No Foul Language Comedy Show in Omemee Aug 11
It takes two – according to the producer and comic emcee of a professional stand-up comedy show that returns to Omemee’s Coronation Hall Saturday, August 11.
“Yeah, I think it’s official now,” explains Denis Grignon, a 30-year stand-up comedy veteran who’s toured the country and is a weekend host at BOB-FM in Lindsay. “When you have a second show a year later, there’s a certain validation.”
“We can now, with authority, say this is an annual event, right?” he adds, tongue-in-cheek.
Last year’s No Foul Language Comedy Show (the theme promises no naughty words or topics) attracted a near capacity crowd to the historic venue — something Grignon, who lives on a farm near Dunsford, admits surprised him.
“I never expected we’d need the balcony,” Grignon points out. “It meant having to deliver the occasional punch-line while looking up to that second level, but that’s a challenge (the comedians) were happy to meet.”
Promising a whole new show, Grignon has recruited two new comics to round out the lineup. And it’ll be a bit of a alumni night. Both Jim McNally and Rick Currie (pictured) launched their stand-up careers the same year as Grignon in Ottawa. “Heck, the three of us are even two months apart in age. So, yes. You can expect some middle-aged-inspired humour.”
McNally, one of the country’s top headliners, will be familiar to fans of CTV’s Comedy Now and the Halifax Comedy Festival.
Currie, meanwhile, has made several appearances on The Debaters and just wrapped up an eight-year gig as a staff writer for the Rick Mercer Report, which recently ended its 15-year run. While bittersweet, it has permitted Currie to return to his stand-up roots.
“I get to hang out with long-time comic friends and get on the same stage where Neil Young performed?,” he asks, rhetorically. “Of course I’m in!”
McNally, who grew up in the Ottawa Valley, says he’s looking forward to Omemee’s small-town appeal. “This is definitely my kind of crowd…where I feel especially comfortable and where my act really resonates.”
The line-up includes a short guest spot by BOB-FM’s Denise Waldron and pre-show live music by Janetville’s Ann Rocchi.
Tickets are $17 available only at the door.
The Dunsford Lions will be selling concessions during the show’s 12-minute intermission.
Doors open at 6:45 pm. Showtime is 7:30 pm.
