Who says that every-thing in Westchester has to be so serious all the time? No, we don’t have our own dedicated comedy club, and we’re missing improv culture that’s present in a place like Astoria, Queens. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want a good laugh every now and again. Thankfully, some local venues have heard our pleas, and soon some of the comics that you see each night on Comedy Central will be performing on our local stages. Here’s our guide to fall laughs.
Brian Regan
September 25, Paramount Center for the Arts
If you haven’t seen Brian Regan’s 2008 Comedy Central special, The Epitome of Hyperbole, it might be hard to explain his act. The Providence Journal writes of Regan’s stand-up: “It isn’t self-consciously bizarre; it isn’t angry; it isn’t raving; it’s just plain funny in the old-school, post vaudeville fashion.” Regan perfects his set through tons of live performances—he performs in more than 80 cities each year—so when you buy a ticket to his show you can be confident that his material has been road-tested.
Lewis Black
October 1, Stamford Center for the Arts
Lewis Black may be the angriest man in stand-up comedy. You may know him from his ranting “Back in Black” segments on The Daily Show. In addition to four Comedy Central specials, Black has had two specials on HBO—Black on Broadway, and Red, White, and Screwed—and is known for making political observations like, “Republicans are a party with bad ideas and Democrats are a party with no ideas.”
Sinbad
October 22, Paramount Center for the Arts
Finally—a comedy show you can take your kids to without blushing. Unlike the shows of 99 percent of comics out there working today, Sinbad’s set is family-friendly, and all ages are welcome. (And, after divorcing his wife in the ’80s and remarrying her in 2002, you bet he has a lot to say about families and how they operate.) You may have seen a lot of the stand-up this year, after airing a Comedy Central special, Where You Been, in February before appearing on The Celebrity Apprentice this spring. (He was fired the second week.)
Ron White
October 24, Tarrytown Music Hall
Ron “Tater Salad” White is certainly not from Westchester. The comedian rose to fame cigar-smoking and whiskey-drinking his way through the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Since finishing the tour, he’s had three one-hour specials on Comedy Central (Drunk in Public, You Can’t Fix Stupid, and Behavioral Problems), and his book, I Had the Right to Remain Silent…But I Didn’t Have the Ability debuted at No. 15 on the New York Times bestseller list. We’re sure he has a thing or two to say about hitting the big time.
Ralphie May
November 6, Tarrytown Music Hall
Ralphie May first came to prominence…because people liked him. He appeared in the first season of Last Comic Standing, and fans voted him all the way into the final round. (He came in second place to Dat Phan.) Though he didn’t win the title, he did win the audience, and quickly produced three Comedy Central specials in three years. Currently, he’s working on a buddy sitcom with another Last Comic Standing alum, Lavell Crawford, which, according to the Hollywood Reporter, is about “lifelong friends who discover they’re brothers when their father passes away and leaves them his barbecue restaurant.”
