Tickets go on sale Sunday morning for SF Sketchfest, which runs from January 9 to January 26, 2020, and it will, as always, feature a cavalcade of funny folks from across the country in comedy showcases, scripted shows, and on-stage tributes.
The festival happens across over a dozen venues over more than two weeks, and the scale of it therefore eclipses the three-day Clusterfest that happens in Civic Center in June. Comedy fans know about all the gems that can be found in the Sketchfest schedule, though, and tickets for the big-name events tend to sell out fast.
This year those big names include Tony Shaloub, Sandra Bernhard, Crispin Glover, Tony Hale, Busy Phillips, Rachel Dratch, Fred Armisen, Horatio Sanz, and Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, to name a few.
There's also a Lin-Manuel Miranda-created show called Freestyle Love Supreme on January 24, which may or may not feature Miranda himself. The show has done a lot of traveling without Miranda, and features a "crew of MCs, musicians and beatboxers [who] take the audience on a freestyle, hip-hop, improvisational, never-before-seen comedy ride all based off audience suggestions."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Tom Lenk is bringing back his one-man show Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist, which he premiered at Sketchfest 2019.
There are also anniversary tributes to cult-classic movies including Whit Stillman's Barcelona (a 25th anniversary tribute featuring Stillman, and actors Tushka Bergan, Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols on January 11), as well as a 30th anniversary tribute of Stillman's Metropolitan. Local drag legend Peaches Christ will help celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on January 11 with the help of star Barry Bostwick. There's a 40th anniversary tribute to Airplane! on January 19 featuring star Robert Hays (Ted Striker) and creators David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams. And on January 12 there's a 35th anniversary tribute screening of Clue with actors Lesley Ann Warren and Colleen Camp in attendance.
On top of all that, there are dozens and dozens of standup comedians — and "comedians' comedians" — coming to do sets and showcases including Maria Bamford (Jan. 9), Michael Ian Black and Bobcat Goldthwait (Jan. 11), Chris Gethard (Jan. 24-25), Chris Redd (Jan. 16), and John Cleese's daughter Camilla Cleese (Jan. 11).
Check out the schedule, and get on it with the ticket buying at 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 24.