July 25 performance of I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce will benefit the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation
By Hollywood Times Staffer
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 7/17/26 – Critically acclaimed actor Ronnie Marmo will honor the life and legacy of Kitty Bruce, daughter of legendary comedian Lenny Bruce, with a special memorial benefit performance of I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
Kitty Bruce passed away on May 13, 2026. The performance will take place following a public memorial service celebrating her life earlier that day at the Hollywood Improv.
Directed by acclaimed actor Joe Mantegna, the one-man production begins at 8 p.m. at the Theatre 68 Arts Complex, located at 5112 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. Proceeds from the evening will support the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, the charitable organization Kitty founded in 2008.
The foundation provides scholarships to individuals participating in drug and alcohol recovery programs, helping them continue receiving care when insurance coverage expires or other financial resources are no longer available.
Celebrities, comedians and longtime friends of Kitty Bruce are expected to attend the memorial performance. A pre-show red carpet will offer interview and photography opportunities with arriving guests, including Marmo and Mantegna.
The evening comes shortly before the 60th anniversary of Lenny Bruce’s death on August 3, adding further significance to a performance dedicated to remembering both Kitty Bruce and her father.
Marmo has portrayed Lenny Bruce in more than 485 performances across the United States and Canada since the production premiered in Los Angeles in 2017. Kitty Bruce gave the show her personal blessing and described Marmo’s performance as “the best portrayal of my father I have ever seen.”
“Kitty Bruce was more than the guardian of her father Lenny Bruce’s legacy,” Marmo said. “She was a force of love, courage, truth and compassion in her own right. She believed deeply in preserving her father’s voice and message for future generations.”
Marmo said Kitty’s friendship and confidence in his work made portraying her father one of the greatest honors of his life.
“Losing Kitty is heartbreaking,” he said. “Her love, friendship and belief in me, giving me her blessing to write her father’s story and portray him onstage for audiences around the world, is one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Marmo added that he intends to continue carrying the family’s legacy forward.
“I’m happy to carry on Lenny’s legacy alongside her, and I will continue to do so with pride in both her name and her father’s,” he said. “Onward we go with fond memories of her spirit, her laughter and her devotion to justice and humanity. I will keep giving this play my all.”
The actor believes Lenny Bruce’s fearless social commentary remains as necessary today as it was during the comedian’s lifetime.
“In the 1960s, Lenny Bruce exposed many of the ‘untouchable’ subjects that are in the news once more in 2026,” Marmo said, citing religion, racism, immigration, xenophobia, gender inequality, sexual identity, censorship, police brutality, criminal justice reform and the opioid epidemic.
“Here we are, and all the issues Lenny was fighting make the play relevant still,” he said.
I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce chronicles the life, career and death of one of the most influential and controversial comedians in American history. The 80-minute production explores Bruce’s personal struggles, improvisational comedy and biting social commentary, as well as his unwavering commitment to freedom of speech.
Bruce’s groundbreaking work influenced generations of comedians, musicians, poets, filmmakers and political commentators. His willingness to challenge social conventions also resulted in numerous obscenity charges and arrests. He continued fighting for his First Amendment rights until his death from an accidental overdose in 1966 while his conviction was under appeal.
Through Marmo’s intense and often startling portrayal, the production brings Bruce’s voice, humor and uncompromising pursuit of truth back to the stage for a new generation.
Performance Information
What: I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce
When: Saturday, July 25, 2026, at 8 p.m.
Where: Theatre 68 Arts Complex, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
Beneficiary: The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation
Tickets: Available through Theatre 68
