2004 Boston comedy Festival
Boston can be a very funny city. Sometimes it's funny ha-ha. Sometimes it's funny uh-oh.
But next week it will be funny for the right reasons when the fifth annual Boston International Comedy and Movie Festival takes over many of the Hub's nightspots Monday to May 1.
The centerpiece of the fest is the annual stand-up comedy competition, with a $10,000 grand prize. The preliminary contests will be held Monday through next Friday at various locations (The Comedy Vault, Nick's Comedy Stop, the Charles Playhouse).
The final event, hosted by Boston comic Steve Sweeney and "America's Funniest Videos'' and ``Hollywood Squares'' host Tom Bergeron, a Bay State native, will be at the Berklee Performance Center May 1.
But an assortment of other events also are tied into the fest, including Jackie Mason's May 1 show at the Orpheum and Joan Rivers' April 29-May 1 stand at the Wilbur Theatre.
Nick's Comedy Stop will be the site of auditions for David Letterman's show April 30. The Improv Asylum will present a special show dedicated to the Big Dig Wednesday to April 30.
There also will be comedy workshops, the Women's Show (May 1 at Nick's), a "Best of the Fest'' gig May 1 at Dick Doherty's Comedy Vault and even an auction on Tuesday to benefit the Boston Arts Academy at the Comedy Connection.
The comedy competition is still at the heart of the fest, however, and winning it can give a comic's career a boost. Dave Russo won the event's first competition, and he still can see the dividends.
"Winning gave me an introduction,'' he quipped. "I finally had something a host could say when I came onstage - `Winner of the Boston Comedy Fest.' ''
Russo's win also led him to host the 2001 competition, where he met the booker of the Tropicana in Las Vegas. He'll be doing two weeks there next month, another perk directly related to the fest.
"The business is all about perception,'' he added. "When people read the bio and see write-ups from papers that I won the fest and beat out 80 other comics, it does add a certain legitimacy. Winning definitely put my name on the map and helped me get booked because Boston has a great comedy reputation.''
But winning isn't the only reason to enter the competition. Veteran comic Frank Santorelli is in it again this year, even though he placed third last year and second the year before.
Unlike Russo, he isn't looking to establish himself as a comic. "I just love doing these things,'' he said. "Plus, I got paid $1,800 for not winning, for doing half a dozen five-minute sets.'' Santorelli won $1,200 for his second-place showing, $600 for third.
Santorelli has been a part of the Boston comedy scene since 1985. He's also an original member of "The Sopranos'' cast, with 15 episodes under his belt as Georgie the bartender. His other television gigs range from "Star Search'' to "Evening at the Improv.''
"Being in the fest really didn't help me in any other way other than the money I won,'' he said. ``But, for me, I just love the competition.
"I tell young comics, `You've got to be able to do five minutes (of good material) because that's all you're going to get when you audition.'
"You have five minutes to sell yourself,'' he said, ``and that's really what it's all about. I'm hoping to get to the finals this year so I can be seen by somebody because I understand a bunch of industry people are going to be there.''
