“Laugh Often & Much”
by Zoë Kirsch
If laughter is the best medicine, prepare to be cured—Nantucket is about to get a six-day dose.
The Nantucket Comedy Festival begins this Monday, July 28 and continues through Saturday, August 2. Created and produced by long-time local residents and comedians Kevin Flynn and Bonnie Block, the festival was developed to bring top comedic performance to the island in support of local charities.
Block, a stand-up comedian, met Flynn last season, when she performed with him in his popular Monday Comedy Nights. “At the end of the summer, I asked him about doing a comedy festival, and he said that people had been asking him to do one for years...so we said ‘let’s do it!’ We’ve been working on this for nine months—it’s been a labor of love, with labor definitely one of the key words.”
“Most comedy festivals are designed for the industry,” Block explained, “but we thought this should be a family festival—that it should be about everyone.” To accomplish this goal, Block and Flynn brought in a wide range of performers, all “classy comedians.”
“Certain people can write and perform stories that make you laugh out loud, some can’t—it’s a real talent. These comedians prove that anything in life can be funny.”
More than twenty well-known comedians will be performing on Nantucket for the festival at two separate venues, and they will be joined by some local talent. Shows in town on the Dreamland backlot include the Pro Kids Comedy Show, which features four of New York’s best kid comedians with an adult comedian hosting this family-friendly show; a Women’s Comedy Night that promises to be an unforgettable girls’ night out; and a one-man show by Mike Birbiglia, one of the youngest comedians ever to perform on The Late Show and frequently seen on Comedy Central.
Also on the backlot each morning of the festival, a Kids N Comedy Class will be taught by Jane Condon, star of Last Comic Standing. At the end of the week, children who take the workshops will perform with professional comedians in a special show.
At the second venue on Jetties Beach, three fundraisers for island non-profits will fill the nights with laughter. On Thursday, July 31, a Roast honoring Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller will be hosted by writers/directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. A political night of comedy hosted by MSNBC's Chris Matthews on Friday, August 1, will feature Will Durst and Donick Cary. The festival will finish on Saturday, August 2, when festival organizer and comedian Kevin Flynn will host a New York versus Boston All-Star Comedy Smackdown, where the “Man from Nantucket” award will go to Lenny Clarke, the “godfather of Boston comedy.” Guests of these three events will enjoy an opening cocktail party before each evening's show. Many other well-known comedians will be featured at these three main events.
Tickets for the Nantucket Comedy Festival can be purchased at www.nantucketcomedyfestival.com or at the Theater Workshop box office at the Methodist Church at 2 Centre Street. The week of the festival, tickets can be purchased at the festival tent, on the back lot of the Dreamland Theater, South Water Street. Ticket prices vary for each event and for further information go to www.nantucketcomedyfestival.com. The festival is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from events will go towards supporting local organizations such as A Safe Place, The Nantucket Arts Council, and The New School.
