The year-old Comedy Alliance of Tucson is hosting its inaugural comedy crawl beginning Sunday, Jan. 27.
Think club crawl — the long-gone Tucson music festival that featured bands playing on different downtown stages over a weekend.
But instead of a week-end, the CATcomedy520 LOL Crawl runs a week and includes everything from open mic nights at local bars and restaurants to superstar comic Lewis Black appearing at Fox Tucson Theatre.
Tucson comedian Linda Ray, the non-profit alliance’s executive director, said the comedy crawl shines a light on the city’s ha-ha scene, which she said is growing far beyond Tucson’s lone full-time comedy club.
“There is comedy all over town every day of the week,” she said of the phenomenon that has been happening around the country over the past couple of years, driven in large part by YouTube and comedian podcasts that have garnered record audiences.
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The alliance, comprised of veteran Tucson comedians, rising stars and novices intent on promoting and growing the local comedy scene, kicks off LOL Crawl on Sunday with “Laughs for HOPE” at Laffs Comedy Caffé, featuring headliner Matt Ziemak and Eli WT as host.
Here’s all you need to know about the show:
- Who: Tucson comedian Matt Ziemak headlines and Eli WT is host, with appearances by veteran Tucson comedians Monte Benjamin, Molly McCloy, Rory Monserrat and Dave Fitzsimmons.
- Featuring: Special guest Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and comedy newbies Aubrey King, Nicole Riesgo and Chinna Garza all making their Laffs debuts.
- When: 7 p.m. Sunday; doors open at 6.
- Where: Laffs Comedy Caffé, 2900 E. Broadway.
- Tickets: $10, cash only at the door, order in advance online through comedyalliancetucson.org
- LOL Crawl events: Includes improv, standup, open mics and sketch comedy. For a complete list of events and links to tickets, visit comedyalliancetucson.org
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch