Aug. 11

James Judd, comedian and storyteller, at Camden Opera House

Wed, 08/08/2018 - 9:15pm

The Camden Opera House will host James Judd, comedian, author and radio personality from National Public Radio’s Snap Judgment, Aug. 11, at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to Snap Judgement, Judd is a former member of The Groundlings in Los Angeles and the New Faces at the Hollywood Improv.

Often compared to David Sedaris and Oscar Wilde, Judd connects with audiences as he shares stories classified as "spectacular public embarrassments and utter failures." However humiliating, they affirm that part of being human is telling the stories that have happened, emphasizing that even in the face of failure, it's getting up and moving forward that matters.

Judd was recently the New York All For One Theater Festival Artist in Residence, where he developed his 75-minute autobiographical play Killer Quack. The piece details the true story of his involvement with Dean Faiello, an infamous con-man who posed as a dermatologist in Manhattan, dubbed by The New York Post as "The Killer Quack in the Concrete Coffin Case."

Faiello made tabloid headlines when it was discovered that he'd killed one of his patients, buried her in a garage, and fled to Costa Rica. Judd, looking to have a tattoo removed, became his patient, and is now his prison confidant.

DC Metro Theater Arts called Judd's Killer Quack: "One of those rare moments in the theatre that moves the audience along the spectrum of emotion ... the beauty of the work that Judd has composed, or rather lived through and repurposed into this evening of storytelling, is that he spends time in the grey areas of emotions, where humor and drama coincide, and where self-awareness and uncertainty overlap."

The Washington Post said: "Judd's conversation style is loud, lightning fast and nonstop — he doesn't seem to need to breathe as much as a typical human — and the result is a constantly engaging pileup of quips. It can take a few moments for a joke to register, but by then Judd has unfurled a few more laugh-worthy lines. One of Judd's biggest assets is his delivery, which rarely feels rehearsed, as if he's simply recounting these absorbing personal anecdotes over dinner. And his talents extend to physical humor, whether he's imitating a shark or mimicking an oafish boat captain."

"RELAX," Judd said to the audience. "You're in the HANDS of a MASTER." You can take him at his word." — The Washington Post.

Reserved seating tickets available at camdenoperahouse.com; $28 rear, $32 prime.