Bargainista Not Stingy with Humor

Annie Korzen is a comedy writer and performer. Her humorous essays have been printed in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and more. On Seinfeld, she played the recurring role of Doris Klompus an obnoxious neighbor living in Jerry’s parents’ Florida condo complex; other credits include ER, Judging Amy, Hannah Montana, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Korzen has written, composed, and performed two solo shows. “YENTA UNPLUGGED Excuse Me, I’m Talking!” celebrates Jewish women through comedy and music. It has been produced on three continents: from New York to Sydney to Copenhagen and many points in between. Her second show, “KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT and Other Things I Can’t Do” is about the price one pays for speaking out. She is also on the lecture circuit with her talk, “The Good Yenta: A Humorous Celebration of Jewish Women”.

In 1993, Korzen was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in an episode entitled “Ethnic Men Who Reject Their Own Women”, a topic Korzen had suggested to the show’s producers.

Korzen will kick off the Boulder JCC’s Festival of Books and Culture with a party celebrating her new book “Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap,” at Rags Consignment Store, 3129 28^th St, on Monday November 1 at 7 pm. Tickets are $12. Reservations are appreciated; shari@boulderjcc.org.

In her own words, Korzen describes the inspiration for her latest foray into serious humor:

In my book, “Bargain Junkie: Living the Good Life on the Cheap,” I show that living on a budget doesn’t mean abandoning expensive tastes or a love of culture. Because I’ve practiced frugality all of my life, I’m a bargain expert who’s figured out how to spend my cash sparingly and still live a lifestyle of the rich and famous.

As a self-described “thriftaholic,” I wear designer clothes, have filled my home with valuable objects, eat in restaurants (a lot!), give the occasional dinner party, put a child through college, and have traveled all over the world – all on the cheap. My mantra? You don’t have to be rich to live well.

Bargain Junkie details how smart shopping doesn’t hinder my social life of rubbing elbows with celebrities.

• Best dressed for less: I attend a wedding reception for the Swedish actor Max Von Sydow wearing a swanky dress from a consignment shop. It retailed for over $800 – I paid $100.
• Grilled cheesin’ with celebrities: A lot of swanky restaurants have low-cost specials on certain days. In Los Angeles, I run into Patricia Heaton – an old friend from acting class – at Campanile’s grilled cheese night.
• Easy come, easy go: At a celebration of his Oscar win, my husband Benni manages to dip the sleeve of his suede blazer into a bowl of tomato soup. Good thing I only paid 90 cents for it in a thrift shop!

“The economy is down, but there’s no need to do without.  Learn how to live large for very little with Bargain Junkie!”