Comedy series returns to Falls
Saturday nights are alright for laughing at convention centre
Jude Shyboi Joinville is determined to bring comedy back to Scotiabank Convention Centre.
Five years ago, the local promoter tried to bring big names to the venue’s 1,000-seat theatre with a series that started with Godfrey. But the locals weren’t biting and he was forced to cancel after a few months.
“If you want to bring in big names it’s going to be tough, because people don’t want to pay.”
Now that comedy is enjoying another resurgence in Niagara — Showtime Comedy Club in St. Catharines, a new Yuk Yuk’s and Corner Comedy Club in Niagara Falls — he figures Saturday night’s all right for laughing. The new LOL Saturdays series kicks off with a Halloween special Oct. 27 featuring Niagara’s David Green and Joe Pillitteri, Toronto’s Trixx and headlined by California’s Alonzo Bodden.
Bodden was the runner-up on “Last Comic Standing”’s second season, and returned to win the third season. He released a standup special in 2016 (“Historically Incorrect”), and has popped up in TV shows including “Californication” and “Fresh Off the Boat.” He has also hosted Speed Channel’s “101 Cars You Must Drive” and “America’s Worst Driver.”
Tickets start at $15, as Joinville wants to test the price range before booking bigger names.
“The demand is there, but you have to be consistent so you can bring the big names,” he says. “That’s our goal. We want to do a summer festival where we bring in big names for a whole weekend. We have to see if people are willing to go out.”
From what he can see, they are:
Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco sold out the Fallsview casino last year and plays FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton Oct. 12.
“I see a lot of people from Niagara when I go out to Hamilton and Toronto, and they will spend the money,” he says. “But when it comes to here, I think they don’t believe in it. I aim to change that.”
Upcoming convention centre shows will be near Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Father’s Day.