If you think “human tanning bedding” (John Oliver’s words) Anthony Scaramucci is funny, you’ll love this month’s lot of comics, stand-up and sketch artists.
Wonderful News (Aug. 5, Good Good Comedy)
Are these four women from New York City and Brooklyn friends, or did they just share a car to save money? Either way, this quartet of stand-up and sketch comedians — Ana Fabrega (from “Portlandia”), Lorelei Ramirez (featured at “VICE”) Amy Zimmer (a writer for The New Yorker) – just got a boost from its fourth member, Patti Harrison, a trans comic who was featured on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in response to Trump’s trans-ban in the military. Funny stuff.
Sat. Aug 5 at 8:30 p.m., Good Good Comedy, 215 N11th St. $10, goodgoodcomedy.com
Jim Norton (Aug 5, Borgata Music Box)
There’s no point in predicting what stand-up comic Jim Norton will do or say beyond it being very crude and hilariously harsh toward any-and-all segments of society. He didn’t get to be part of “The Opie and Anthony” crew or work with Howard Stern and Louis CK otherwise.
Sat, Aug. 5, at 7 and 10 p.m., The Music Box at the Borgata, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ: $45-$39.50, theborgata.com.
Gina Yashere (Aug 10-Aug 12, Punch Line Philly)
Americans might not know her beyond correspondent appearances on “The Daily Show,” stand-up bits on “Def Comedy Jam” and a Showtime special, “Skinny B&%$h,” but in Great Britain, she’s huge. After having created several characters for “The Lenny Henry Show” and hopping on the West End stage for “The Vagina Monologues,” she became the toast of London comedy for her cuttingly incisive take on relationships, sex and politics. Get to know her.
Thurs, Aug 10 to Sun, Aug 12, 7:30, 8, 9:45, and 10:15 p.m., Punch Line Philly, 33 E Laurel St. $22.50- $8.25, punchlinephilly.com
Jon Lovitz (Aug 10-Aug 12, Helium)
Beyond being one of the most uniquely funny “Saturday Night Live” sketch alumnus – and an outspoken social critic when it comes to his longtime stand-up routine – Lovitz wins hearts and minds after having played the lead loudmouth, Jay Sherman, in the Fox Network animated comedy classic, “The Critic.”
Thurs, Aug 10 to Sat, Aug 12, 7:30, 8, and 10 p.m., Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., $25-$38, philadelphia-heliumcomedy.com
Jim Florentine (Aug 17-Aug 19, Punch Line Philly)
It’s only apt that WMMR’s Preston & Steve present this show with deep voiced caustic comic Florentine as he’s been a co-host at VH1 Classic’s hit heavy metal talk program “That Metal Show” and opened the American Carnage Tour for the death metal trio of Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. Plus he was a hero of Comedy Central’s much missed “Crank Yankers” puppet show.
Thurs, Aug 17 to Sun, Aug 19, 7:30, 8, 9:45, and 10:15 p.m., Punch Line Philly, 33 E Laurel St. $16.50-$22.50, punchlinephilly.com.
Maria Bamford (Aug 18, Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest Center)
Bamford is a strange bird. Yes, she’s got a stand-up show filled with soft baby-voiced girls and hard-jawed business women. But along with those characters displaying signs of deep dysfunction and self-deprecation, she’s got a semi-autobiographical series on Netflix, “Lady Dynamite,” that regularly touches upon subjects such as suicide, psychosis and psychiatric conditions.
Fri, Aug 18 at 8:30 p.m., Musikfest Café at the ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA, $35 – $39, steelstacks.org
Bill Maher (Aug 19, Borgata Event Center)
Now that Ice Cube forgave Maher for his stupid, racist-tinged remarks on HBO’s “Real Time,” the antagonistic, anti-religious stand-up comic legend can go about the business of a smart ass, with equal emphasis on both words in that descriptor.
Sat, Aug. 19, at 8 p.m., Borgata Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ: $89-$69, theborgata.com.
Cole Escola (Aug 19, Good Good Comedy)
Truly one of most adventurous comics, sketch or stand-up, to come along in some time, the wig-wearing comedian is known by Netflix/Amazon Prime/Hulu fans for his work on Difficult People and Mozart in the Jungle. Yet in NYC, he’s shared the stage, toe-to-toe, with rude Bridgett Everett and has hosted events such as “Help! I’m Stuck!” where he unleashes some of the weirdest characters this side of “Twin Peaks: The Return.”
Sat. Aug 19 at 8 and 10 p.m., Good Good Comedy, 215 N11th St. $10, goodgoodcomedy.com
