and if they decide to stage it again, we’ll try to be quicker on the draw and let you know ahead of time.
• Aasif also recently participated in “The Shushan Channel,” a show created by Daily Show writer Rob Kutner, in a performance that sold out the 92YTribeca’s inaugural show. Congrats, Rob and Aasif, and may it be only one of many successful ventures!

Whew, that’s a lot of activity! Hope you readers can find something in there to love. As ever please note additions or corrections in the comments, and I’ll plead in advance for your pardon on any overlooked or erroneous info posted here. Just a reminder: always confirm these reported appearances with the venues, directly, as we’re compiling these dates from the unerringly-reliable (ha!) sources posting generally around the internet(s).