TV Power Hour Spins Our Favorite Shows Into Comedy Gold

This spring, a new series exploded onto the stage at CSz Philadelphia - Home of ComedySportz. TV Power Hour debuted as a longform comedy presentation of some of our favorite television shows, The Real Housewives of Philadelphia and The Sopranos, now improvised and presented to a live audience. The show is running the third and fourth Fridays of the month through July. Come to the 9 PM shows, BYOB, and revisit these classics we binged through unhinged eyes.

Let’s check out the behind-the-scenes of both longform shows you’ll see when you come to a performance of TV Power Hour. First up is “Real Housewives of Philadelphia,” directed by Maddie Breske.

Lights. Cameras. Hoagies. We’ll catch up with a group of affluent Philadelphia women as they struggle to get through a single dinner without pulling off each other’s wigs.

We asked Director Maddie Breske what drew her to this show in particular. She answered, “The Real Housewives of many cities raised me. I am absolutely addicted to watching middle aged women yell at each other. When I heard that the inaugural TV Power Hour was going to feature a Real Housewives show I absolutely jumped at the chance. I just recently created and produced an improvised Sex and the City show so I've been very into parodying the things that I, and so many people, enjoy for the stage lately and it has been beyond much fun.”

Even if you've never seen an episode of Real Housewives in your life you'll be dazzled by not only the shake-and-go wigs, but also the rumors swirling about and ludicrous arguments these ladies get into. Every performance eight new housewives, each out of touch with reality in their own special ways, will be created on the spot.

And Breske notes that the pairing with The Sopranos seems very apt: “The mob and the Real Housewives aren't so different after all......”

The Real Housewives of Philadelphia cast is comprised of Yasmine Beydoun, Lo Cuevas, Jillian Hartman, Maeve Hennessey, Susannah Holub, Olivia Kram, Will Murphy, and Renata Rabinovich.

THE SOPRANOS, What's more gripping than a man going through the trials of mob life in New Jersey? Going through the trials of mob life in New Jersey AND therapy! Sit back and watch what happens when we combine crime, curiosity, and callbacks in this unscripted parody of the beloved American crime drama, "The Sopranos".

The Sopranos is one of the shows that changed the trajectory of television. Its use of cinematography, storytelling, and complex characters pioneered the way we view episodics to this day. Due to the nature of this show, we are able to see these anti-heroes have very human experiences. Watching high stakes characters in low stakes situations is often endearing and, at times, hilarious. Tragedy, as well as comedy, is woven throughout this show.

Director Siobhan O’Hara speaks about what makes this twist on the classic series so delightful to watch: “In Improvised Sopranos, our goal is to get to the heart of the characters and explore that fun with the audience. Let's see Tony get himself into a silly situation! Let's see Paulie Walnuts frantically blow up balloons for a birthday party! Let's see Chrissy bury a body, but appreciate the sunset with his accomplice! All we need are your suggestions to get the story going!”

The Sopranos cast is comprised of: Isabel Beck-Roe, Kai Bobbi, Robbi Burns, Nick Connors, Alex Fromm, Katie Hewko-Dykes, Emily Murphy, Gio Padovano, and Evan Wessman.

Tickets are on sale now for all performances of TV Power Hour, 3rd and 4th Fridays at 9 PM. Grab your friends and come be part of the fandom!

Director Biographies:

Maddie Breske (Real Housewives) is a Philadelphia-based theatre maker and comedienne who gets her kicks producing & performing comedy with the Impulse Control Freaks, Yes and the City, PHIT, and ComedySportz. They also are a writer for Reductress and an associate member with The Strides Collective. Maddie is passionate about wigs, reality television, and putzing around.

Siobhan O’Hara (The Sopranos) is a Philly-based comedian, performing improv for over 10 years in New York and Philadelphia. She is also the Education Director of ComedySportz Philly. In addition to performing in ComedySportz, Siobhan directed the Improv Double Feature "Incantation" and has been a cast member of The She-Quel, Dun-Dun, and Hallmarkable. Siobhan has performed at The Philly Improv Theater, Crossroads Comedy Theater, and This Week Sucked at The Lab in Ambler. She is also a member of the indie improv teams Tchotchke and Rat King, and the co-author of The Comedy Improv Handbook

Madison Breske, Real Housewives Director

SIOBHAN O’HARA, The Sopranos Director