Comedy Show 2017

Four of Boston’s top comedians are scheduled to perform again this summer at the 11th Annual Rotary Club of Gloucester Comedy Night on Thursday, August 31, and a fifth performer has distinguished himself locally in another field.

Jimmy Dunn – who had a lead role in the CBS sitcom The McCarthys – is scheduled to headline the show, at Cruiseport Gloucester, 5 Rowe Square, Gloucester, and Andrew DeFranza, executive director of the non-profit Harborlight Community Partners, Inc. will also perform as a special guest. Dave Rattigan returns to host the all-star ensemble, which also includes Kelly MacFarland and Dan Crohn.

Doors open at 7 for the 8 p.m. show, and tickets are $25, available from any Rotary member or by calling event committee chair Ruth Pino at (978) 764-6710.

“We knew Andrew had performed at The Cabot in Beverly (as a special guest at a comedy show), and many of us know him and how funny he is, so we asked him to be on this show,” said Ruth Pino, comedy committee chair. “This will change it up a little, and be a lot of fun.”

Dunn, who started his career while working as a bank teller in Gloucester, was a cast member of the CBS sitcom The McCarthys, and can currently be found at Burger Run with Jimmy Dunn on YouTube, and on a podcast with fellow comedian-actor Tony V. called Two Boston Guys Whack Up a Pie, available on iTunes. Dunn has performed stand-up nationally on The Late Show with David Letterman, and regionally in multiple roles on NESN -- notably as the "voice" on the dating show Sox Appeal, on the Red Sox Pre-Game Show, and in a series of funny commercials for Olympia Sports.
MacFarland has an extensive resume including comedy clubs, theaters, colleges and multiple television appearances including Comedy Central, The Today Show, Cartoon Network and the TV Guide Channel’s Stand up in Stilettos showcasing the top female comedians in the country.

Crohn’s stories of family and friends have entertained audiences all over New England. A former semifinalist in the Boston Comedy Festival and Laughing Skull Comedy Festival, he has performed with a number of well-known headliners -- among them Doug Stanhope, Jim Norton, and Pauly Shore -- and played shows all over the country.
Rattigan has hosted the event all 11 years. Among many credits are three appearances on the syndicated Steve Katsos Show. He also runs a production company (scampscomedy.com) that specializes in first-class theater and corporate shows and fund-raisers. It has helped raise more than $1.8 million for good causes.

Special guest DeFranza – who has performed stand-up once previously -- is the executive director for Beverly-based Harborlight Community Partners, which over the past nine years has helped manage, develop, or support affordable housing for more than 500 people in Southern Essex County. In 2016, he was honored with the Anne Gelbspan Partners in Community Award, presented by the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development, the Board of Directors Special Recognition Award from Senior Care and the Peter J. Gomes Service Award, presented by 6th District Congressman Seth Moulton.

“It’s a great, clean show that always draws a big crowd and raises a lot of money great causes in the community,” Rattigan said. “For many people, this show has become an unofficial kickoff for Labor Day weekend, and it’s always a lot of fun for both the comedians and the audience.”