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South Shore comedy this week: Chipper Lowell, Alan Havey perform

Howie Nave
Special to Lake Tahoe Action
Allan Havey, pictured with Howie Nave, performs at The Improv this week.
Provided Photo

Comedian/magician Chipper Lowell stars in Magic Fusion at The Loft Theatre over at the Heavenly Village during a limited run that extends through June 12. Lowell is a seasoned pro and had the best teachers in the business: his parents. Both were successful circus performers who worked for Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney On Parade — and just like something out of an old vaudevillian play, Lowell was on the road with them since the age of 5.

During his parents’ time, they were one of the most popular (and sought-after) husband and wife teams on the circuit. Around age 16, Lowell discovered he enjoyed poking fun at the various arts that surrounded him, and he soon developed his own style of mixing comedy into original magic routines.

Lowell’s show combines elements of stand-up, improvisation and twisted visual magic. Twice the International Magicians Society honored him with the Merlin Award for Comedy Magician of the Year, and Magic Magazine named him one of the top funniest magicians performing today.



His one-man show, “The Chipper Experience!,” ran for a record-breaking 600 performances right here in South Lake Tahoe where he was named one of the Top Three Live Stage Comedians in 2006 by the Sacramento Bee (alongside Lewis Black and Lily Tomlin).

Lowell’s television credits include appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “General Hospital,” The Disney Channel, “The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon,” “Show Me The Funny,” “Empty Nest” and “America’s Funniest People.”



When not performing on land, Lowell is performing on cruise ships and all over the globe, including gigs in Mexico, England, Canada, Nassau, Aruba, Malaysia, Dubai, Australia and New Zealand.

The Improv

Last night I saw comedian/actor Allan Havey on Showtime’s dramatic series “Billions.” Last month he was on HBO’s comedy series “Crashing.” Havey’s time is split between comedy and acting: On network television he was on “2 Broke Girls” and “Code Black,” the Judd Apatow television series “Love” and AMC’s drama “Mad Men.”

Things have escalated for Havey, who also was on Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” “The Office” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.” His biggest thrill, though, was being in the Coen Brothers’ movie “Hail, Caesar!” Havey’s other big-screen credits include “Top Five” (written, directed and starring Chris Rock), “Hancock” (starring Will Smith), “The Informant!” (with Matt Damon), “Internal Affairs” (with Richard Gere and Andy Garcia), “Checking Out” (with Jeff Daniels) and “Rounders” (again with Damon).

Locally, Havey can be heard nearly every Monday on our radio segment “Howiewood & Haveywood” — when he’s available and not busy shooting a movie or doing another series.

When it comes to comedy, he’s one of the best. He has a solid work ethic, always delivers a good show and never takes his stand-up for granted since it has been responsible for opening doors of opportunity for all his other endeavors. His comedy is always fresh and original, and has been showcased at numerous comedy festivals all over the world and overseas for our troops in the Middle East.

Havey has accomplished just about everything he set out to do, but still would love to be on Broadway. It’ll happen when we least expect it, so stay tuned.

The Improv at Harveys takes place Wednesdays through Sundays at 9 p.m. Learn more at http://www.harveystahoe.com.


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