Improv Everywhere

I've heard of Improv Everywhere before, but never been witness to one of their stunts....until this weekend. They are a comedy troupe that stages large scale public pranks across NYC. They are the creators of the No Pants subway ride. They put on a performance in the subway of the scene when Princess Leia meets Darth Vader. They painted a line down a 5th ave sidewalk dividing walkers into two groups: Tourists and New Yorkers. They have even recreated scenes from Ghostbusters in the NY Public Library.

Their latest endeavor took place this past Saturday at Coney Island. I happened to be there with my lovely friend Annie. We decided to take advantage of one of the last weekends of summer by going to the beach. And I had been dying to ride the Brooklyn Flier ever since I heard about these awesome flying swings that shoot you nearly 40 feet up in the air. We were relaxing on our beach blanket, taking in the usual freaks that tend to wander the Coney Island area, when we started noticing people in formal attire. We figured there must have been a wedding, and brushed it off as nothing too out of the ordinary for a place full of weirdos. We even remarked what a mean bride it would be to make your bridal party schlep around Coney Island in formal wear. Then I saw a few people on the board walk who looked as if they had been swimming in their tuxes. Weird.

Turns out it wasn't just the typical strange people who are drawn to the Coney Island beach and new Luna Amusement park, but Improve Everywhere (IE) putting on a show as Gothamist reported in Coney Island Goes Formal. They just wanted to mess with people's heads, and see how people would react to dress so entirely unsuited for the beach. As a typical New Yorker, I was unimpressed. I just shrugged my shoulders, gave them a strange look, and figured it's NYC, you're bound to see some of the strangest things.