There's room at the tables for comedy fans

(Photo submitted) Paul Kelly, in front wearing the vest, will be joined by James Wesley Jackson (far left) and Bill Gorgo (far right) as the Chicago Style StandUp Comedy players return to Spencer Friday. They'll be joined by a newcomer, Mike Toomey, who is not pictured.

Chicago comedian Paul Kelly knows his way around Spencer, Iowa.

He's also hoping audience members find their way back to the Clay County Regional Events Center on Friday night, when the Chicago Style StandUps make their return.

Tickets are still available for the 8 p.m. event. Seats are $13.50. Add $5 for premium seating. Add another $10 to enjoy the hors d'oeuvres buffet. It begins at 6:30 p.m. featuring a large assortment of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. (There's a noon deadline Thursday to request the meal.)

Mike Toomey is new to the lineup this year and joins favorites Bill Gorgo, James Wesley Jackson and Kelly. In Chicago-style comedy, none of the performers are sequestered off stage waiting for their turn -- the acts on stage becomes part of the audience from time to time.

"It's all the acts, all at once," Kelly said. "When you see it, you don't even notice what is going on because there is no structure. There are no rules. It's four really good comedians sharing one microphone and one stage. It's very, very spontaneous."

The stand-up comedians will host an evening of humorous jabs discussing everything from politics to sports, from parenting to dating.

"We're always amazed as we do this -- I'll be doing a show and there will be bikers and nuns in the same audience," Kelly said. "If people think 'oh, the show is for somebody else,' they are selling themselves short. Single people think it's for the married people. Married people think it's for the single people."

Kelly is a nationally touring comedian who headlines comedy clubs from coast to coast. With real-life humor and a unique physical style, Kelly is a master storyteller and quick ad-libber. Audiences recognize themselves in his interactive and hilarious routines.

James Wesley Jackson is the world's only "environmedian" offering entertainment with an environmental theme. Jackson has won an Emmy for his writing and performance on the TV show "SFO." He has appeared on Comedy Central, London Underground, Comedy Tonight, HBO's Chris Rock Show, and Comedy on the Road.

Bill Gorgo's first love is performing standup around the country. He also has written three plays and a television series, acted in a half dozen Chicago stage productions, is an award-winning storyteller, been active in talk radio, and conducted classes in the art of comedy.

Toomey will take his audience on a nostalgic journey back into 1960s and 70s "TV Land" where he explains the humorous consequences of growing up "glued to the tube". Watch for some of his dead-on impressions of TV personalities.

Gorgo said the audience at this show will see "four comics at the top of their game, doing the best of their material, as it fits the moment, with no scripts. They don't know when it will stop. The only complaint we've gotten is that audiences don't know when to go to the bathroom. It's a good tribute to us that they're holding it for an hour and a half."

Kelly added, "The show is a wholesome show, though not squeaky clean. It's a grown-up show. It's not G-rated, but not R-rated either. It's more like a PG-15 show."

Of course, many comedy fans in the Spencer area already know what to expect.

"I've been there often enough that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get lost at any time," Kelly said. "I think you show favoritism by going back to the same places. Spencer was a real revelation. When the booking is 'the Clay County Regional Events Center' you're wondering ... and you don't know. From the first time we've been there, more and more people come. The Clay County Regional Events Center does an amazing job. You don't have to have a great dinner, but you can have a great dinner at the show."

Then, in an ever-so-dry delivery, Kelly adds: "They do serve alcoholic beverages and some people find that lightens the mood."

Daily Reporter Managing Editor Randy Cauthron supplied information for this story.

NEED TICKETS?

Tickets to Chicago Style StandUp Comedy and buffet are $28.50 for premium seating and $23.50 for reserved seating. Tables of 8 are $218 for premium seating and $178 for reserved seating. Tickets for the show only are $18.50 for Premium seating and $13.50 for reserved seating. Tables of eight are $138 for premium seating and $98 for reserved seating. Tables of eight are only available in advance. Tickets are on sale now at the Clay County Regional Events Center ticket office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

The Clay County Regional Events Center ticket office is open Monday -- Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.