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Upright Citizens Brigade takes Charles Barkley’s stories of race, sports and childhood to the stage

Charles Barkley's new show, "The Race Card," debuts in 2017.
(John Locher / Associated Press)
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Former NBA player and TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley is rarely at a loss for words, but Sunday on stage at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, the mountain of a man was reduced to silent spasms of laughter as a troupe of improv comedians spun sketches from his monologues about childhood, race and fellow sports figures.

It was part of the UCB’s ASSSSCAT series, weekly live performances at UCB theaters in L.A. and New York, where improv sketch artists embellish the monologues of notable guests such as Kevin Bacon and Jane Fonda. The UCB’s players include cofounders Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh (“Veep”) and Matt Besser.

Sunday at the theater on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Walsh, Besser and six other improv sketch artists brought the audience to tears expanding on Barkley’s stories.

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In one sketch about Barkley angering TNT viewers with his touchy comments about women and race, the performers became TNT complaint department operators who further insulted the callers. In another sketch spun off Barkley’s views on the different temperaments of professional athletes, the actors brought to life stereotypes that NHL players are nice, NFL players short-fused and MLB players soft.

Though the UCB performances are rarely taped or broadcast, Sunday’s show was filmed for inclusion in Barkley’s new TNT series, “The Race Card.”

The series, which will air sometime next spring, follows Barkley across the U.S. as he addresses issues of race with marginalized groups including Latinos, African Americans and Muslims. It’s a departure from his other role on the network as a post-game analyst on “Inside the NBA.”

“I’m so tired of all the bullshit out there on race,” he told the intimate theater audience. “I wanted to do something about it, and that’s what this show will be.”

On Sunday, even a painful story about the racism Barkley’s daughter experienced at an all-white, private school became skit material where the player lampooned elite, segregated learning institutions.

The sketches, and Barkley’s commentary, were much-needed comic relief after the past few years of heightened racial tensions across the country.

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“Barkley alone was a great monologist because, if you’ve ever watched him [as a sports analyst], you know he’s funny,” Walsh said after the show. “Then tackling race with him, his monologues were full of opportunity. It’s always risky, but I’m glad we could take something that’s been so fraught and make it funny.”

On Twitter: @LorraineAli

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