Great American Comedy Festival - Festival Gala

Great American Comedy Festival - Festival Gala
Saturday, Jun 17, 2023 at 7:00pm
Johnny Carson Theater
801 Riverside Boulevard
402-370-8004

The 2023 Great American Comedy Festival

Schedule 

Saturday Night Performers

Vicki Lawrence

Multi-talented Vicki Lawrence, is an actress, comedian, and singer known for the many characters she originated on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she appeared from 1967 to 1978, for the entire series run. One such character, Thelma Harper/Mama, was the central character of ever popular television situation comedy series Mama's Family. The show still can be seen daily in syndication throughout most of the country and is available as a Time-Life DVD collection.

Lawrence spends much of her time on the road with her stage production Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show. She also enjoys speaking to women’s organizations and other great causes, where she shares her life story of fame, activism, and her continuing success. All the while she approaches everything with her characteristic sense of humor, reminding us all that “Life is much too serious to be taken seriously!”

Chanel Ali

Chanel Ali is a standup comedian, writer, and actress living in New York City. She was host of the Food Network digital series Food Debate! and a cast member on MTV's Girl Code. Chanel has been a “New Face” at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and appeared on Night Train with Wyatt Cenac (STARZ), Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks (TruTV), Dash & Lily (Netflix), and on Comedy Central. She was also on the dais of the Friar’s Club’s Roast of Gloria Allred and has written for @NetflixisaJoke. Chanel’s debut album, Chanel No. 1, was featured on 

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. In 2021, she filmed her first hour special in Los Angeles as part of Epix’s Unprotected Sets, which premiered in March 2022.

Josh Day

Josh Day has been performing stand up comedy for over 11 years. A New Hampshire native, he has produced some of New England’s longest running and most successful comedy shows at several venues. Focused on helping folks laugh away their sadness, pain and frustration for a even a fleeting moment, he uses word play, self deprecation and true tales to connect the people in an absurd reality that even he isn’t sure exists. He has featured for Dave Attell, April Macie, Juston McKinney, Kyle Dunnigan, Drew Lynch, Myq Kaplan, Steve Gillespie, Chris Distefano, Gilbert Gottfried, Leah Rudick, Ben Kronberg and many more. As a traveling comedian he has performed at Denver Comedy Works (Downtown), The State Theater (Portland ME), West Palm Beach Improv (FL), Dallas Comedy Club (TX), Denver Comedy Underground (CO), Comedy Corner Underground (MN), NerdMelt (CA), Broadway Comedy Club (NYC), Side Splitters (FL) and many more. As a headliner he has done the Denver Comedy Lounge, Rhode Island Comedy Connection, Empire Comedy Club, The Word Barn and many more. He has appeared on the “Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo” podcast, “Paid or Pain” Podcast on Sirius/XM. He can be seen co-starring in the “Christmas Craig” web series on YouTube and in the Amazon Prime movie “Hedgehog”. He has been featured in the Boston Comedy Festival, Maine Comedy Festival, MUMfest, Highlife Style Comedy Festival and is going to be featured in the Great American Comedy Festival in June 2023. Josh likes helping folks forget their daily woes as life is a wild scary ride and it helps him with his as well.

Amy Silverberg

Amy Silverberg is a writer and comedian based in Los Angeles. Her debut novel "First Time, Long Time" is forthcoming from Grand Central Publishing in 2024. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Southern California, where she teaches. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The New York Times, TriQuarterly, The Southern Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and many other publications. Amy also writes for television, most recently "The Movie Show" on the SYFY Channel. Amy's stand-up comedy has been featured on Comedy Central, Hulu, NPR, and Amazon Prime. She was selected as a "New Face" at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.

E.L. Smith

A versatile talent, E.L. Smith can be heard on XM Satellite Radio. He can also be seen on Hulu, MTV, Netflix, Dry Bar, and Aamzon Prime. E.L Smith approaches the mic with a fearless, fun attitude that will leave audiences wanting more. He was the Laugh Factory's 2018 fresh face winner, top ten nationwide finalist for NBC clean comedy search. His confidence onstage helps him ease his way through a number of diverse topics. For this reason, E.L has been a finalist and winner in many comedy competitions. Recently E.L. can be seen on The Comedy Story documentary on Showtime. 

Host of the Friday and Saturday night shows

Pat Janssen

Pat Janssen is a Nebraska native who has appeared in numerous commercials and TV shows. He has also appeared on an album cover and music video for Grammy-nominated indie band Glass Animals. He has been named New England's Best Bar Comic by Jack Daniels.

Festival Date & Time

June 15-17, 2023 

BOOK ONLINE

Purchase your tickets online here. Tickets are non-refundable. Print and bring with you to the show. 

Based on availability tickets may be available at the door. 

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