Baby Wants Candy- The Improvised Musical With Full Band

Great fun. Usually it is a hit and every once in a long while a miss. I have been to this about a dozen times and found the cast can make a big difference. The band is awesome and if you are lucky like we were, you can get you idea for the first and last show of your theme.

Last time when I ran into Jody and Stewart, the keyboard guy and the guy always in a pink shirt in the show, I screamed. I haven’t screamed for any superstar since I was 14. I am a big fan of BWC and I think it’s the best improv show in town. I have seen it 6 times but I still want to go. Anyway, I can’t go every time or too often because laughing one hour straight will bring up wrinkles.

Baby Wants Candy is a full-​fledged improvised musical. Several of their members are teachers at the PIT (People’s Improv Theater). These people are excellent veteran improvisers who will wow you with their abilities. Even the band, the Yes Band (a play on «yes, and»), improvises. You will be shocked at how they can simultaneously make up a plot, make jokes, make up songs, fit it into a standard musical structure, and keep track of all of it… all at the same time. It’s some of the best entertainment you can get in NYC, and great for the price.
Now, to be honest, I’ve actually seen better musical improv by a few teams at the PIT… for less price. I don’t remember what they were called. So, I am giving 5 stars to Baby Wants Candy, but I’m also giving 5 stars to the concept of musical improv, which is something you should seek out if you are interested in being entertained.

So much fun! It was simply amazing to watch this troop and the band perform completely off-​the-​cuff. Highly recommend!!!

This show freakin’ rocks! Think Broadway musical with shameless, yet brilliant, hillarity! Unbelievable that every note, word, joke, rhyme is completely made up on the spot … and completely new each and every performance! The players are accomplished actors/​performers (look ‘em up) and the band is TIGHT! (There are no wanna-be’s cutting their teeth on your time — or your dime — up in here!) This is a such an amazing, fun and funny show, your spirit will be lifted from the second you hear the first bass drum kick, from the moment you hear the first words uttered, and the first AMAAAAAZING song sung. You will be high on Baby Wants Candy for THE NEXT 48 HOURS… as in «Honey, put down the Prozac, we’re goin’ to see Baby!» And yay! A unique «must see» for any out-​of-​towners… as in «Honey, screw the 3 hour TKTS line and Broadway tourist fodder… we’re goin’ to see Baby!» LOVE, LOVE, LOVE BABY WANTS CANDY! (And I would never steer you wrong.)

Full disclosure: I’m OBSESSED with Baby Wants Candy. Luckily for me (and you!), they are currently performing their ridiculousy amazing show at Soho Playhouse on Saturday nights at 10, through the end of February!
BWC’s show is roughly an hour long, and all improvised. Which means it’s freshly created, on the spot, every night, from scratch. And it’s not just a show, it’s a freaking MUSICAL! With PLOT, and SONGS, and DANCING, and even JAZZ HANDS if you’re lucky! They take a suggestion of a ‘title of a musical that’s never been performed before’ from the audience (a few I’ve seen include: «Puppeteers Gone Wild!», «There’s Something About Love In The Sewer» and «Revenge Is A Buffet»), and the magic begins from there!
As if that’s not enough, the group of 5 – 6 actors is backed up by a FULL BAND which is also improvising all of the music they play! All of the performers are insanely talented and the shows are not only hilarious, but GOOD! Their made-​up-​on-​the-​spot musicals are often BETTER (and always funnier) than scripted, written musicals!
Note of caution: despite the whimsical title, this is NOT a show for children. There is guaranteed to be rampant foul language and bawdy sexual humor. For us adults though, this is a hilarious bonus.
Regardless of whether you love or hate musicals, if you enjoy things that are funny and awesome, you will LOVE Baby Wants Candy. Go see them any and every chance you get.

Seriously, almost the best $ 20 I’ve ever spent in NYC. What a GREAT experience! I went on two consecutive weekends. There were huge differences between the two shows — different humor, a different cast, different storylines, different music — and both were a blast! We couldn’t stop laughing — the perfect end to my busy week. The show is different every time — and that’s the best part! I guarantee, you won’t get bored.
Everyone needs to see this at least once!

I think Baby Wants Candy is an amazing improv show, and is a great first event for any late night in NY. I think over the past few years, i’ve been to about a dozen or so shows, and only a handful have been mediocre. Like any show, the actual actors are a big factor, but this show often has at least half veterans and the other half as new-​but-​still-​funny.
Any show with Peter Gwinn is usually amazing. He’s one of the best i’ve seen and really knows how to guide and push the storyline — but truthfully you’ll never know who is going to be on beforehand, you best just cross your fingers and hope.
In addition, the Yes! Band really knows what they are doing musically, which makes the whole musical aspect come together really well.
I’ll have to admit, some of the people are really stretching the musical aspect of the show, but all in all, the rest of the ensemble really helps to make the show work.
If you sign up for the mailing list, they will email you when there show schedule is set and often you can get a discount code for tickets (usually $ 20 down to $ 15)

Huh. Larious.
Uh. Some.
One. derful.
Kuh. razy
Seh. see.
Kuh. ool.
Oh wait that last one didn’t work.

this is different from any improv i’ve been to.
the cast actually puts on a musical with a 4-​piece band. the night i went, someone shouted out «zionist root canal.» wtf… i didn’t know what they were going to come up with, but they did an excellent job! SO funny!
please come to LA.

I would consider this B-​list improv. A-​list, of course, would be ASSSSSSSCAT30000000 @ UCB Theatre w/​Amy Poehler and Seth Myers. This would be the closest thing to that IMO. Not the usualy cheesy ‘please clap’ desperado sketches, but actual funny ones with storylines dictated by the audience. As with any sketch comedy improv group or a diamond (take your pick), some shined more than others. Much like a Tasting Event, what you pay usually dictates the caliber of talent (unless you are a cheapass and hit UCB @ 8pm to line up for free tix to the 9pm freebie show). Loud, vivacious, in your face vulgar humor is what you will get. I’d go back, but I’d chug a bottle of hard stuff beforehand to make the sketches seem funnier.

a friend literally dragged me to this show, i am not fond of musicals, so i thought an improv musical would be the pits… the premise is that an audience member yells out a title to the musical, and then they start performing a show, one at a time, building on eachothers story, based on that title. the live band will play some generic background music, and they will sing in predictable cadences.
IT WAS HILARIOUS! i dont know what your show might be like, but of the four ive seen so far, three were amazing and one was just great… each cast ive seen perform has been different, with a few consistent players… and for only $ 15, it makes for a fun, and inexpensive night out… i try to see them as often as i can!

WOW. I laughed, and I laughed hard. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. I went to this show through Upright Citizen’s Brigade, but I will be at the Barrow St performance pronto cause this shit is funny. Funny people. I want them to be my friends. Go support these people cause this shit is awesome. Best $ 12 I spent in awhile.

I seriously thought this was going to be a musical about a baby who wants candy. My friends who saw the show before even said that they won in the raffle a bunch of chocolate bars. I was so confused.
In fact, I even got lost finding the theatre. The Barrow Street Theatre is the easiest and most difficult venue to find. The Village really screws around with you. I was walking up and down 7^th Avenue South and Bleecker. When all else fails, use a landmark! The Barrow Street Theatre is right next to L’Arte Del Gelato.
I chose 5 seats in front and as soon as my friends and I sat down, I began to panic. This wasn’t one of those shows that takes people from the audience was it? My friend laughed at me and shook her head no. Baby Wants Candy, however, was an improvised musical down to the music. The band was AMAZING. They were really hip too. From cool hair to cool glasses, they weren’t band geeks at all.
Tonight’s musical was entitled «Swanson Broth Serenade.» It included the following hits:
–I Was Poor
–Cooking is like a Woman
–The Stew is a Stew
–The Fancy Girl Lives in Your Brain
All of the choreography was spontaneous and silly. Men played women. Women played men. White people played black people. Americans were French. Sugar was a mandatory ingredient in the stew. There were villains. There was a murder or two. Actually, does it count as a murder if the victims ended up living? Everyone had a dream. The players belted out tunes that made perfect sense in a nonsensical world. And what a set of pipes they had! Funny people can sing and tell a joke at the same time.
Sadly, you won’t ever be able to watch «Swanson Broth Serenade» ever again because it was unique to tonight’s performance. Each show is different based on the audience’s suggested musical.
Baby Wants Candy performs every Saturday at 10:30 PM but starting May 28, their show moves to Thursday nights. Regular admission price is $ 25 but if you subscribe to the Baby Wants Candy e-​mail list, you can get in for a discounted price of $ 15.
This show comes highly recommended not only because it’s funny, awesome, and next to L’Arte Del Gelato but because no matter what preconceived notions you may have about the show, Baby Wants Candy will throw you off. It’s a pleasant surprise.