Announcing Two Ticketed Events, With Christopher Moore (May 1) and Garrison Keillor (May 5). Is That Enough Funny for You?

We've got two ticketed events coming up and now that they've been posted on Brown Paper Tickets, we're ready to announce them to you.

On Thursday, May 1, we're hosting a ticketed event at Boswell with Christopher Moore, author of The Serpent of Venice. This event is co-sponsored by Theatre Gigante, and if I find another media sponsor, I will insert them "here."

Tickets are $28, includes admission and a signed copy of The Serpent of Venice, all taxes and fees, and are available on Brown Paper Tickets. For all of you who want to know these kinds of things, it's event #614923. For this event, there is a $20 gift card option, in lieu of the book, on the night of the event only.

Get ready for a night of raucous hilarity with one of the most entertaining authors you’ll ever meet: Christopher Moore returns to Milwaukee to present The Serpent of Venice, the sequel to Fool and another satirical take on the Bard of Avon starring everybody’s favorite fool, Pocket of Dog Snogging, in a glorious and farcical mash–up of William Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe.

The setting is Venice, a long time ago. And three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal–Fool Pocket. This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio’s beautiful daughter, Portia. But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn’t even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool…and he’s got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve. Greed, revenge, deception, lust, and a giant (but lovable) sea monster combine to create another hilarious and bawdy tale from modern comic genius, Christopher Moore.

Our buyer Jason gives the book a whole bunch of thumbs up: "The foul-mouthed, funny, and acrobatic Pocket from Fool is back, and now, he's running around and scheming in Venice trying to stop a Crusade, of all things. It is greed that lines the pockets of Pocket's enemies, and they also just hate his friendly standing with the doge and Othello, whose ears he can influence. Christopher Moore takes us on another Shakespearean romp that involves a deadly sea creature, a pound of flesh, double dealings, stolen money, three locked chests, Marco Polo, and a lot of people dying who don't stay dead. It was marvelous, and had me laughing out loud the entire time."

Other things you should know: the Boswellians claim Fool is in the running for best Christopher Moore novel ever. It's fighting it out with Lamb. Details on the cage match battle to come.

Christopher Moore is the author of twelve previous novels: Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Lamb, Fluke, The Stupidest Angel, A Dirty Job, You Suck, Fool, Bite Me, and Sacré Bleu. He divides his time between Hawaii and San Francisco, California.

This is our first ticketed event with Mr. Moore. Based on the last two, we're worried about hitting capacity. Now you can make sure you get in! Here's the rest of the tour.

For those who don't have enough funny in their bones, we're also announcing a ticketed event at the UWM Union Ballroom with Garrison Keillor, author of The Keillor Reader, on Monday, May 5, 7 pm. The UWM Union Ballroom is located at 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. There is a parking lot underneath the Union and street parking is also available.

Boswell Book Company and the UWM Bookstore are proud to present the multi-talented master storyteller, Garrison Keillor, with media sponsors WUWM 89.7 Milwaukee Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Radio.

Best known as the founder and host of A Prairie Home Companion, Keillor will present and discuss his latest book, The Keillor Reader, a stunning collection of his many, varied pursuits. Tickets for this event are available on the Brown Paper Tickets Ticket cost is $30, and includes admission for one person and an autographed copy of The Keillor Reader. There is no gift card option for this event, but don't forget that a signed Garrison Keillor book makes a great gift. With Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation coming up, you've got a lot of options, and don't forget that Christmas is only seven months away. It's event #615178.

When, at thirteen, he caught on as a sportswriter for the Anoka Herald, Garrison Keillor set out to become a professional writer, and so he has done, recognized today as one of America’s best loved storytellers as well as an occasional comedian, essayist, editor, newspaper columnist, screenwriter, and poet. The Keillor Reader is a remarkable single volume that brings together the full range of his work including monologues from A Prairie Home Companion, stories from The New Yorker and The Atlantic, excerpts from novels, and newspaper columns. With an extensive introduction and headnotes, photographs, and memorabilia, The Keillor Reader also presents pieces never before published, including the essays “Cheerfulness” and “What We Have Learned So Far.”

Other things you should know: The Keillor Reader is the closest thing we will get to a memoir from Keillor...until he writes one.

Garrison Keillor was born in Anoka, Minnesota, he began his radio career as a freshman at the University of Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1966. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul, which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary.