Go Fact Yourself LIVE with Barry Sonnenfeld and Jackie Tohn
- The Crawford, 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Go Fact Yourself – “the podcast where we quiz the smartest celebrities we know, and find out why they love what they love” – is back at The Crawford! The show will be recorded as a podcast, but you'll be able to see and hear it weeks before the rest of the world.
Hosts J. Keith van Straaten (he/him) and Helen Hong (she/her) will welcome filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld (he/him) and actress and musician Jackie Tohn (she/her), plus super-secret special experts to try to stump them in their self-proclaimed areas of expertise.
Register for free for general admission or reserve a guaranteed seat for $20. Concessions available starting at 6 p.m.
This program may contain some mature language or themes.
ABOUT BARRY SONNENFELD
Barry Sonnenfeld was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from New York University Film School in 1978. He started work as director of photography on the Oscar-nominated “In Our Water” (1982). Then Joel Coen and Ethan Coen hired him for “Blood Simple” (1984). This film began his collaboration with the Coen Bros., who used him for their next two pictures, “Raising Arizona” (1987) and “Miller's Crossing” (1990). He also worked with Danny DeVito on “Throw Momma from the Train” (1987) and Rob Reiner on “When Harry Met Sally... “(1989) and “Misery” (1990). Sonnenfeld got his first work as a director from Orion Pictures on “The Addams Family” (1991), a box-office success released in November 1991 followed by its sequel, “Addams Family Values” (1993). He received critical acclaim for his fourth directorial effort, “Get Shorty” (1995). Produced by Jersey Films and based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, the film won a Golden Globe for best male performance. In 1996 Steven Spielberg asked him to direct “Men in Black” (1997). Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, the movie was a critical and financial smash. Producer Jon Peters then asked Sonnenfeld to direct “Wild Wild West” (1999), an adaptation of an old TV series. He also directed the comedy “Big Trouble” (2002), after which he made his most successful film sequel, “Men in Black II” (2002).
ABOUT JACKIE TOHN
Jackie Tohn is an actress, writer, comic, singer/songwriter, host and show creator. Acting professionally since the age of nine and doing stand-up comedy as early as fourteen, Jackie is no stranger to the stage. She plays ‘Esther’ in the new Netflix comedy series NOBODY WANTS THIS and stars in the upcoming summer camp comedy feature THE FLOATERS (2025).
Jackie played ‘Melrose’ on the hit Netflix series GLOW and hosted the Netflix cooking competition BEST LEFTOVERS EVER!
She recurs on Amazon’s GEN V and stars opposite Bobby Canavale in the Bill Burr feature OLD DADS. Jackie has guest starred on The Boys, The Good Place, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Sopranos and many more. She had the honor of playing one of her heroes, Gilda Radner, in the Netflix feature A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE directed by David Wain.
Jackie co-created Amazon’s animated preschool musical series, DO RE & MI. She wrote all 50 songs for the show’s massive first season pickup that she executive produces and stars in alongside Kristen Bell.
ABOUT J. KEITH VAN STRAATEN
J. Keith van Straaten is a content producer/writer for TV game shows, including The Hustler, Master Minds, Funny You Should Ask and In the USA Today, and wrote trivia questions for Bally Sports. He was also a longtime senior writer on NPR’s Ask Me Another.
Previously, he wrote many of the games on GSN’s Chain Reaction and the iPhone trivia app Arena. He created and hosted the live matchmaking show The Fix-Up Show, as well as hosting What’s My Line? – Live On Stage and Comedy Central’s Beat The Geeks.
J. Keith has appeared on Best Week Ever, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Beverly Hills, 90210, and a deleted scene in Gilmore Girls.
As a journalist, J. Keith has written about COVID and comedy for the Los Angeles Times, points and miles for ThePointsGuy.com, and theatre for tdf Stages magazine.
J. Keith has two cats and is an avid Angels fan.
ABOUT HELEN HONG
A fan favorite on the hit NPR podcast Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Helen Hong also co-hosts the celebrity trivia game show podcast Go Fact Yourself. Helen's acting credits include roles on Never Have I Ever, Silicon Valley, the Jennifer Garner Christmas movie Family Switch, and 5 seasons of The Thundermans on Nickelodeon.
A long-time touring standup comedian, Helen's comedy special Well Hong was co-produced by Comedy Dynamics and Tribeca Film Festival, and is streaming now on Amazon Prime & Apple TV+. Audiences love Helen's lightning quick crowd-work which can be seen on her Instagram and TikTok @funnyhelenhong.
A breast cancer survivor, Helen makes light of her cancer experience (and her "fresh new boobies") onstage. She also brings light to Asian-American issues with her family's YouTube channel "Old Korean Dad Stories."
If you bring Helen a Topo Chico and a mini Snickers bar, she will love you FOREVER.
ACCOMMODATIONS
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