‘Comedy Night’ to leave everyone laughing in the aisles
Advance correspondent BRISTOi BOROUGH - If comedian Grover Silcox’s innate sense of humor leaks out during a telephone interview, he’s gotta be a riot in person. Well, he’s been hurling jokes at audiences since the ‘T0s and was part of the pack that kicked Philadelphia comedy clubs into high gear back then, so he’s bound to bring gales of laughter when he appears in Comedy Night at the Bristol Riverside Theatre on Feb. 28.
The comedy show also features two other veteran comedians: funny guy - great with impressions, they say - Steve Shaffer, and comediDn/PDJLFLDn 1RUP .ODU. 7KH HvHnW wLOO EHnHfiW the after school program of the Bristol Borough 21st Century Community iearning Center.
Silcox and Shaffer started more than 30 years ago with standup acts after persuading the owner of Cavanaugh’s restaurant/tavern in West Philadelphia to give them a little space to perform. hlar sort of “wandered in” to the restaurant at a later date but his act improved until he “became very, very good,” Silcox said.
Silcox is a standup comedian who also writes and produces shows for companies, clubs, fundraiser events, private parties and organizations. Shaffer counts among his credits several appearances on gohnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” “Comic Strip iive,” and “Evening at the Improv.”
hlar has opened for such stars as Tim Allen, Emo Phillips, and Soupy Sales. Silcox said hlar’s comedy/magic act is a combination of skill and slapstick which promises to “amaze” the audience.
“We’re working together on this show but each of us has also been a headliner,” Silcox said.
Comedy has changed since the old Vaudeville days, when the same material was passed around and each performer put his own touches on the works. Today, comedians write their own material, a different challenge but one that they take pride in, Silcox said.
“A friend of mine who writes for the ietterman show said it best. Coming up with fresh material is like having a muscle that needs conditioning. He started writing 15 jokes a day for the show. Then it was 20. Now he can do as many as 50. It all gets better with experience,” he said.
7KH FRPHGy nLJKW LV SLOFRx’V fiUVW SHUIRUmance in Bristol at a theater he’s long heard about. His Aunt Mary volunteered at BRT in its early days and when he was performing in a one-man show, “Edgar Allan Poe,” she always tried to encourage her nephew to book a performance there, he recalled with a laugh. iongtime borough residents might also remember other family members Edna Pierce and Amelia Sullivan, who for many years owned and operated the Bristol Flower Shop on Mulberry Street.
Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at Great IDs by Anne, Radcliffe and Mulberry streets; Mignoni gewelry, 200 Mill Street; and the BrisWRO BRURuJK 7Dx RIfiFH, ORFDWHG Ln WKH PunLFLSDO building at Pond and Mulberry streets.
The learning center is an after school program that offers academic help, sports, music, scouts, and other activities for Bristol Borough VWuGHnWV. 7KH JUDGH-VSHFLfiF SURJUDPV DUH FuUrently funded by federal grants distributed by United Way of Bucks County, but the oversight board is looking for ways to make the program self-sustaining once the grants expire.