10/26/2007 10:43:00 AM Laugh your way into 2008 Line-up announced for Fairmont Southampton’s second annual comedy event
Alonzo Bodden, a winner of Last Comic Standing, will once again host Bermuda’s Just For Laughs event at the Fairmont Southampton in January. Featured comics include Bruce Barritt (Bermuda), Wendy Liebman (U.S.A), Ed Byrne (Ireland), Gerry Dee and Greg Morton (Canada). Photo supplied.
Could you do with a laugh?
Tickets for Just For Laughs from January 10 to January 12, 2008 are now on sale at www.boxoffice.bm
You can also buy tickets in person from All Wrapped Up in the Washington Mall.
Tickets are currently $50 for the January 10 show and $65 for all the January 11 and January 12 shows. The ticket price includes one drink.
But be warned, ticket prices will rise to $75 after Christmas.
The Fairmont Southampton is also offering special pricing on accommodation, as well as dinner. You can have three-course meals at Bacci for $59 and at Waterlot Inn for $79, including gratuities. Call 239-6623 to make dinner reservations from November.
If it's laughter you're after, you won't be able to beat the sidesplitting combination of home and international humour.
The line up for Bermuda's Just For Laughs event has now been announced and there's something to tickle everyone's fancy.
The second annual event will feature five shows over three days with a total of five comedians appearing on one stage. The event in January next year is being tipped to "make you laugh 'til it hurts."
The humour of Bermuda's very own Bruce Barritt - as in the general manager of Barritt's - will warm up the crowd. The stand-up comedian has previously appeared on stage at the Yuk Yuk's in Toronto.
Performing this year will also be Wendy Liebman (U.S.A), Ed Byrne (Ireland), Gerry Dee and Greg Morton (Canada).
Liebman was named the American Comedy Awards' best female stand-up comic in 1997, has had her own half-hour HBO special, is a regular on The Late Show With David Letterman and was the first comedian to appear on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
She started her career moonlighting as a comic, she said: "I kept my secretarial day job, though I would call in sick a lot. I would say I had 'female problems.' My boss didn't know I meant her!"
Byrne is described as an "observational comic" as he tells jokes about everyday life and sees the ridiculous in everything. He is a regular on Channel 4's comedy quiz 8 Out of 10 Cats and BBC Two's Mock the Week, he has also appeared in Father Ted and performed three sell-out U.K. tours.
Laughing teacher
Dee was a physical education teacher and hockey coach at a school in Toronto before having his own show on The Comedy Network in Canada.
He is probably best known for placing third on the fifth season of Last Comic Standing - and even missed the birth of his daughter while appearing on the show.
Morton is known as a rubber-faced comedian who has "an animated presence." He ventured into the world of stand-up comedy in 1985 and has worked throughout the U.S, Canada, Australia and the U.K. He has opened for numerous celebrities including Celine Dion, Dionne Warwick and Harry Connick Jr.
Just like last year, Alonzo Bodden will once again be hosting the shows. The former aircraft mechanic draws on his experiences from growing up in the 'middle class hood.' He is a winner of Last Comic Standing and is now a talent scout on the series.
Organizer Richard Simon - who is known as the Chief Chuckler - said the island had never seen a comedy event like this.
He said: "Last year people people didn't really know what to expect, but those people that came along were wowed.
"We had three sold out shows last year and people really appreciated the professionalism of the show. The set-up and the comedians were world class, no different to if you had gone to a show in New York or Montreal."
There will be five shows over the weekend of January 10, 11 and 12, 2008 (Thursday to Saturday) in the Mid Ocean Amphitheatre at the Fairmont Southampton Resort.
The comedians will perform at 8.30pm on January 10, and on January 11 and 12 there are two shows per night at 7pm and 10pm,
The show is also for a good cause as portion of the ticket sales will go towards The Kathmandu Kids Club.
The Bermudian charity supports the work of The ISIS Foundation, helping children in serious need in Nepal. The event may be more than two months away, but it's definitely a date for your diary. Tickets go on sale today (Friday) and people are urged to get in there quick to avoid disappointment. If you buy your tickets before Christmas, they will set you back $65 but they will go up to $75 after that.
The show is sponsored by Transact and is hosted by Digicel. For more information on Just For Laughs visit www.comedyevent.bm
