"The Liar Show": Go on, call their bluff

We all feel a twinge of schadenfreude whenever a liar is exposed (ahem, John Edwards). And that's exactly why "The Liar Show," a storytelling event that lands at the DCJCC next week, is so much fun.

Created in New York in 2006 by humorist and writer Andy Christie, the show capitalizes on the popularity of storytelling events including Speakeasy DC's open-mikes and the Moth series in New York. But Christie noticed that audience members sometimes approached the speakers after the shows to ask if the tales were really true. The stories, after all, are frequently too outrageous to take at face value.

Inspired, Christie launched "The Liar Show," where most of the storytellers stick to the facts, but one is definitely a big fat fibber -- it's up to the audience to find out who.

At the DCJCC on May 11, a professional standup comedian, writers and a one-time Washington speechwriter will regale the audience with their real-life extraordinary encounters, childhood traumas and silly stories. After all the tales are told, the crowd gets about 20 minutes to interrogate the speakers, and anyone who picks the fibber gets a T-shirt. (And you can forget about pulling out your smart phones. The game is all about tripping up the liar with the right questions, catching him or her on the metaphoric Appalachian Trail.)

I got to see the show (based at New York's Cornelia Street Cafe) last spring when it stopped at the D.C. Improv, and the crowd had a blast; the liar outed himself when he mentioned living and working on Capitol Hill but having to ride his bike home via Connecticut Avenue, and the roomful of Washingtonians saw right through it.

That show was sold out, so if you're hoping to check out "The Liar Show," be sure to get tickets soon.

-- Lavanya Ramanathan