After a year off from their normal programming of high-volume comedy, the Boston Comedy Festival is shaking off the dust and returning to their tradition of high-volume comedy. And by the looks of it, this year’s rundown is looking better than ever.
With a five-day takeover of stages all over the area between May 16 and 20, the festival’s return is boasting both battle-tested comedy vets and fresher faces of the scene, just as its done since showrunners Jim and Helen McCue started the annual comedy bacchanalia in 2000. Moving from their most recent confines of the Somerville Theatre and the city’s surrounding stages, the festival will set up shop in some different spots around Boston, with City Winery hosting the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the festival’s stand-up contest centerpiece, and Berklee Performance Center serving as the setting for the Boston Comedy Festival All-Stars show, as well as a special live edition of Adult Swim classic Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
A handful of other shows and special events are slated to take place in between the major events before the festival concludes at Emerson’s Cutler Majestic Theatre on May 20 with the culmination of the stand-up contest, as well as the annual presentation of the fest’s Comedian of the Year award, which will be awarded to Joe List, and the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to award-winning Conan writer and comedian Brian Kiley. There will also be a presentation for the Lifetime Achievement in TV Award to honor Topper Carew, before Robert Kelly and a slew of his comedy pals take the stage to send the festival off into the sunset until 2024.
In addition to the week’s heavy-hitting headliners, a plethora of other shows will feature some of the best in the industry, including Sonja Morgan (of Real Housewives of New York), Todd Barry, Emo Phillips, Zach Sherwin, Corey Rodrigues, Shane Mauss, Raanan Hershberg, Bethany Van Delft, Myq Kaplan, Karen Morgan, Emily Ruskowski, Erin Maguire, Tooky Kavanagh, Will Noonan, Jimmy Cash, Orlando Baxter, Dan Boulger and many more.
Tickets for all shows are on sale now. Get all show and ticket info at bostoncomedyfest.com.