Top comedians are heading to Connecticut. Here are some of the don’t-miss shows.
In the dregs of August, we’re bracing ourselves for the fall sports season, the new theater season, the back-to-school season, the leaf-raking season and other tonal shifts in the world.
When you see so many transitions — from outdoor music festivals to indoor indie bands, or from classic car rallies to indoor monster trucks — you start noticing that live comedy seems the least affected by shifts in climate or culture. Sure, stand-up comics talk about those things, but stand-up comedy stages are always easy to find year-round.
That said, comedy has a special vibe in summer, internationally speaking, since the Edinburgh Fringe happens in Scotland with hundreds of comedy performers hoping to make their mark. In the U.S., the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York, holds a big summer comedy festival. This year, the center opened a new performance space in honor of TV’s “Laugh-In” creator George Schlatter.
Connecticut has given the world of comedy such stellar names as Seth MacFarlane (from Kent), Richard Belzer (from Bridgeport), “Schitt’s Creek” creator Dan Levy (from Stamford) and Hartford’s own Totie Fields, among many others.
Hundreds of comedy shows are happening in Connecticut in the next few months. Here are some highlights.
As Seen on TV
Andrew Dismukes just played the New York Comedy Club in Stamford on Aug. 12, and another current SNL cast member, the ace Trump impressionist James Austin Johnson, is there Sept. 21 (stamford.newyorkcomedyclub.com). Among the generations of former SNL cast members still on tour are Tim Meadows at the Hartford Funny Bone (hartford.funnybone.com) in Manchester on Aug. 31.
Another show whose performers all seem to have stand-up careers is “The Daily Show.” Former “Daily Show” correspondents who now host their own funny news shows are both playing The Bushnell (bushnell.org) in Hartford in September: John Oliver on Sept. 16 and Samantha Bee on Sept. 21 on her “Joy of Sex Education” tour. Longtime “Daily Show” ranter Lewis Black (a Yale School of Drama grad) is at the Waterbury Palace Theater (palacetheaterct.org) on Nov. 18 and the Garde Arts Center (gardearts.org) in New London the following night, Nov. 19.
A somewhat less intellectual TV comedy star than all those aforementioned news junkies, Steve-O of “Jackass” fame, is at Foxwoods (foxwoods.com) on Sept. 1.
Former late-night host Craig Ferguson is also at Foxwoods on Sept. 8.
Ilana Glazer, of the “Broad City” TV series as well as several other comedy projects, is at College Street Music Hall (collegestreetmusichall.com) on Sept. 14.
Tig Notaro came up in clubs and theaters doing long-form monologues, but is now better known for playing “Tig Bavaro” on her semi-autobiographical series “One Mississippi” and “Jett Reno” on “Star Trek: Discovery.” She is at the Warner Theatre in Torrington (warnertheatre.org) on Sept. 15 on her “Hello Again” tour.
The Bushnell hosts “A Conversation with Jason Alexander,” the “Seinfeld” co-star who’s also done a lot of comedy movies and plays, on Nov. 3. It’s part of WRCH Lite 100.5’s Nite of Lite Laughter annual charity fundraising series.
Improv
Sea Tea Comedy Theater (seateaimprov.com) is Hartford’s home for improv sketch comedy, operated by the Sea Tea Improv comedy troupe and often populated with students from their improv classes. There are several regular improv shows a week, including competitions among local troupes and a regular family-friendly show. On Aug. 19, Sea Tea does one of their quirky-themed nights: “A Streetcar Named Whatever — Fully Improvised Classic Theater.”
The nationally touring “Whose Live Anyway?” show, anchored by veterans members of the “Whose Line is It Anyway” TV series (including Ryan Stiles and Jeff Proops), is Oct. 12 at the Warner Theatre in Torrington.
The Capitol Fools, not exactly an improv troupe but a quick-witted comedy team that riffs on current news events, is at the Stamford Palace Theatre on Oct. 5 (palacestamford.org).
LGBTQ+
The powerhouse “Lipstick Lashes” drag revue has been running for years, happening twice a week at Mohegan Sun’s Comix Comedy Club (comixroadhouse.com), Fridays at 10 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. The current main host is Mia E Z’Lay.
Queer comedy has become commonplace at comedy clubs. The “Two Dykes and a Mic” team of McKenzie Goodwin and Rachel Scanlon is at the Hartford Funny Bone in Manchester on Aug. 16.
Sienna Rose’s “Iconic Behavior” revue is at New York Comedy Club Stamford on Aug. 21.
Top drag talent Jinkx Monsoon and Dela Bendelacreme team up for “The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show” is Nov. 29 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven.
The arena fillers
Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham has set comedy ticket-sale records with his tours. He played Hartford last year and is returning to the casino stages this fall on Sept. 2 at Mohegan Sun Arena (mohegansun.com).
Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias earns two back-to-back Foxwoods shows on Sept. 3.
Howie Mandel, who could fill big theaters for his comedy years before he was a TV game show and talent show host, is at Mohegan Sun on Sept. 15. The show was postponed from July 29.
Still filling arenas with his singular screechy voice, Katt Williams is at the XL Center in Hartford (xlcenter.com) on Oct. 14 on his Dark Matter tour.
One comedian who could be in much larger venues if he wanted to be is Dane Cook, scaling down to the theater-sized experience for his “Perfectly Shattered” tour on Oct. 22 at the Stamford Palace.
Podcast stars
A lot of comedians, including many in the other categories on these lists, have podcasts. But some folks who started as podcasters turned those shows into national comedy tours. The hosts of “And Then We Had Sex” are at the Hartford Funny Bone on Sept. 14. The “Bored Teachers” are at the Stamford Palace on Oct. 29, and Cat & Nat bring their “Unfiltered Live!” tour to the same Stamford Palace on Dec. 1.
Club legends
He regularly filled Toad’s Place in New Haven for decades with his rude comedy piano song parodies, and now John Valby can be found on Sept. 3 at Mohegan Sun’s Comix Roadhouse.
Dave Attell is one of those “comedian’s comedians” guys, beloved by his peers. He’s at Foxwoods on Sept. 9.
Michael Rappaport plays gangsters in movies, runs a rancorous podcast and has been a top stand-up comic for decades. He’s doing five shows Sept. 14-16 at New York Comedy Club Stamford.
Vic Dibitetto may not be well known outside the stand-up comedy scene (though his “Bread and Milk” video went viral) but he has been packing theaters for years and visits Connecticut frequently. He is at Ridgefield Playhouse (ridgefieldplayhouse.org) on Sept. 15.
Comedy in groups
Sometimes several comedians head out on tour together. The Festival of Laughs with Lavell Crawford, Sommore, Don DC Curry and Guy Torry returns to the Shubert Theatre (shubert.com) in New Haven on Oct. 6, while the Ivy League of Comedy is at the Warner again on Sept. 23.
Comedians on the brink
Of all the comedy rooms in the state, College Street Music Hall is the best bellwether of comics who are on the rise, transitioning from clubs to theaters and perhaps on the verge of screen fame. Upcoming at College Street are Nurse Blake on Sept. 28 and Steve Trevino on Sept. 29.
At other theater venues, you’ll find Justin Willman at UConn’s Jorgensen Center (jorgensen.uconn.edu) for a family weekend event Oct. 14, Anthony Rodia at Waterbury Palace on Oct. 21, and veteran stand-up Tom Papa, whose career has been reinvigorated by podcasts, at the Warner on Oct. 20.
The reliable locals
Finally, don’t forget the bedrock local comedy rooms like City Steam’s Brew HaHa Comedy Club (citysteambrewery.com/comedy-club/), The Elbow Room restaurant’s downstairs comedy room in West Hartford (elbowroomct.com) and Playhouse on Park’s monthly Comedy Nites (playhouseonpark.org). There are dozens of bars, theaters and clubs in Connecticut offering open mics and other comedy events. There is no reason not to laugh year-round.
