"Funatical" multi-cultural comedy show in LA Dec. 9

PlanetPix Media & Entertainment Group is pleased to announce that it will debut its comedy tour, “FUNATICAL: Taking Comedy to the Extreme,” in Los Angeles on December 9th at the World Famous Comedy Store. Featuring an impressive comedian lineup, the tour will aim to unify all Americans. 'FUNATICAL’ features the world's only Indian Jewish comedian, a black Muslim convert, an Arab Jewish performer, famous American Muslim comedians, a Jordanian Catholic, a half Iranian/half black performer, Hindu comedians, a half Persian/half Russian, an Armenian Orthodox and an Iranian Bahai performer.

“FUNATICAL” will launch on the West Coast and will include dates at Beyond the Stars Palace Theatre in Glendale on December 10th, and then will move to the Los Angeles Theatre Center on December 11, 2010. In late January, the show will head to the East Coast for stints in New York City and Washington, D.C. in early March. The tour, whose motto, 'We Come in Peace' presents comedians who are of Arab, Iranian, South Asian and American descent as well as those of different faiths. It pokes fun at commonly heard stereotypes, explores diverse cultures and current events and joins audiences as they lampoon with humor and satire.

Now, for the first time, the United Religious Initiative (URI), a United Nations NGO, is supporting a multicultural comedy tour. URI is a global interfaith peace-building organization that is currently active in 72 countries around the world. The FUNATICAL tour includes dozens of partners and supporters on both coasts including the Levantine Cultural Center and Beauty and the East TV.

According to a recent article published in the Los Angeles Times (9/9/10), statistics support the belief that Islamophobia is on the rise in America and the temptation to view Muslims through the prism of extremism remains ever-present. These perceptions are linked to the 'Ground Zero Mosque" debates in New York. Sadly, pastors and elected leaders spewing dangerous rhetoric has now undone years of interfaith work.

"FUNATICAL" creator and executive producer Samira Atash says, "We are presenting this comedy tour to bring people together. Perhaps they will laugh. Perhaps they will momentarily put issues like the Ground Zero Mosque and “Burn a Quran Day” aside to appreciate our shared freedom, who we are, and what we have. We want to counter extremism that exists in all religions as well as bigotry that exists in America against those who simply "look Muslim." In our communities together, we must challenge prejudice, and in our tour, we use comedy to examine those feelings out loud. In particular, FUNATICAL’s animated character, "Mustlaufa Dajeeni', illustrates how silly stereotypes can be."

“FUNATICAL” is co-produced by a team of Muslims, Jews and Christians including: Jordan Elgrably, the creator of the long-running "Sultans of Satire" comedy show, which stared Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani; Aron Kader from the "Axis of Evil Comedy Tour" and Max Amini, comedian and founder of 'Exotic Imports' comedy tour.

www.planetpixmedia.com