Comedy Studio New Year’s Eve

MMAS takes a new approach to NYE Comedy

Boston comedians Steve Bjork, Bethany Van Delft, Rick Jenkins, Dave Rattigan and Carolyn Riley lead a powerhouse lineup as two production companies combine forces and resources for virtual New Year’s Eve comedy via MMAS in Mansfield.

MMAS has hosted comedy for the past three New Year’s eves, but with Covid-19 restrictions this year it is combining with other venues to bring virtual comedy to its community.

Through MMAS.org, Scamps Comedy Productions and The Comedy Studio will present shows at 7 and 9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, hosted by Comedy Studio founder Rick Jenkins. In addition to MMAS, the audience will come from The Comedy Studio, The Cotuit Center for the Arts, the Elm Draft House Cinema in Millbury and the Rotary Club of Gloucester. Other venues are still being added.

We all have to be creative and flexible, and this is a great way to do that,” said Ken Butler, executive director of MMAS. “We’re bringing back some comedians that have played at our theater before, along with some new comedians with great resumes.”

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the show. Jenkins will be joined by Bjork, 2019 Boston Magazine “Best of Boston Comedian” Van Delft, Rattigan, Riley, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Jim Ruberti, Jaylene Tran. Peter Bowers, a British professor-turned-comedian who has made performing at the Comedy Studio a New Year’s Eve tradition, will appear on the early show.

The Comedy Studio is embracing 2021 with open arms with a virtual show on New Years Eve, and you’re invited! While it won’t be exactly like sipping a cocktail while laughing amongst a crowd at the club, we’ve got the next best thing. You’ll see comedians:

“Normally New Year’s Eve is the greatest night of the year for stand-up comedy, but 2020 is not a normal year,” said Rattigan, a comedian who has received airplay on Sirius Satellite Radio and runs Scamps Comedy. “We were getting ready to do a scaled-back schedule of theater shows with very limited seating that would be both live and virtual, but when the state changed the rules on performing we had to go back to the drawing board, and we came up with this. Rick (Jenkins) and I have been friends for years, I love performing there, and their platform is the best I’ve seen among virtual comedy presentations.  

“At this stage of the pandemic, virtual shows allow clubs and theaters to stay connected with their communities. Several non-profits that I normally do shows with had to cancel this year, so I also reached out to them. This will give everybody involved the chance to have some fun and enjoy a laugh at a time when we can all use a laugh.”

“We can’t all be together because of the pandemic, but the virtual forum allows us to reach out to comedians all over the region,” said Jenkins, who noted that Lakshminarayanan will be performing from California and Riley from New York.

One of the funniest (and kind-hearted) observational humorists in Boston, Stephen Bjork is known for his clean and funny style that makes him a favorite in theaters, corporate shows, and fundraisers. The author of the very funny Almost Domesticated was cited as an influential comedian by The Boston Globe. At one point, Bjork was a national traveling headliner, and he’s shared the stage with acts including Dane Cook, Steven Wright, Dom Irrerra, Dave Chappelle, Gilbert Gottfried, Joe Rogan, Dana Gould and Tommy Chong. He also once opened for the legendary musical group The Platters. At home, he’s the father of five children, including four that were recently adopted.

Boston Magazine’s 2019 “Best of Boston” comedian Bethany Van Delft has performed at the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, SF Sketchfest, All Jane Festival, Boston Calling, and is the go-to opener for some of her faves such as Phoebe Robinson, Michelle Buteau, Michael Che, Rob Delaney and Alonzo Bodden. Her album I’m Not a Llama earned good reviews and an impressive number of minutes at No. 2 on the iTunes charts. She is a regular host for The Moth StorySlams & GrandSlams, and her Moth mainstage story “Light & Hope,” sharing her postpartum experience, gained 15 million views.

Dave Rattigan is one of New England’s busiest comedians. His Dave Rattigan: Thinks He’s Funny CD was played on Sirius Satellite Radio and he’s written humorous pieces for several publications, including The Boston Globe and Christian Science Monitor. He wrote and produced funny webisodes from the Post Office Golf League series and acted in the independent film Heavy Times and in commercials for iParty and Olympia Sports. He performed three times on the syndicated Steve Katsos Show and is a voice actor in the feature-length animated Drill Booth, scheduled for release in 2021.

Former “Funniest Person in Massachusetts” Carolyn Riley (2018) has opened for David Cross (Arrested Development), Jim Breuer (Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central), Melissa Villasenor (Saturday Night Live), Laurie Kilmartin (Last Comic Standing, Conan Staff Writer) and been on Funny or Die. She has performed in The Big Sky, Limestone, Big Pine, Boston, Rogue Island, Hampton Beach and Cape Cod Comedy Festivals and appeared on Sirius XM radio. The former University of New Hampshire Funniest Student winner (2016) lives in New York City.

Dhaya Lakshminarayanan was the 2016 winner of the Liz Carpenter Political Humor Award (previously awarded to Samantha Bee, Wanda Sykes and satirist/humorist Mark Russell) presented by the National Women’s Political Caucus. Comedy Central Asia crowned her the Grand Prize Winner of “The Ultimate Comedy Challenge” filmed in Singapore. She is the subject of the documentary NerdCool which premiered at the LA Comedy Festival. She will perform from San Francisco, where radio station KQED named her one of the 20 “Women to Watch,” celebrating women artists, creatives and makers pushing boundaries.

Comedian and actor Jim Ruberti has entertained people for well over 40 years, starting as a child actor in Cape Cod theaters, performing with Broadway actors such as John Raitt or Theordore Bikel, and progressing into roles as an adult at venues like the Barnstable Comedy Club. He has been a comic fundraising auctioneer and event host for more than 10 years, and a stand-up comedian on stages around New England. As a stand-up, he’s worked with Boston headliners such as Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Paul Nardizzi and Mike McDonald.

Peter Bowers (who appears on the first show only) was born in England, where he started writing and performing in sketch comedy as a student at Cambridge University in 1958.  After completing a career as a chemistry professor in Boston, he resumed his interest in comedy after 45 years, and has since performed regularly in the Boston area and beyond. Bowers describes his comedy style as more “saucy British” than “squeaky clean.” His humor includes bits about the Royal family, oddments of Shakespeare, and light-hearted irreverence to all aspects of becoming elderly.

Jaylene Tran is the first and only Vietnamese comedian in New England. Based out of Boston where she’s pursuing a degree at Harvard University and asks that you don’t hold it against her. She has performed at venues all over the East Coast, making audiences laugh at anything using her sharp wit, grace, and just a dash of mischievousness that will have you wondering “what the Hell is wrong with me?”

Host Rick Jenkins is a comedy lifer. The first time he set foot on the stand-up comedy stage was in his hometown of Buffalo in 1980. While there he opened for Jay Leno and sold jokes to Joan Rivers. Rick moved to Boston in 1986 at the height of “the boom.” Affable on and off stage and always happy to host the show, he became a presence in all the Boston comedy clubs and founded the critically and industry-praised Comedy Studio in 1995.

For more information, go to thecomedystudio.com or scampscomedy.com.