Three comedians will perform at the Best Western Plus University Inn Saturday, Sept. 30.
There will be two shows containing the same acts, one at 6 p.m. and one at 9 p.m. Tickets for a seat at a show cost $15. Bengt Washburn, a former winner of the San Francisco International Comedy Competition, will headline both shows.
“Washburn is originally from Utah. He was born and raised a Mormon, and so he’s got a unique style of comedy because he does play off his past being a Mormon. And he’s been a comedian for just over ten years now,” said Mike Obrien, the hotel general manager.
Comedian and host Alvin Williams will begin the show by presenting a set of jokes in the first 15 to 20 minutes to warm the audience up for the night. Williams is originally from Chicago, but studied business management at the University of Idaho. He has been a comedian for 11 years. Williams performs at Liquid Laughs in Boise, Idaho as well as at various other places.
“I’m currently on the road for about 45 weeks out of this year. Half of that time, I spent on going around the country, performing at college and comedy clubs. The other half, I spent on (performing) around the world,” he said.
After Williams, featured comedian Leil Cardoza will perform for half an hour. Williams said Cardoza is one of his best friends. They grew up with comedy, he said. Williams said Cardoza’s unique joking style helped him to realize how powerful simple observations could be.
Washburn will be the last to take the stage and will perform for 45 minutes to an hour. Obrien said in total, shows generally last from an hour and a half to two hours.
After all comedy shows held at the inn, the comedians will sell their CDs and be available to take pictures with the audience. After the late show, they will have a drink at the inn’s open bar and talk and joke with the guests, Obrien said.
Obrien said this is the first quarterly Comedy Night for the 2017-2018 school year, and attendance is expected to be around 320 people.
This is the seventh year since Obrien and Williams decided to start hosting comedy events, though at the time, Obrien worked at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn, Obrien said. He said since coming up with the idea, he and Williams have arranged the event every year, once per season.
Williams took charge of contacting the comedians for each show because he has performed with them and knew the style and the level of the performance the comedians could provide, Obrien said. He said Williams always found the best artists for their shows.
“Idaho is a friendly place for performers, so everybody is going to want to talk and have a drink and share stories,” Williams said.
He said the comedians he selects need to be funny, enjoy talking to people generously and be good at dealing with different situations on the stage.
All the comedians Williams has selected traveled the U.S. and performed weekly at different places and stages. They have always produced quality comedies, Obrien said.
Williams said he has hosted the comedy night in both Moscow and Coeur d’Alene. Williams said he has enjoyed the flexibility of the comedy nights. All performers select their comedies for their show, as Williams said he believes freedom is the best part of comedy.
Obrien said he thinks the comedy nights are beneficial for locals.
“Laughter is definitely the best medicine we need more in today’s world,” Obrien said.
Jinrong Lei can be reached at [email protected]