Comedy festival
Lewis Black is headlining the Boston Comedy Festival, but there are a lot of other comedians in town this week who are worthy of your attention and admiration. For a taste of what these jesters have to offer, we challenged a handful of comics performing at this year’s festival to finish the following line: ‘‘Two guys walk into a bar...’’ Here’s what they had to say.
THE SOAP STAR: CAMERON MATHISON
‘‘Two guys walk into a bar and they both get rushed to the hospital from a concussion.’’
‘‘All My Children’’ stars Cameron Mathison and Vincent Irizarry attempt to disprove the notion that soap opera stars are simply pretty faces with cardboard personalities. They do so by dishing the goods on their costars at the Terrace Room of the Park Plaza. Neither Mathison nor Irizarry considers himself a stand-up comedian, but they do fancy themselves funny storytellers, and if any of their tales involve Susan Lucci, then chances are the evening will be worth the $40 ticket price.
Sept. 17, 6 p.m. Park Plaza Terrace Room, 64 Arlington St., Boston. 617-263-6887. $40.
THE LOCAL IT GIRL: KELLY MACFARLAND
‘‘Two guys walk into a bar and... wait! Are they cute?’’
Kelly MacFarland may be one of the featured stars of the ‘‘Ladies of Comedy’’ show at Nick’s Comedy Stop, but she claims to be an ‘‘Equal opportunity comedian. I want all the men in the audience to have as much fun as the women, so I keep my topics general.’’ Best known for appearing on the NBC reality show ‘‘The Biggest Loser,’’ she performs alongside comedians such as Kira Soltanovich and Carolyn Plummer.
Sept. 16, 8:30 p.m. Nick’s Comedy Stop, 100 Warrenton St., Boston. 617-423-2900. $15.
THE THINKING MAN’S COMIC: PETER DUTTON
‘‘Two guys walk into a bar... not that there’s anything wrong with that.’’
Peter Dutton, whose dry comedy has been compared to that of Steven Wright, will try his hand at impressing the pants off of a booking agent for ‘‘The Late Show with David Letterman.’’ The show, simply billed as ‘‘David Letterman Auditions,’’ will feature sets from seasoned jokesters such as George MacDonald, Tim McIntire, Rick Jenkins, and Jack Lynch. Dutton, who placed second in the 2003 Boston Comedy Festival contest, is no stranger to competition, but he insists that the Letterman auditions are not a competition. ‘‘If we’re all really good, then we all get a chance to be on Letterman,’’ he says. ‘‘Although I doubt that’s really going to happen.’’
Sept. 16, 10 p.m. Improv Asylum, 216 Hanover St., Boston. 617-263-6887. $20.
THE ‘TWO GUYS WALK INTO A BAR’ CONTEST WINNER: RYAN HAMILTON
‘‘Two guys walk into a Bar Mitzvah and immediately walk out, saying something about how wordplay is never really as funny as you think it will be.’’
Utah native Ryan Hamilton recently placed first in Sierra Mist’s ‘‘America’s Next Great Comic’’ contest, and as a result of his big win, he’ll appear as a featured performer in a comedy showcase that will be broadcast nationally on Comcast. He was also a finalist in Comedy Central’s ‘‘Laugh Riot’’ competition. He comes to comedy after a brief stint as Mormon missionary, but promises that his current act is geared toward making people laugh, not saving their souls.
Sept. 14, 7 p.m. Comedy Connection, 245 Quincy Market Place, Faneuil Hall, Boston. 617-248-9700
