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Troopers organize Cinco de Mayo comedy show to benefit Special Olympics

A fundraiser this week organized by Michigan State Police officials at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase will benefit the Law Enforcement Torch Run - Special Olympics of Michigan.

Michigan State Police officials are organizing a comedy show at 7 p.m. May 5 at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase to benefit the Law Enforcement Torch Run - Special Olympics of Michigan.

File photo

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Sklar Brothers coming to the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase

The Sklar Brothers, Jason and Randy, are pretty much what everybody assumes about twins. You rarely see one without the other and they often finish each other's sentences. Seeing them onstage can make you think you have double vision (except that one wears glasses). But just think of it as two for the price of one when they appear on the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase stage.

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Comedian Gary Gulman to bring his act to Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase

Comedian Gary Gulman is a star on the rise in the world of comedy. He's been on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, “The Late Show with David Letterman," "Conan" and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

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with video: Dennis Regan appearing at Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase

Dennis Regan

Demetri Martin to appear at Barnes & Noble for book signing

Demetri Martin

Martin will appear at Barnes & Noble at 2 p.m. as part of a book tour for his new release, "Point Your Face at This: Drawings."

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Conan's warm-up Jimmy Pardo to perform at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase

Jimmy Pardo has a long resume on stage and TV, including a gig as warm-up comic for Conan O'Brien. He has co-hosted of AMC's "Movies at our House," performed stand-up on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Late Late Show," and his own half-hour special "Comedy Central Presents Jimmy Pardo." His podcast "Never Not Funny" was named "Best of 2007" by the iTunes staff. But all that is just the tip of the iceberg, and this weekend he'll be at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase.

David Sedaris to appear at Hill Auditorium in April

David Sedaris

Photo by Anne Fishbein

A students-only presale starts Tuesday for $10 via the Michigan Union Ticket Office. Additional presales start Monday, March 4, via Ticketmaster.com; tickets go on sale to the general public on March 8 via MUTO and Ticketmaster.

Sandra Bernhard riffs on stars, family and more at The Ark

Sandra Bernhard publicity photo

So when the TV, film and stage star found herself performing for a half-filled room at The Ark on Friday night, in her home state of Michigan, she made no attempt to hide her annoyance.

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with video: Sandra Bernhard reflects on her career, Michigan roots, and Twitter ahead of Ann Arbor shows

Sandra Bernhard

“My shows—almost every six months, they’re almost completely new,” Bernhard told AnnArbor.com. “I just wrote a lot of new material over the holidays, and I did five nights at Joe’s Pub in New York City.”

The Ypsilanti Courier: Ypsilanti comic Gordon 'Big Dumb' Dooley to open for BET star Marcus Combs

Marcus Combs, star of BET’s “Comic View,” The Bad Boys of Comedy Tour, and HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam,” will offer his comedy on Jan. 11, at 8 and 11 p.m., at Ypsilanti’s Mix Lounge; plus, Ypsi’s own Gordon “Big Dumb” Dooley will get a chance to share the mic. Advance tickets cost $15; to reserve tickets, call 734-485-8891.

Comedian and Ann Arbor native Michael Kosta returning for two shows

Michael Kosta

Insult comic Lisa Lampanelli heckles the Michigan Theater crowd

Lisa Lampanelli

AP

There are very few comediennes who have mastered insult comedy like Lisa Lampanelli. Her preferred habitat is a comedy niche that is most often occupied by snarly dudes. The "Loveable Queen of Mean," as she bills herself, has often been compared to Don Rickles and Archie Bunker; her big influence is Dean Martin; and she is a favorite of shock-jock Howard Stern. That should give you an idea of how far she can take a joke.

True to form, Lampanelli's performance at the Michigan Theater this Saturday threw hard punches at all sorts of people, races, her gay fan base, celebrities, and even herself. Ann Arbor's crowd got what you would expect from her stand-up—piles of profanity, offensive jokes, and spiky jabs at people who annoy her.

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with video: Michigan Theater-bound Lisa Lampanelli talks weight loss, the theory of 'mean' comedy

Lisa Lampanelli last month

AP

You would hear what, at first blush, might sound like racist / homophobic jokes, aimed at blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Asians, gays, etc. But, what Lampanelli is really engaged in is satire: She is satirizing / mocking these stereotypes, and those who are ignorant enough to believe them. In a way, she’s a stand-up version of the Archie Bunker TV-sitcom character than Norman Lear created in the early 1970s.

So, in that respect, what she does is partly social commentary.

“At first, part of the lure was me just seeing what I could get away with, but when I really got a sense of how many people still embrace these idiotic stereotypes, I became more and more drawn to calling out people who are that ignorant,” says Lampanelli.

with video: A new Michigan football tradition, 'Pre-Gaming with Pat,' ending Saturday

Editor's note: Videos embedded and linked to below contain potentially offensive language and situations.

Most University of Michigan students have some form of football pre-gaming tradition. Be it chugging beers at a fraternity house, blaring music and lining the streets to dance, playing games of beer pong on their front lawn, or some sort of combination of the three, those traditions have transformed campus into a new world on fall Saturdays for decades.

A relatively recent phenomenon is the tradition of watching “Pre-Gaming with Pat” on YouTube the day after home games.

Humorboom hopes to bring up-and-coming stand-up comedians to Ann Arbor

Humorboom.com—which offers underground stand-up shows in New York City—is looking to bring up-and-coming comedians to Ann Arbor.

On its site, Humorboom describes itself as "an invite-only 100-person underground stand-up comedy show for 20 and 30-somethings that features some of the top young comedians today. Started in NYC, the show now appears in select cities across the U.S. The show's time and location is only released to those on the mailing list below one week before the show."

with video: Mike Birbiglia bringing comic one-man show, 'My Girlfriend's Boyfriend,' to Ann Arbor

Mike Birbiglia in "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend."

Photo by Joan Marcus

Sandra Bernhard coming to The Ark for 2 nights; tickets on sale Saturday

'Tonight Show with Jay Leno' to feature comedy of Huron High grad Michael Kosta

Comedian Lisa Lampanelli returning to Michigan Theater; tickets on sale Friday

Lisa Lampanelli

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Second City comedy troupe presenting 'best of' retrospective at The Ark

After 52 years, the Second City sketch comedy troupe has a rich vein of comedy gold to mine.

And they’re definitely drawing on that treasure trove on their current tour, “The Second City: Laughing Matters,” which is an anthology of sorts: The troupe is performing some of the best sketches, songs, and improvisations from its history.