(DURHAM, January 7, 2004) – MARK your calendar for Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 2 p.m. Mark Russell will be LIVE at The Music Hall in downtown Portsmouth, performing fresh and topical stand-up comedy while accompanying himself on the piano. A syndicated columnist, piano player, and “Buffalo’s Finest Export since Millard Fillmore,” his Mark Russell Comedy Specials are in their 28th season on public television. Democrats and Republicans alike are unanimous in their praise of Mark Russell…which is to say both parties find him offensive, but not at the same time. When asked, "Do you have any writers?" Russell responds, "Oh, yes...I have 535 writers. One hundred in the Senate and 435 in the House of Representatives." Russell says he lives in Washington for the same reason a coal miner lives near the shaft. Born in the thirties…or forties…, Mark Russell served in the Marines in the fifties and had a couple of weeks of college before starting out as a piano player in the Carroll Arms Hotel Bar on Capitol Hill. He made up songs about his customers, many of whom happened to be politicians. He was resident comedian at Washington’s Shoreham Hotel from 1961 to 1981. Tickets for the event are available from The Music Hall box office at (603) 436-2400 or online at www.themusichall.org. Mark Russell Live is presented by Fleet and New Hampshire Public Television, with additional support from Lightship Telecom, Saab, the Library Restaurant, and Pfizer ShareCard.Beyond its award-winning local and national television programs, NHPTV is a leader in education and community outreach. NHPTV provides instructional services for 220,000 students from kindergarten through high school; offers Ready To Learn programs for children, preschool to age 12; and provides professional development programs and advanced technology training for parents, educators and child-care providers in New Hampshire and neighboring states. For more information about NHPTV programs that entertain, educate and enrich, visit www.nhptv.org.
About New Hampshire PBS: New Hampshire PBS inspires one million Granite Staters each month with engaging and trusted local and national programs and services on-air, online, via mobile, in classrooms and in communities. Beyond its award-winning television programs, New Hampshire PBS is a leader in education and community engagement. www.nhpbs.org
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