“It’s Comedy Tonight”!

[rating=4] Laughter is good for what ails you. If you add to this a great dinner ( well almost great) and a nice martini, who could ask for anything more! Over the years, many of our suburban comedy clubs have gone away. I know that I miss Zanies in Vernon Hills, and so do many others. Mark Klaber, a kind of frustrated comic himself, has found some venues that are ready to bring back comedy in the northern suburbs ( to start). For months he has been talking about his new “gig” and with this week being a bit quiet and his choice of venues being my favorite breakfast spot, The Continental Restaurant in Buffalo Grove, Jane and I opted to take in the show tonight. Glad that we did!

The restaurant put together a menu that was terrific, but as I mentioned to Pete after the show, many people who had selected their dinner, upon seeing more choices, decided to change. Guess what? Havoc in the kitchen and a wait staff that could have gone berserk, BUT they are all pros and got everyone fed a delicious meal. I had the Spring Salmon with a honey citrus pepper sauce that was as juicy and tasty as I could have asked for. The lamb chops are what they ran out of ( I have had Pete’s Athenian chops before and know they are “to die for”.  Way too many items to select from when dealing with a limited time period. Dinner started at 6 p.m. and by 8 p.m. needed to be over, so the show could go on. After all, we laugh better when on a full stomach. Another suggestion: do something sweet and coffees after the two- hour show making the evening complete!

Now on to the show:

Two hours of comedy! Four talented people from different eras ( although I think they were old, older and oldest) reaching a crowd that was pretty much a typical suburban Saturday night-out with friends group. Jane Slavin led off the festivities and for the most part was our emcee. The room is the banquet room of The Continental set up so that sight lines are decent and a very tiny stage that appears to be scary for them to get up on. My suggestion here is a real stage and perhaps a special light added to make the feeling more concert/club-like. Slavin does some great “shtick” on aging but rocks the house when out comes the Uke for some folk music. Pay close attention to the lyrics. They are hysterical. She then goes into the online dating programs designed for seniors. She also takes a few jabs at the actual expression “senior citizens”. How can one look at her and assume she is a ( Citizen is the punch here). It is funny!

Slavin is followed by another female comic, Ms Clean when it comes to her material, Michelle Krajecki, who has great energy and plays her audience well. She talks about parenting and her two daughters and had me rolling in the aisles.

Our third comic, Bill Gorgo appears to be very relaxed as he sets up his stool, grabs the mike and just talks to us for the next 30 minutes. His stories and anecdotes are a delight. In particular his talk about the people of Wisconsin and their trips to Chicago. Gorgo is quite laid back and yet his comic timing is sheer delight for young and old. I think the older audience members had the most fun with his humor.

Gorgo was followed by James Wesley Jackson, an even older gentleman who also brought his own stool to the gig. He also brought a violin case with him and was asked if this was a musical instrument or machine gun? Later we found out what it was and the bit was a sensational hit. Jackson is even older than the others and of course, being a man of color ( Black Lives Do Matter- even in Buffalo Grove) did a few off-color jokes. Nothing that we have never heard before and his special bit where he was showing us a fake slide show of “his thoughts” was dynamite. If he didn’t already have us, he opened up the case and took out the musical instrument and we all learned a valuable musical lesson. Because you may want to see his act, I will not divulge any more about this portion of the set. In fact, each of the comics is protected by my “see them for yourself” policy of reporting.

The show was a solid evening of entertainment and from what I gather, Klaber will continue to bring regular shows to The Continental and other locations in the suburban areas. I am suggesting a website for Klaber Productions and that the Continental add this to their website www.continental-restaurant.net

Meanwhile, I will keep you posted here and on my radio show, every Sunday at 2 p.m. on 820 AM, WCPT where facts matter.

COMING UP:

Dinner and Stand Up Comedy at The Continental Restaurant  788 S. Buffalo Grove Road, in Buffalo Grove- Saturday, August 10th- 6 p.m. dinner/8 p.m. comedy show

Hosted by Matt Castevelli, featuring, Pam Englehart, Denise Medina, Jeremy Drazner, Sabeen Sadiq and Katie Meiners- call 847-459-4095 to book your place $38 per person for dinner and the show

make some new friends and enjoy a great evening of entertainment.