Spring comedy preview

The biannual arts preview just came out in the Georgia Straight. As usual, I did the comedy portion. I imagine the theatre and dance writers have an easier time of it because those art forms usually book a season in advance. Comedy, not so much. Which is to say, this isn't a definitive list. Still, as you can see here, there are some good shows coming up. Two I'm most excited about are Brian Regan and Norm Macdonald. I've seen both of them before (come to think of it, I've seen all but Jamie Kennedy before), but they're always hilarious. Anyway, my point about comedy bookings was driven home right after I sent this in to the editors last week. Three more shows were announced but we were unable to include them. And they are

• Danny Bhoy, May 16 at the Vogue. He's the darling of the Just For Laughs people, having closed two of their cross-country galas. I can't imagine there's a huge demand for the guy, but those JFL people know how to fill seats.
• Penn & Teller, June 11 at the River Rock Show Theatre. I've never seen these guys live before and I'm a big fan so I'm looking forward to this one. Granted, I am an unabashed fan of magic. But even people who aren't fans of traditional magic love their meta-magic show. I interviewed Penn Jillette in Montreal about his involvement with The Aristocrats back in 2005, which you can hear on the podcast here.
• Tim Allen, June 18 at the Red Robinson Show Theatre (two shows). I've never been a fan, but I've also never seen him live before so look forward to seeing if his live show is different from what I've seen on TV. I can't tell you the number of times I've been pleasantly surprised at a live show after years of not liking what I've seen from the same comic on TV.